My '50 doesn't have turn signals and since I'm in the middle of rewiring it I thought about adding them. When were they required by law from the manufactor to have them? I'm 52 and have had lots of 40s-early 50s pickups without them over the years, my Dad says it was around 1953 that they put 'em on everything. I don't why I'd add 'em, I guess so I can be like all the new shitboxes that have 'em and never use 'em!!
I don't know about the laws, but on chevys, turn signals were still optional on the 150 series cars in 55, and on trucks in the very early 60s. My guess is they probably were required as standard equipment by the feds by 1966, same as seat belts and back up lights. you can legally still use hand signals in AZ.
Turn signals were required by the Feds mid-sixties as were many things we now take for granted, such as standardised controls on cars and bikes. However, laws for usage depend on the individual state. Here in Illinois, if your car is licenced as a daily, you must have them AND use them. If your car is licenced as antique, you may use hand signals (as if anyone knows what the hell you are doing), but you may not use the car except to and from shows and service, definitely NOT for work or pleasure drives. For those who would use hand signals: when you are hit by some teenie on a cellie, paying naught attention to driving, what will be YOUR reason for not using turn signals?? This WILL be brought up during a trial, ask me how I know...and I was using them, just that they were not as modern cars so that was brought up as a reason for the accident. Car was totalled... Cosmo
January 1, 1956, turn signals became mandatory in all new cars in Ontario, Canada. This meant the factory would have to install them.
If you are going to drive in traffic, do yourself a favor and add turn signals. Especially rear turn signals. Around here, if a cop sees you have licence plates and turn signals they seem to pretty much leave you alone.
I have none on my 49 Merc.. I was stopped some years ago turning to SIR, driving a 56 Merc, figgered it was that I didn't signal. I unscrewed the turn signal lever before the cop walked up. I told him the car didn't have them, he in turn told me of May 1953 all cars had them, and pointed to the hole in the column.....Busted again!!!..............OLDBEET
The exact date of signal light requirements is pretty blured. Even though Federal governments (both in US and Canada) started "insisting" on them as a REQUIREMENT; both State and Provincial Laws "trumped" the Federal laws. The state and provincial law makers had to ammend their Traffic Violation laws to make "NO SIGNALS" an offence. Then they had to grant what is refered to as The "GRANDFATHER" clause to allow those vehicles sold before the date (that they became a requirement) to be operated without signal lights. It became a big business "retro-fitting" non-equipped vehicles WITH signal lights. And it was an even bigger business in parts of the country that had really cold winters; mainly because people hated rolling down the drivers window to make hand signals. Depending on the date of the "Grandfather Clause" in your state or province; would/will dictate at what point your vehicle MUST HAVE; or DOESN'T NEED signal lights. As far as hand signals go now days; raising your arm and hand to indicate a right turn; probably 90% of those driving by you in the opposite direction, will give you A BIG FRIENDLY WAVE!!
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