Do I need to give a turn signal if the main road changes direction?

asks Maria
Question # 4360

Hello!

We urgently need your help! Question about the rules traffic! The fact is that where I live in a village (urban type), there is a main road, but it turns right, before the turn there is a secondary road, it goes straight, according to the rules, you need to turn on the turn signal when you leave the main road, BUT, many argue and even not all GAI OFFICERS answer this question, why should a driver turn on the turn signal when he drives straight, because the main road turns right, drives straight ahead, and drives :) So, there is no evidence, there are no such rules either! There is only that you need to turn on the turn signal if you leave the main road, so if the secondary road goes further straight??? help me please

Responsible

12.06.12

Hello Maria!

The question appeared to the editorial office from Khabarovsk.

We will answer it with reference to SDA RF:

8.1. Front the beginning of the movement, rebuilding, turn(turn around) and stop the driver must signal light indicators turn corresponding direction, and if they are missing or faulty - by hand.

SDA of Ukraine:

9.2. Driver should signal with lights
turningrelevant direction:

a) before start of movement and stop;

b) front rebuilding, turn or a reversal.

Let's quote a phrase from your question "... she turns right before turning there is a side road.

Accordingly, if the road changes its direction, regardless of priority, driver must signal light indicators.

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Specialist 13.06.2012 16:04 Home or not - do not care. If you turn, show the turn. After all, it's safety. In bastard include?

Alexander 28.01.2013 19:28 So I didn’t understand, if you go straight, to a secondary road - turn on the left turn or not?

Alexander 28.01.2013 19:46 I will clarify. Crossroads crossroads: we drive up from the main road, which goes to the right. Secondary roads adjoin directly and to the left. It is clear with the right turn - you can turn nothing on, or you can turn on the right one. With a left turn - also understandable - turn on the left, turn, turn off. but if we drive straight to the secondary? It turns out - turn on the sign before the intersection, drive into the middle of the intersection, turn off the sign and go straight?

Andrei 01.07.2013 19:12 What difference does it make what road, at the crossroads, if we make a turn, turn on, go straight which turn signal????? in which direction right? look at least the traffic police tickets, in the picture.

Vladimir 14.09.2017 19:04 Here is the answer to your question, everything is clear and understandable! https://auto.tut.by/news/pdd/357866.html

According to the Rules, there are not many maneuvers in which it is necessary to use turn signals, these include changing lanes (including overtaking), stopping and starting the car. But even such apparent simplicity can raise a small number of questions. One of these is whether you need to turn on the turn signal on main road, if this very main road turns, and we move along it without moving onto a secondary one?

And, if for many the answer to it seems obvious - it is possible, then we hasten to disappoint you, not always. It all depends on the presence of the turning maneuver itself, because the traffic rules do not stipulate that the turn signal must be turned on with any steering wheel (and you do not need to do this).

When do you need to turn on the turn signal on the main?

In fact, we have already answered the question - the turn signal must be turned on when we make a maneuver. This must be done in advance, and turn it off immediately after the maneuver is completed.

8.1. Before the start of the movement, rebuilding, turn (reversal) and stop the driver is obliged to give signals with turn signal lights corresponding direction, and if they are missing or faulty - by hand. When performing a maneuver, there should not be a danger to traffic, as well as interference with other road users.
....
8.2. Signaling by direction indicators or by hand must be done in advance of the start of the maneuver and stop immediately after it is completed(hand signaling can be completed immediately before the maneuver is performed). At the same time, the signal should not mislead other road users.

In the image above, two cars, blue and green, are turning. This should not leave you in doubt. The fact is that the signs only establish the priority of movement - they do not decide whether the main road turns - in general, we draw the main road in our minds - in fact, there are only priorities and nothing more.

In this case, a turn is made from the main road. But after the turn, for the driver of the blue car, this will not matter, because the priorities set road signs, they no longer act on him, because he passed.

So we turn onto another road and this is not the main turn. Yes, the direction plate can mislead you, because the main road clearly appears on it in a bold stripe. But these are two stripes with roundings, which indicate that when leaving the corresponding directions at the intersection, drivers have an advantage over those who leave from the directions marked schematically by thin lines.

From all this we conclude that at such an intersection it is necessary to turn on the direction indicators.

When is it necessary to turn on the turn signals on the main?

Based on the opposite, one can also easily conclude that there is no need to turn on the direction indicators if we do not make this turn. And you can see an example of this in the diagram below.

As you can see in the picture, the main road makes a long left turn (for the driver of the blue car). In fact, the driver drives straight along it, and on the right there is only an adjunction to this main road of another road. That is, we do not turn anywhere and move along the same road, passing such an intersection.

Should I give a turn signal when changing the direction of a main road?

I did not find an unequivocal answer to this question either in the Rules of the Road, or in the Commentaries to them, or in published judicial practice.

Meanwhile, the relevance of this issue is due, on the one hand, both to the number of intersections at which the main road changes direction, and to the enviable constancy with which some drivers show a turn signal when passing them, while the other does not.

Consider the situation on the example of a T-shaped intersection st. Rzhevskaya - st. Krasin in St. Petersburg.

On Rzhevskaya street and st. Krasin since September 2012, one-way traffic has been established.

When driving along st. Rzhevskaya in front of the intersection with the street. Krasin, a sign 2.1 "Main road" was installed with a sign 8.13 "Direction of the main road", according to which the direction of the main road at the intersection with st. Rzhevskoy turns left onto the street. Krasin.

The carriageway of both streets has a longitudinal marking dividing it into three traffic lanes.

The marking continues along the intersection, having corresponding roundings to the left.

The rules of the road contain several rules that can be applied when driving through such an intersection.

First of all, item 8.1. Rules of the road (SDA), which are guided by those drivers who show the turn signal.

According to paragraph 8.1. SDA "Before starting to move, changing lanes, turning (turning) and stopping, the driver must give signals with light indicators for the direction of the corresponding direction."

In accordance with clause 13.10. SDA "In the case when the main road changes direction at the intersection, drivers moving along the main road should be guided by the rules for passing the intersections of equivalent roads. The same rules should be followed by drivers moving along secondary roads."

Clause 8.5. The SDA prescribes that "Before turning right, left or making a U-turn, the driver must take the appropriate extreme position on the carriageway intended for movement in this direction, except when a turn is made at the entrance to an intersection where a roundabout is organized.

However, these traffic rules, as well as all the others, do not contain norms that would directly indicate whether the turn signal should be turned on when driving along the main road in the course of changing its direction.

That is why it becomes necessary to analyze the totality of the norms contained in the traffic rules in order to understand this issue.

To simplify the task, the question can be changed and formulated as follows: "Should one follow the requirements of clause 8.1 of the SDA when driving along the main road at the intersection, in front of which sign 2.1 is installed. road and after changing its direction?"

On the one hand, a driver moving along the main road, when it changes direction, makes an "actual turn" ( term proposed by me) by turning the steering wheel in the appropriate direction.

However, the roadway markings Rzhevskaya - st. Krasina allows you to make this turn without complying with the requirements established by clause 8.5 of the SDA (occupying an extremely left position on the roadway).

Therefore, traffic along Rzhevskaya street following the turn of the main road to the left onto st. Krasin, the traffic police does not consider it a "legal turn" ( term proposed by me).

Thus, I come to the conclusion that the driver, when driving along the main road at the intersection, continuing to follow it in the course of changing its direction, from the point of view of traffic rules, does not make a maneuver and therefore should not turn on the turn signal.

In my opinion, a similar situation arises when the only country road darts around the area. In this case, the rotation of the steering wheel due to a change in the direction of the only road also cannot be regarded as maneuvering and does not require the inclusion of a turn signal.

I also find a logical explanation for the above conclusion - a different interpretation of the traffic rules will lead to the fact that three lanes of the main road change its direction from the street. Rzhevskaya on the street. Krasin, by virtue of clause 8.5 of the SDA, will turn into one lane, which will inevitably lead to traffic jams.

And one more conclusion following from the previous one.

When driving along st. Rzhevskaya in the forward direction through the intersection with the street. Rzhevskoy in the direction of Kapsyulnoye Highway, a "legal turn" is made to the right, which entails the need for the driver to comply with the requirements of clause 8.5 of the SDA (early occupation of the extreme right lane) and clause 8.1 of the SDA, turning on the right turn signal, although in fact the driver will continue to move in a straight direction.

The above judgment is my personal opinion.

If you are interested in the topic raised, then you can state your opinion on the website of our bar association in the Forum section.