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The only users not required to use an indicator are pedestrians, which alone shows just how important this little tool really is. That said, pedestrians do benefit when others use their indicators correctly. In terms of day-to-day traffic, for example, the indicator performs countless functions, especially when it comes to clarifying situations that could otherwise be ambiguous.
Whilst it is true that the indicator is generally pretty well used, it still seems to be largely misunderstood in a lot of cases. Even though they might have had their driving licence for a long time, some drivers still seem to think that the indicator is only used to indicate what they are doing - overtaking another road-user or driving around an obstacle, pulling back in after overtaking, changing lanes, turning off, entering or leaving traffic (e.g. for parking) or exiting a motorway or roundabout -, but other users can already see all this, so there is no need to use the indicator to inform them. The indicator serves an altogether different purpose: indicating what you intend to do! The indicator should always precede the action, announcing what the driver intends to do before they do it. This then allows other users to adapt their driving accordingly, especially when approaching a roundabout. When a driver wants to indicate their intention to leave a roundabout they should activate the right-hand indicator in time to allow drivers waiting to enter/exit the roundabout to enter without wasting time giving way to a driver who has just exited. Similar situations arise in other circumstances all the time. It’s also worth remembering that you do not need to have your left indicator on when travelling around the roundabout.
Many drivers don’t use the indicator when overtaking a cyclist. Do they think they won't need to pull out far enough to warrant using the indicator? Article 134 of the Code de la Route (the French highway code), however, requires the direction indicator (the term used in the code to refer to the indicator) to be used at all times when overtaking. Furthermore, a minimum distance of 1.50m must be maintained when overtaking a cyclist, as required since April 2018 by Article 125-d of the Code. In such cases, if the indicator is not used, the driver following you may not react in time to such a (relatively small but significant) deviation from the vehicle’s course and may consequently collide with the cyclist or have an inappropriate sudden reaction.
Activating the indicator does not give the driver any sort of priority. When joining a motorway, therefore, the driver must still give way to users who are (already) driving on it, even if they have turned on their indicator. Under no circumstances can they expect others to slow down or move to the left-hand lane to allow them to join.
Article 134 of the Code states that the indicator must be activated in good time, not leaving it too late. That doesn’t, of course, mean that you have to activate it as soon as possible as this could mislead other road-users.
Last but not least, the direction indicator is also useful in situations not listed in the highway code, such as when driving in shopping centre car parks.