Alternatives to the blinker lever
07/09/2024
For many decades, the operation of the turn signal has actually been fairly standardized. In a left-hand drive car, there is usually a lever on the left-hand side of the steering column, which you push up to activate the right-hand blinker and down to activate the left-hand blinker. In most cases, the blinker also switches itself off automatically when cornering is complete.
Most cars followed this logic as early as the 1950s; before that, rotary switches were also relatively common. In the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz found that a rotating horn ring would also be quite practical for activating the blinker. This was abandoned again.
However, when Seat launched the Ibiza in the 1980s, the Spaniards probably thought that the practical lever on the left of the steering wheel was not the best solution. Instead of the almost standardized lever, the driver was provided with a rocker switch (see picture above). In principle, this works quite well, but the grip on the switch is less precise if you don't have your left hand in the quarter-to-nine position. In any case, Seat moved away from this control again.
Of course, Seat was not the only company to come up with the idea of innovating the blinker control ...
