Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
Granted as we know motorists are NOT learning everything that they need to know in order to be a safe motor vehicle operator, but isn't the "traditional" hand signals not still a part of drivers ed?
I know perfectly well what the old-school signals are, but it still takes me a couple seconds to remember what the bent left arm means because I see it so rarely. The "left arm = left turn" logic is too intuitive. Then I have to remind myself that it's not the opposite of the "slowing down" signal. I use my right arm.
Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
By that "logic" it's "pretty silly" for motorists to signal their intentions when there is no one around either. But wait motorists generally don't signal even when there are other's around. So why shouldn't cyclists behave better than the average motorist?
But motorists don't have to take their hands off the steering wheel to signal, let alone hold them there for a hundred feet. I skip signalling all the time on my bike because I need both hands to ride safely over bad pavement, with close-passing traffic, etc. but if I were driving on a closed track in the middle of the desert I'd probably still signal out of habit.