When things take a turn for the worse

October 07, 2015 03:53 pm | Updated 03:53 pm IST - Chennai

A semaphore indicator in one of the vintage cars owned by C.S. Ananth Photo: Special Arrangement

A semaphore indicator in one of the vintage cars owned by C.S. Ananth Photo: Special Arrangement

Motorists sharing a road can be viewed as a collective body. They are bound by common rules. They have to engage with each other in a spirit of cooperation. On a shared road, there is no room for ‘secret moves’. Every move has to be conveyed to the others, in advance. Why then are some of us negligent about using the indicators? While changing lanes or taking a turn, these motorists take others by surprise, having failed to engage the indicator. It’s not always an error of omission. Errors are often committed. One, the indicator is turned on too late. Two, the left indictor is flicked on, when the right one should be; or, it’s the other way round. Three, with the indicator blinking one way or the other, the motorist drives straight on.

Ham-handedness with turn signals is sometimes a topic for jokes. Most of the time, it remains a serious problem, if one went by studies — the most notable being a 2012 study by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the United States — that have sought to show how much signalling errors contribute to accidents. Given this, the signage ‘A/C No Hand Signal’, painted on cabs, should give us a sense of reassurance. If not for anything else, just for the fact that it seems to acknowledge the importance of turn signals.

Not everyone views this signage in this light, though. It often invites bemusement, and sometimes, open derision. C.S. Ananth, restorer and collector of vintage cars and a man clued into the evolution of indicators, calls this signage a symbol of our inability to jettison from our lives, useless carryovers from the past.

“Does anyone look for hand signals from drivers of four-wheelers anymore? Hand signals are limited. They are lost on young motorists. Hand signals were used to indicate left and right turns, before the arrival of semaphore signals and the modern blinking indicators. A driver of a four-wheeler with a right-hand drive will put out his right hand, the index finger sticking out, to indicate a right turn. For a left turn, he would put out his right hand and do anti-clockwise twirls with his index finger. How many motorists today look for these signs?” asks Ananth. He explains further that when semaphore signals came into existence, motorists stopped signalling by hand. Semaphore signals, which were operated mechanically, would jut out of the central pillars in a car, to indicate either a left or a right turn. In some cases, especially where tourers are involved, these signals jut out of the body. These signals emitted a glow. However, during times of foggy weather, motorists signalled by hand too, as the semaphore signals and their glow were not visible enough.

Now, modern indicators are powerful enough to almost entirely obviate the need for hand signalling in most situations, explains Ananth. The challenge lies entirely in getting motorists to use these indicators always and effectively. Says Ananth, “Are there cases of motorists being booked for failure to use indicators or for using them in a way that confuses other motorists? I believe there aren’t many of them.”

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