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On the journey from my home to Wellington city I pass through a stop sign at one particular intersection (Exiting Takapu Road, heading South onto the motorway). At this intersection, often cars approach at speed from the right, exiting the motorway, with their left blinkers going. The expectation is that they are turning into Takapu Road, but many do not. They go straight ahead across in front of me with their left turn blinker still flashing. I assume this is generally because they have earlier signaled their exit from the motorway and have not cancelled their blinkers. After a few close calls, my experience has lead me to distrust any indication by any vehicles coming from my right at this intersection, however people who are not familiar with this unusual situation are likely to believe the approaching vehicle’s indication and act as if the intersection is free for their use. The question in my mind is where do I stand if an accident results from my acting on the approaching vehicle’s indication and moving off from the stop sign. Does the law put me at fault if the accident is directly as a result of the other driver acting contrary to their indicated intention? Is there any law against falsely indicating?
My understanding is that an indicator is to be treated as just that - an indication of where the driver intends to go, but not necessarily where they are going. It's a dangerous situation to be presented with, but I think you'll find that if there was a collision and it was found that you were legally required to give way, the law would place the blame on you. It sounds like you are taking a defensive and cautious approach. Sometimes I go left and then turn around further up the road to go back the direction I want to go as it's sometimes safer than risking a straight through or right turn. May be worth trying. Far better than a trip to the panel beaters, not to mention the dent to ones pride!
Thanks Hawaiian... Good points. There is a roundabout not far to the left so that option is very relevant.