GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – While most laws on Wisconsin roads are fairly common sense, people still tend to forget about the basics from time to time.
You probably shouldn’t have to be in Driver’s Ed to know that using a blinker is a practical and courteous practice on the road.
“If you use the blinkers so that everybody around you can see what your intention is long before you’re coming up to that intersection, then they can plan just the same way you are, to make that corner,” said Wisconsin State Patrol Sergeant Andrew Jacobs. “If you’re gonna make that left hand turn, make sure your in the far left lane. If you’re going right and making a right hand turn, make sure you’re as far as you can to the right.”
If you’re making a turn where there are multiple lanes to turn from, the State Patrol also reminds drivers to stay in one lane. There might be multiple cars turning, so staying in your lane could avoid cutting off the car next to you.
If you’re driving on a stretch of road with a shared turning lane in the middle, it’s important to be patient – and to use a blinker.
“Wait until you’re going to be making that turn. You can always use your blinker so that the people know behind you know that you’re going to be moving into that center lane, and traffic coming at you can also see that you’re intending to turn,” Jacobs said. “Scanning not just ahead of your hood, but farther ahead. Watching the car ahead of you and what they’re doing, and even the cars ahead of that car, you’ve got to be constantly scanning ahead so that you can plan what you’re doing and prepare for what the other cars might be doing ahead of you.”
Four-way stops often pose the most dangerous situations, especially if someone blows through a stop sign or stop light, as collisions will typically involve the driver or passenger side door, which can cause serious injury crashes. Jacobs says roundabouts can be a bit safer in avoiding the T-bone types of collisions, but don’t completely eliminate risks.
But driving recklessly on the interstate can also pose major risks.
“Usually your best bet is to not risk moving over without checking those blind spots and mirrors before you move to a different lane…If you’re in the wrong lane, the worst thing that you can do is fly across the lanes at the last second because often, you’re not checking your blind spot. That’s how we get some of the collisions next to those off-ramps,” Jacobs told WTAQ News. “This is a common mistake, especially in brown county on the interstate, because we have so many lanes and there’s so many different exits that are coming up…Just be patient and go to the next off-ramp. Usually the exit ramps are pretty close to each other, so even if you miss the intended exit, the next exit is going to be fairly close to where you’re going.”
For more information about rules of the road and State Patrol laws of the month, head to the Wisconsin DOT website.
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