According to a new European survey relayed by the VIAS Institute, more than 4 out of 10 Belgian drivers declare that they do not always put their turn signal when they turn. And when they are asked why they do not use it, almost half of them considers that it is useless in the situation in which they are.
Belgian drivers have an annoying tendency to “forget” their turn signal when they turn. A constitutive behavior of an offense, which can be dangerous and irritating for other users, recalls the Vias road safety institute on Thursday.
According to a survey by the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation conducted with a representative sample of drivers from 11 European countries, including Belgium, more than four in ten Belgian drivers (42 %) say they do not always put their turn signal when they turn.
When they are asked why they do not use it, almost one in two drivers (47 %) responds to find this unnecessary rule in the situation in which it is. The other explanations invoked are the fact that the driver is experienced and thinks does not put anyone in danger (22 %), the fact that the driver says that the others will see that he is turning (20 %) and the fact that the driver does not think of risking sanction (15 %). It is in Belgium that the percentage of drivers who evoke the lack of sanction is the most important, underlines Vias. The European average is 12 %.
In general, when they are asked of drivers why they respect the highway code, more than one in five Belgian (21 %) responds “to avoid a fine”. There too, it is the highest percentage of the 11 participating European countries.
1st degree offense
The VIAS Institute recalls that the fact of not putting its turn signal is a 1st degree offense (fine of 68 euros), and that the indicator is, with the horn, the only way available to drivers to allow them to communicate with each other and announce their intentions.
“The use of the indicator is therefore required for any side trip. It must be activated even if no other user is located nearby and can be embarrassed by the maneuver, “insists still Vias, believing that” this must simply become a reflex “.
And as an informed driver is worth two, Vias still recalls that the flashingman does not automatically give priority on the road. “A lot of drivers imagine themselves that flashing makes them in a way priority and allows them, for example, to fit into the first band of a highway by forcing the passage. It is obviously nothing! In accordance with article 12.4 of the Highway Code, the driver who is about to execute a maneuver must yield the passage to other users, ”it is said.
