I signal my intentions (thank goodness I remember them from driver's ed.),
Forget the right-turn signal from that class *right now*. Mirror the left-turn signal with your right arm (point in the direction you're going). That way drivers don't have to remember the arm signals from *their* driver's ed classes.
The one thing I'm not clear on is whether I should or am allowed to change lanes like a car for left-hand turns
Yes, you are. For a 3-lane road, the action looks like this: Head check, move to the left part of the lane, signal/head check, move into center* of middle lane, head check, move to left part of middle lane, signal/headcheck, move into center of left lane for turning. Note that this generally only becomes dangerous on high-speed, many-lane streets where it is harder to see you, and drivers have less time to react. Keep in mind that drivers can't see over vehicles that are taller than their car, so try to avoid merging in front of trucks and buses and other large cars.
* Move to center of the lane because these lanes will invariably be narrower than the right lane. TAKE THAT LANE! Don't let drivers think they have enough room within their lane to pass you. Because they don't.
no subject
Forget the right-turn signal from that class *right now*. Mirror the left-turn signal with your right arm (point in the direction you're going). That way drivers don't have to remember the arm signals from *their* driver's ed classes.
The one thing I'm not clear on is whether I should or am allowed to change lanes like a car for left-hand turns
Yes, you are. For a 3-lane road, the action looks like this: Head check, move to the left part of the lane, signal/head check, move into center* of middle lane, head check, move to left part of middle lane, signal/headcheck, move into center of left lane for turning. Note that this generally only becomes dangerous on high-speed, many-lane streets where it is harder to see you, and drivers have less time to react. Keep in mind that drivers can't see over vehicles that are taller than their car, so try to avoid merging in front of trucks and buses and other large cars.
* Move to center of the lane because these lanes will invariably be narrower than the right lane. TAKE THAT LANE! Don't let drivers think they have enough room within their lane to pass you. Because they don't.