Brake lights and stopping at junctions

(and I looked it up for you, in GA, it is the law)

 

jumbo, you're the same guy who told me i had to go the speed of traffic in ma, not the speed limit.

 

Talking of indicators - this wasn't the OP's intention, but what it's transmogrified to ...
Here, the norm is for the vast majority of drivers to lunge into the next lane and indicate at exactly that same moment - or afterwards. The bigger the car being driven, the later the indicator.

I thought we were supposed to indicate for 3 or 5 seconds. I checked the law - it just says "Before you change lanes, you must indicate for long enough to give warning to other road users". Which, to my thinking, means putting your indicator BEFORE you start to move.

What had me confused was that the law does say you need to signal for 5 seconds BEFORE pulling out of a parking situation. Even if there are no cars or pedestrians around.

But then - the vast majority of drivers can't read. A simple "STOP" sign - the one around the corner from me they'll drive through at up to 25km/hr.

 

I can recall doing that one time: I needed to get into the left (fast) lane for a left turn not that far ahead. There was a good space to my left, with one car well back. I turned on my signal, letting it blink once or twice before commencing my lane change. The car at back of the space practically squatted, under hard acceleration, racing the to take up the space.

I just stayed the course, and they kept coming, finally laying on the brake just clear. It was some middle-aged woman, and she was just shaking her head with rage.

Strange world...

 

It seems that you are reading what you want into whatever law that you look at. I assume that you are referring to Georgia Vehicle Code Title 40, Chapter 6, Section 123, Part b, which as is the case with most vehicle codes is a general statement covering a wide range of situations, that does not go into details, and like all laws is subject to interpretation for specific situations:

“A signal of intention to turn right or left or change lanes when required shall be given continuously for a time sufficient to alert the driver of a vehicle proceeding from the rear in the same direction or a driver of a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction.”

I’m sure you are focused on “shall be given continuously” which taken out of context of the overall paragraph apparently makes you feel that you have an open and shut case, so no need to engage in a discussion about the safety benefits of having your blinker on while sitting stopped between other cars in a dedicated turn lane. Kind of sad really, as discussions like this can help us think about safety in ways that we maybe haven’t thought of. Tossing “the law says I am right” in people’s face doesn’t really advance that discussion.

Law enforcement officers I think are underappreciated in many ways, but one challenge that they face is interpreting and enforcing traffic laws. Most of them don’t just read the law with blinders on and write tickets to anyone who violates the most strict interpretations of the law. They know that laws exist to solve problems, and I think most police officers are trying to address the problems that the laws were written for. The main problem in this case being people in normal traffic lanes who make turns without signaling or who do not signal in a timely manner. And big problems with lane changes including the discussion that alanclarkeau and Mendel Leisk are having about much too brief signaling during lanes changes.

If there are problems caused by not signaling while in a dedicated turn lane, they would be minimal in comparison, nevertheless if there is a potential benefit to safety then it’s good practice to use turn signals even in dedicated lanes, whether you think you would get a ticket or not. But sitting between cars while stopped in a dedicated turn lane? Come on, do it if you want to but telling people that they are being unsafe without giving any reasons does not promote useful discussion.

 

Whoah! Come on you guys, getting into a tizzy on this topic, aren't we?

I would use blinkers when and where appropriate, but my car only has 4 sticks and 2 stone rollers. I stop the car with my bare feet.