Imagine having the ability to read minds; think of the power, the influence that would give you. It would allow you to find out exactly what your partner wanted for Christmas and just what the repair bill for the washing machine should cost. And, for example, whether or not someone was about to swerve in front of you.

Yes, the humble indicator is what I’m talking about. Not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with them, of course, but pretty much everything on the planet is only any good when it’s being used.

And that’s where the issue lies. All cars have them, in theory we all know how to use them, but unfortunately, bad indication or a complete absence of it is a scourge of modern motoring.

Can you remember when you were learning to drive? If the answer is yes, try and remember what the three-word mantra was that your instructor taught you to apply when approaching junctions. Can you recall it? Of course you can – it was mirror, signal, manoeuvre.

And now you need to ask yourself another question. Honestly, how often do you apply this now that you’ve got a few years motoring under your belt?

Drivers not using their mirrors is a whole other issue altogether, but once you miss out ‘mirror’ and don’t bother with ‘signal’ then you just end up with lots of people manoeuvring about the place – which sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me.

Roundabouts are a real hot spot for this kind of behaviour. If you remember your Highway Code (bonus points if you can remember what one looks like) then you’ll know that it’s dead easy; if you’re turning left then you signal left. If you’re going straight on, you signal left when you pass the exit before you want to take. And if you’re going right, signal right until you’ve passed the exit before you want to take and then signal left.

But never mind all that; let’s play roundabout bingo instead. Award yourself five points if you’ve witnessed any of the following: car not signalling left on exit; car signalling right even when taking an exit; car not signalling at all; car signalling left all the way around.

At best, it’s discourteous, and at worse it’s downright dangerous. How many times have you been waiting to turn right out of a T-junction, seen an oncoming car signalling left but been unsure of whether or not to pull out? That’s right, plenty. And that’s because the general standard is so poor that we don’t trust the signals we see.

We’re all just trying to get somewhere, and while it might be asking a bit much to help each other on our way, I’d hope it’s not too much to ask that we might at least reduce the amount we hinder the progress of others. In the meantime, I’ll just carry on trying to signal properly as often as possible, and at the same time repair the reputation of BMW drivers…