Lane change indicator option

[WEDEL.1]

I don't know why you would want to switck it off, I think it works great!

Maris

[gregozedobe]

I disabled this feature not long after getting my car. I hate it. I found it dangerous as im not in control 100% of when the indicators were on or off. And the cancellation procedure is not intuitive at all. I dont need to be distracted from driving by such silly things. If i want my indicator to flash ill turn it on. If it want it to stop. Ill turn it off.

I'm with Tim on this one (but I will admit I'm a control freak) I'm perfectly capable of holding the blinker stalk for however many blinks I want when doing a lane change (or saying thanks to a considerate truckie).

It is good we get the option to turn it on or off, so that way we can all be happy.

If you want to discuss compromising safety, we could discuss another standard European feature which for some reason has migrated to right hand drive cars in this country - the fact the indicator stalk is on the left hand side. Why? Most cars in this country have it on the right. It's not so bad if you're driving an automatic, but I can imagine it might present some problems for drivers in manual cars.

I wonder how many of us here have at some stage or another indicated with our wipers when changing lanes?

After 39 years of driving cars with the indicator stalk on the right I struggled with getting used to it being on the left, particularly when I was swapping between cars that had it on different sides. That's when the 3 blink lane change "feature" really annoyed me (when what I really wanted was one wipe of the wiper blades).

I also find the left blinker a nuisance when I want to change gears and do some indicating at the same time.

And giving the windscreen a wash doesn't help the poor sod coming the other way from being blinded, when what you are trying to do is go from hi beam to lo beam. Some day someone will get killed because of this.

Personally I think the Oz govt should have insisted on all cars having standardised controls. It is no coincidence that we can no longer buy cars that have the accelerator in the middle and the brake pedal on the right.

It is just laziness and cost cutting that euro manufacturers didn't swap the steering column controls over for RHD cars. I don't buy the line that "you get used to it", what about people who are driving a euro car for the first time, and the natural instinct when under stress is to to go back to the way you first learnt to do something (I still do it occassionally, and I haven't had a car with the blinker stalk on the right for over 6 months now).

/rant

[benough]

Personally I think the Oz govt should have insisted on all cars having standardised controls. It is no coincidence that we can no longer buy cars that have the accelerator in the middle and the brake pedal on the right.

Um when could you buy cars with the Accelarator in the middle?

NEVER heard of it.

[FJ Steve]

I'm with Tinto....makes lane changing quicker!!!

I like the 3 flashes.

[CatonaPC©]

The 3 flashes in my view are not enough for lane changing. I don't know about other states, but in Victoria, I am fairly certain you are required to indicate before you change lanes and continue to indicate until you've completed the manoeuvre. And 3 flashes are about - what?- 3 seconds?

A lane change within 3 seconds? Pretty quick in my view.

[blutopless2]

one disappointment with them?.. you cant change the number of flashes. 3 flashes is too quick for a lane change.

[Greg Roles]

I do agree at first they are annoying, and I was setting off all manner of blinkers accidently for the first few weeks, I'm sure I made some "friends" in the traffic.

Now that I'm used to it I use the feature all the time, and I've never had anyone in traffic get upset that three blinks is too little, but then I don't fart about when going for a lane change. You guys whining about three being too little, how about simply pulling the stalk all the way down and blinking to your hearts content? Pretty simple really!

I do agree with Gregoz in that it's ludicrous euro manufacturers can build an entire dash, steering rack and foot control setup in reverse, but the indicator switches are "too hard".

I agree it should be a part of the Australian ADR requirements, as anyone in a euro car has flashed their wipers or changed lanes with them at some stage, and this isn't ideal.

[gregozedobe]

Um when could you buy cars with the Accelarator in the middle?

NEVER heard of it.

In that case, you've probably never driven a car with a driver-operated advance/retard mechanism for the ignition either.

In the early days of motoring there were lots of different ways of arranging controls. After a while (and many accidents), most manufacturers decided it was a good idea to standardise the function of the foot controls.

IIRC the Model T ford uses the left pedal to change gears and/or select forward/reverse (or something like that).

I've read numerous articles in magazines on old/classic cars about a journalist being very concerned about driving some old racing car that is worth mega-millions, because it has a middle accelerator pedal or some other oddity in the controls. So the journalist was very worried about getting the controls mixed up and pranging this irreplaceable (and very expensive) relic of days gone by.

You can imagine the panic if you are about to run into something and when you press hard on the "brake" your car accelerates instead. Even now (after 70 odd years of standardised foot controls) some people still manage to get confused. Think of all the pics you've seen where a car in a car park has mounted another car or a concrete barrier, the driver almost certainly pressed hard on the accelerator pedal when they wanted to brake.

Even now some normal RHD cars that have been modified for racing move the gearchange to the driver's right, because that is what many racing car drivers (from LHD countries) are used to (but it would sure confuse the hell out of me).

[CatonaPC©]

You guys whining about three being too little, how about simply pulling the stalk all the way down and blinking to your hearts content? Pretty simple really!

Yes, I agree. That's fine. But, the issue is that just accidentally touching the stalk can set off the 3 flashes. Or maybe even whilst setting your cruise control. It is too sensitive.

Perhaps it should only come on when one presses down/up to the detente and then release before it comes on, but it is not the case. The indicators flash well before reaching the detente. (At least in my car)

[blutopless2]

but then I don't fart about when going for a lane change.

you musn't... i just dont change lanes as fast as the 3 blinks!.

You guys whining about three being too little, how about simply pulling the stalk all the way down and blinking to your hearts content? Pretty simple really!

but then i miss out on using the technology that i've paid for... where's the fun in that?

[bazzle]

you musn't... i just dont change lanes as fast as the 3 blinks!.

You only need to indicate your intention.

Bazzle

[BarneyBoy]

I do agree with Gregoz in that it's ludicrous euro manufacturers can build an entire dash, steering rack and foot control setup in reverse, but the indicator switches are "too hard".

I agree it should be a part of the Australian ADR requirements, as anyone in a euro car has flashed their wipers or changed lanes with them at some stage, and this isn't ideal.

Couldn't agree more.

The Japanese can do it with their LHD cars - why can't the Euros manage it?
The answer is that our ADRs have let us down by not insisting on it.
I agree with gregozedobe that someone will (or has been?) killed because of this. Jumping from our VW into our Honda and back again is not an easy, natural thing to do.

Still, it's not the only ADR that's a joke - look at intrusion bars and then the bumper height of the huge number of 4WDs that occupy our roads.

Attached is a random LHD Toyota - note the indicators/lights on the left.

[Big Yellow]

Couldn't agree more.

The Japanese can do it with their LHD cars - why can't the Euros manage it?
The answer is that our ADRs have let us down by not insisting on it.
I agree with gregozedobe that someone will (or has been?) killed because of this. Jumping from our VW into our Honda and back again is not an easy, natural thing to do.

Still, it's not the only ADR that's a joke - look at intrusion bars and then the bumper height of the huge number of 4WDs that occupy our roads.

Attached is a random LHD Toyota - note the indicators/lights on the left.

that steering wheel looks quite decent and chunky! hahaha

[CatonaPC©]

I think we'll leave it that.