Funny gendarme post warns of ‘disappearing indicators’

A Facebook post entitled “Worrying Disappearance / Call For Witnesses” this week warned of the “mass increase in the disappearance of indicator lights”, and asked “where could they have got to?”.

The post, on the Gendarmerie des Pyrénées-Orientales page, continued to explain the principle of indication in a tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic tone.

It said: “We’re revealing important information today. Under each steering wheel, on your left, whatever the model or year of your vehicle, there is a small lever. Simply turn it up or down to activate the turn signal. In this way, other users will know which direction you’re going!"

The gendarmerie took a more serious tone for the last part of the post, reminding drivers that failure to indicate when changing direction can be punished by a fine of €22 and the docking of three points from your licence.

The post has clearly hit a nerve; at the time of writing, it had attracted over 340 Likes, 108 comments, and almost 850 shares.

Some users remarked on the apparent problem of non-indication in the Pyrénées-Orientales in particular, with one writing: “I was surprised when I moved to this region. Indicators must be optional.”

One user joined in with the fun, writing: “In my car there is this option, but when I went to turn it on, the light didn’t work properly. It just kept flashing on and off, so I stopped using it!”

Another wrote: “I agree with this post. I am a taxi driver and a motorbike rider, and I am terrified 8,354 times a day!”

One user even warned that failing to indicate can cause fatal accidents for motorbikes and push bikes.

Another writer said it was not just a problem in the Pyrénées-Orientales. She wrote: “Please could you spread this call for witnesses to other departments that are also affected by this terrible disappearance? Thank you for this; great reminder full of humour!”