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The story
A thread on 5ch went viral over an image posing a simple question: at a merge point with a stop sign, should you signal right or left? Legally, this spot counts as an intersection, so the textbook answer is a left signal — but plenty of drivers insist on the right signal because it’s easier for cars on the main road and oncoming traffic to see. Opinions poured in from people drawing on real-world driving experience. The debate never quite converged, partly because people couldn’t agree on a more basic question: who is the turn signal actually for?
What people said
and then I want you to come buy the other 2 apples with me.
The left signal is meant to notify the car behind you, but since there's no option here except turning left, it's not necessary.
Signaling left is pointless since the people on the main road can't see it anyway.
What's even the point of a signal then?
If I saw a right signal from the main road's perspective, I'd panic thinking they were driving the wrong way.
There's no point showing it to the main road.
By that logic you'd have to signal right for an ordinary left turn at a normal right-angle intersection too.
Do you signal left when merging onto a highway?
Wait, a stop sign on the highway? Seriously?
If there's a stop sign, it counts as an intersection — that's different from merging onto a highway or bypass.
What do you mean there's no option but a left turn? They might turn right.
Can't you see the arrow?
Do you really think that arrow in the image is something every driver actually sees on the road?
I don't think real roads have arrows like that, though.
Who's that left signal even for?
If it's one lane each way, it's for the oncoming traffic.
If there's an acceleration/auxiliary lane like in Re: #77, use the right signal.
can you please stop driving like you expect someone to bail you out just because you flicked a signal???
Do those people seriously think that if they signal and just barge in, everyone will magically get out of the way?
That completely defeats the entire purpose of signaling.
"Stop driving expecting others to sort it out" is a fair point, but on public roads I think you're better off driving as if unpredictable stuff can always happen.
In this exact situation, which way you signal (or whether you signal at all) probably won't change much — it's more about that general mindset.
I'd figure they're basically doing a U-turn to the right.
If they're not swinging wide, I'd guess they're just going left.
So who's it for, then?
The car behind you, and oncoming traffic.
What exactly counts as an "auxiliary lane" here anyway?
If there's a stop sign, it's not an auxiliary lane.
Mindset for what?
Like "I'll just floor it and ram into you anytime" 💪 — that kind of thing?
It's not about "I'm going to cut in dangerously" — it's that even if you're in control, other people out there aren't necessarily being careful at all.
It's like driving at a speed where you could handle a kid suddenly darting out in a residential area.
Sure, worrying about a worst case on a road shaped like this is extreme, but what if some car slips past your visual and mirror checks and comes flying in at crazy speed?
Yeah, that's what you actually see more often on the road too.
This is just a pointless argument for the sake of arguing.
Exactly, that's why you signal right.
At this angle, drivers on the main road can't see a left signal anyway.
No, the car behind can see it just fine.
Background and key points of this debate
When a merge point has a stop sign, Japanese traffic law treats that spot as an “intersection,” meaning it’s handled the same as an ordinary left turn rather than a lane change onto a main road. That’s why driving schools teach the left signal as the default rule. In real-world driving, though, plenty of drivers use the right signal instead, since it’s easier for oncoming and following traffic to notice — and this gap between “legal principle” and “on-the-road habit” became the central fault line of the thread. The discussion was muddied further by a disagreement over an even more basic premise: who is a turn signal actually meant for? Those who see it as a message to the car behind them reached different conclusions than those who see it as a message to cars on the main road — an easy-to-miss detail buried in the arguing. Worth noting too: the “correct” answer can shift depending on whether an auxiliary lane exists and the exact shape of the intersection, so this isn’t really something that can be settled with one blanket “right or left” rule.
※This article is an excerpt/summary based on the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Image] A question only people with a driver’s license can answer wwwwwwwww.”
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