Indicating at a staggered junction

Not as a result of any particular hoohaa on the highway, I was wondering last night as I was out on the scooter…

if you have a crossroads, right of way goes across your path, and your route is across the stagger (about 15 yrds offset from centre line to centre line), is it better for all other road users for you to indicate right then immediately left, or to not indicate and expect other users to read your intention from your road position?

If you indicate right, and there is a car opposite looking to go either straight on, then you are preventing them from coming across the junction until you have quickly flicked your indicators left and cleared the road. So would not indicating make more sense?

There is a staggered junction such as the one you describe on my commute. The done thing if you’re going straight on (or have an Audi) is to not indicate and drive diagonally across the road, i.e. never quite making a complete right or left turn.

There aren’t rules it seems – its a judgement call and what you do might be influenced by how offset the junction is, but theres not a wrong way to do it (in terms of indicating – barrel-rolling your car though the junction in flames might be termed ‘wrong’).

I’d not indicate the 1st bit (your positioning will do it, esp on a scooter) and then indicate the next bit nice & early

On such a small stagger I wouldn’t indicate – especially if I were on a moped or similar as a road user behind you may pull up your left hand side intending to go straight on.

You’re not going right, so can’t indicate right, you’re not going left so can’t indicate left. That just leaves the straight ahead indicator (if you have one).

and of course that example has a left right stagger which is quite different to a right left stagger since we drive on the left hand side of the road.

I might have a go at not indicating for a while then.

I was going to say “it depends how offset it is” and attempt to explain, but the two diagrams on that link above sum up what I’d have done quite nicely. To wit:

No lighty:

Flashy flashy:

On two wheels, I’d probably want to throw in a Lifesaver before crossing the lines on that second one as well.

If you’re on a scooter, do what they all do….

Don’t stop, don’t indicate, weave about, drive on the wrong side of the road. Oh and you have to try and overtake everything, even if it is going faster than you..

If it was me, I’d use both indicators… AKA Hazards. 😯

I was going to type up exactly what Cougar pictures show.

I think if you have to fully pull into a lane before executing a following manoeuvre then you should indicate.

my junction is more like the bottom one (15yrs being c. 3x lane widths offset) but being right to left as opposed to left and right, when you go you go all the way across the two lanes and then on into the road on the other side in one movement so there’s never an occasion where you will be forced to stop mid manoeuvre and make a second signal.