Moving Off And Stopping

This time we're in the light blue car on a road with fairly fast moving traffic approaching from the rear. There's a junction on the left in front of us - we're stopped in a position well clear of the legal 10m clearance from the junction. Why might a signal be necessary?

Similar to many situations in urban driving our view of the junction is obstructed, it's often not possible to look well into the junction and we cannot know if there is another vehicle planning to emerge.

In this case the red car is slowly driving towards the junction to a point where he has a clear view so he can look for a suitable gap to move into - he will see us stopped at the side of the road (he might not notice there is someone in the car) and he could well identify the same gap that we are planning to use as being suitable for himself.

It's quite possible that the emerging red car will not be visible to us in the light blue car until he creeps right up to the give way lines - we've been busy with identifying the gap, checking blind spots and preparing the car for moving. It's quite possible that we wouldn't notice the red car until the last possible moment. Re-assessing the situation and deciding whether a signal would be necessary could mean the opportunity to move off will be lost.

I would normally signal in this situation in anticipation of a car preparing to emerge at the junction in front - the emerging car should notice our signal and realise our intention BUT TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED - the possibility of an emerging driver not making the proper checks or misjudging the gap should always be in our plans and we must be ready to react safely if they make a mistake.

Play it again? - Or move onto another situation where a signal would benefit others?