Monday, November 1, 2010
Does failure to use directional signals indicate the fall of civilization?
I once was told by a Latin teacher that a sign of the imminent fall of Rome was the day Roman soldiers started packing mirrors along with their battle gear. That little vanity indicated that troops would find it just a little harder to concentrate on lopping somebody's head off in battle. And as the Roman army went, so went Rome. I think the rampant failure of drivers to use directional signals is one of those small things that shows our society is headed for a roadside ditch. It's the canary in the mineshaft of civility. The failure to signal not only shows that courtesy has broken down on our roads, but it also indicates we're willing to endanger ourselves by our rudeness. When you don't use directional signals, none of the surrounding vehicles know what the hell you're going to do - putting YOU in danger. There's only one thing worse than someone who doesn't use directional signals: someone who uses them at the last second to basically say "Get the hell out of my way!" as they cut you off.