Blinkage
 

Driving question:

Do you use your blinkers to request that someone lets you in to the next lane or do you use it during your merge to tell that person you're coming watch out...?

Confusion today:

I'm driving in to work. There's a gap in front of me. The car next to me is hanging out in their lane and I'm thinking he is fine and well in that lane. When I drive past him, he honks at me. Apparently, he wanted in. But no blinker. When the gap opened again, the guy turned on the blinker as he got into my lane.

Just now. At lunch:

A car next to me needs in. He turns his blinker on, I slow a little to let him in. He enters my lane. Waves. All is well.

So is a blinker used as a request or just an alert to everyone that you're changing lanes - look out here I come?

I've seen it both ways.

A blinker is not a request, it's an announcement.

According to the California driver handbook,

No mention of signals. But if you consider changing lanes a turn, here's the law:
Which would be both a request and an alert, making this bumper sticker unnecessary:

What and give away my intentions? Blinkers are for suckers.

So, by what magic did that driver expect GC to know his intentions? While, considering the number of times I've had my otherwise open lane blocked by a driver who sees my signal, I understand not wanting to use one, if you make that decision you should not expect other drivers to let you in. I'm pretty sure I didn't have to take an ESP exam to get my license.

I use blinkers unless there is nobody else on the road, but, force of habit, I typically use them regardless. It's rude of people to speed up to block you if you are signaling and faulting you for not being able to read their minds. It's always all about me, ya know?

for me its second nature. I signal in parking lots even if Im the only one there and even in the slow down lane at the drags. just force of habit. the truck I drive doesnt leave a lot of room for error, so you sort of have to be extra careful.

and yes, I use it constantly for "yo...mind if I take cuts?"
it results in either the person waving me in or slowing enough to let me know its cool or they speed past, hopefully making a gap large enough for me to jet into.

the "look out here I come" guys are the ones constantly getting hit and blaming someone else for not being a mind reader

IMHO

If there's no one around, I usually don't use my blinkers. But I guess you're supposed to.
Unless you're in Boston and then everything's up in the air.

No mention of signals, mousepod?

Up here, you don't dare signal before the car is actually in motion. You signal as you move, and only in an attempt to satisfy legal requirements. If you signal so as to indication an intention, everyone will bunch up so as to prevent you from changing lanes. After all, if you wanted to be in a different lane, you should have started out in that lane.