Turn Signals

So I posed the question, do you need to use your turn signal in a left turn only lane? As I stated, it's obvious and redundant. I had to know what the law was on it so I looked up the California Vehicle Code on the subject.

Division 11 Section 22107. No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after the giving of an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.

Wow, there it is! You must signal 'in the event any other vehicle may be affected'. So even under the law you don't have to signal because no one should be affected by your left turn.

I once got a warning because I did not signal a turn coming out of our housing area. There is a light there and only one lane and a parking lot on the opposite site. I wish I had known this law because I would have told the officer that I didn't need to signal. If there is only one lane and no oncoming traffic, how could my turning left (or right) possibly have any affect on any other vehicle on the face of the planet?

What's nice about this particular wording of the law is that it should place the burden of proof on the citing officer to show that your movement did affect another vehicle. Now Webster's dicitonary defines affect as

to produce an effect upon; especially : to produce a material influence upon or alteration in .

In driving terms affect would mean that another vehicle would need to change speed or direction because of the movement you made. With that in mind, it is actually rare that you would actually be required to signal.