'I'm a driving instructor - people make indicator blunder with without knowing it'

A driving instructor has sparked online debate after pointing out how a great many Brit motorists are using their car's indicators in the wrong situations.

The expert TikToker, who goes by the handle by @theorytestpractice, opened up about how some road users signal unnecessarily, while others fail to indicate when they should, saying: "Why do people do this? Why do they indicate when they shouldn't indicate? And then they don't indicate when they should indicate."

"People indicate to go past parked cars. You don't need to. You're just changing the route of the road. You're not turning left or turning right. On the whole, you don't need to indicate to go past parked cars. In fact it can be a misleading signal."

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They added that poor signalling habits are particularly noticeable on roundabouts and motorways: "People don't indicate to change lanes on the motorway when it would actually help. They don't indicate to enter or exit a roundabout when they should be. People don't indicate when they should, and they do indicate when they shouldn't. And they insist that they're doing the right thing."

According to the instructor, signalling to go past a parked car can suggest to another driver or pedestrian that you are turning into a side road or driveway, which could lead to a misunderstanding. Instead, the key is to know when a signal is actually useful to other road users.

She said: "So don't indicate to go past parked cars. It looks like you're turning into a new road or you're turning into a driveway. You don't need to, on the whole. You do indicate when you're approaching a roundabout if you're going left or you're going right — not if you're going straight ahead, of course, and you do indicate to exit a roundabout as well. You should indicate if there's people around to change lanes, so that they know what you're doing."

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The clip has drawn plenty of reaction from viewers, many of whom admitted they had been instructed differently. One commenter said: "Very interesting I was taught to indicate if going passed parked cars."

Another shared: "The most annoying one — and increasingly common — is indicating right when going straight on at a roundabout."

However, a third argued that sometimes extra signals are in fact necessary: "If you need to cross a white line in order to overtake a parked car then you need to indicate. How may single lanes are 2 car widths wide??? There's no problem to be solved here."

With thousands of learners using TikTok as a quick-fire source for driving tips, following these simple steps can help you avoid falling foul of this teacher's top indicator inconsistencies.

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