In the grand, dust-choked avenues of Rome and the bustling, labyrinthine streets of Babylon, a silent menace lurked among the wheels of commerce and conquest: chariot drivers who stubbornly refused to use turn indicators.
While modern-day drivers rely on the blink of a light to signal their intentions, their ancient counterparts had no such luxury—or common courtesy. The absence of hand signals or horn blasts resulted in chaotic intersections, with unsuspecting pedestrians and rival charioteers left to decipher sudden left turns, erratic lane changes, or unexpected halts. Some unfortunate bystanders were left clutching their amphorae in horror as a chariot came barreling towards them, its driver blissfully unaware of the impending disaster.
Ancient texts make no mention of a standardized signaling system, leaving historians to wonder if chariot drivers relied solely on aggressive shouting, whip-cracks, or divine intervention. Some believe that a particularly dramatic flourish of the reins was an informal way to indicate a turn, but given the general temperament of the time, it was just as likely an indication that the driver was about to challenge someone to a duel. The resulting traffic pile-ups in places like the Circus Maximus surely led to widespread frustration, yet no effort was made to enforce an indicator mandate—possibly because no one wanted to be the poor soul tasked with telling an irate gladiator to follow the rules.
The Hittites, often credited with being among the earliest charioteers, were notorious for their reckless driving. Records from the period suggest that they treated roads as personal race tracks, cutting off fellow warriors and veering into lanes without so much as a backward glance. Egyptian chariot drivers, on the other hand, might have been slightly more refined, but they were just as guilty of unexpected stops—often to admire their own reflections in the polished bronze of their chariot’s side panels.
It appears that the Romans, Egyptians, and Hittites shared a common trait with today’s most reckless drivers: an unwavering belief that everyone else should simply watch out for them. Had they adopted some form of turn signaling, perhaps history would have seen fewer legendary pile-ups, and more importantly, fewer poor souls trampled under the wheels of oblivious charioteers. Alas, much like today, common sense on the roads was in short supply, leaving hapless pedestrians and fellow charioteers to fend for themselves in the never-ending war zone that was ancient traffic.