When “The Avengers” comes out this weekend, I imagine it will start something like this:
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Fade in from black. Bruce Banner is driving down the road to Carter of Manchester to buy a Camaro…a little celebration for saving the world once again.
Out of nowhere, a 97-year-old man cuts him off without a turn signal, causing Banner to slam on his brakes and get rear ended.
HULK GET ANGRY.
Bruce Banner turns into a big green monster powerlifter….just in time to join Thor, Iron Man, and a bunch of other A-listers to save the world from lousy drivers.
Fade to black while action hero music plays over scrolling credits.
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If I had a quarter for every time someone cut me off without a blinker, I’d have retired by now. Now in fairness, if I had to pay a quarter for every time I then proceeded to “accidentally” cut Mr. Jersey Shore off in retaliation for his failure to abide by the laws of the road, it’d be a wash. *Fist pump*
Apparently, I’m not alone.
NBC News has released a study showing that as many as 2 million accidents are caused each year by drivers not using their turning signals the right way. According to the study, conducted by The Society of Automotive Engineers, drivers either don’t use signals when changing lanes or forget to shut off their blinkers 48% of the time. They don’t use signals when making a turn about 25% of the time. The society says that translates to drivers not using signals 2 billion times a day….or 750 billion times a year.
Connecticut cracked down on “distracted driving” a few years back, implementing a law that technically prevents you from texting, talking on your cell phone (without a hands free device), drinking coffee, applying lipstick, reading the newspaper, smacking your husband on the back of the heads (props, Gov’na), and a whole bunch of other things we really shouldn’t do while behind the wheel. But get this? Distracted driving only causes some 950,000 accidents each year. That’s less than half the number of accidents caused by this turn signal problem.
NBC then explores technology like a “Smart Turn Signal.” They suggest that a system like this would automatically shut off a turn signal after the car finishes changing lanes or would flash a “friendly reminder” to drivers who routinely ignore their turn signals.
Oh, good. Let’s dump millions of dollars into technology that enables people to be lazy (correction: “motivationally deficient” for those of you politically correct people).
NBC News concludes the article with a poll: “What’s Your Biggest Driving Pet Peeve?” The options:
-Drivers who don’t use turn signals.
-Drivers who forget to turn off turn signals.
-Slow drivers in the left lane.
-Fast drivers who tailgate.
-Other
The winner of the poll? Slow drivers in the left lane.
The moral of the story? As long as grandpa gets the heck out of our way so we can do 90 in the fast lane, Americans could care less if he uses his blinker.
Kyle is the Director of Marketing for Carter of Manchester.
