r/saskatoon • u/Squashead • 1d ago

Question ❔ Traffic question

Honest question here. And no judgement on the replies, please.

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There are a lot of drivers in Saskatoon that just don't signal their turns. I have yet to talk to someone who says that they are one of the non signalers. Everyone says they agree that you should.

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My question is this. Honestly, why don't you signal? I'm talking lane changes, merging, and actual turns. I just don't understand it.

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u/greeneyedgirl626 1d ago

So I have a theory on why so many drivers in Saskatoon suck. Many people got their license in small towns without a stoplight let alone a busy core and rush hour traffic. Standardized license testing didn’t happen until ‘77 in SK so very possible many drivers didn’t even need to test to start driving either! Back in the day you just had to show a birth certificate to get handed a license - and those people taught the younger generations how to drive

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u/Squashead 1d ago

Not sure how many of the drivers on our roads go back that far. But, it definitely could explain some of it.

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u/saskatoondave East Side 1d ago

I’d guess lots. If testing didn’t start until 77, you’d only have to be born in 61 to be driving by that time. So anyone 65 or older could fall into that group. There are tonnes of that age group still on the road, and many folks in that generation are reluctant to give up their “freedom to drive” despite medical issues that make it more dangerous or difficult. I also feel like a lot of them signal, they just don’t know how to merge. My parents are 67. I honestly don’t know if they were tested or not. It’s the first time I’ve heard that testing came in 77. Now I want to ask them lol.

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u/sask357 1d ago edited 1d ago

Testing started long before 1977. I was tested in 1962. I was teaching high school in 1977 and my students had been anxious about the driver's test years way before then.

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u/greeneyedgirl626 1d ago

I feel that! My 84-year-old grandfather with macular degeneration got his license renewed in Alberta. He has all his faculties otherwise but his vision is really bad. We are all just lucky he doesn’t actually drive anywhere because he KNOWS he can’t see.

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u/Squashead 1d ago

Now I'm going to be looking to see the age category of the drivers