As general advice, a cyclist turning their head to look at traffic in the adjacent lane is not a sufficient signal to persuade a driver in that lane to slow down to let the cyclist into that lane, especially if the signaling effort is limited to that action alone. A cyclist turning their head to check for traffic possibly present to the side and behind them can be a very slight, brief, easily indiscernible or completely overlooked action, nothing nearly as clearly visible as an arm extended, held out for a period of time, say 3 seconds or more to indicate intention to turn, slow or stop.

I believe a basic good procedure is as follows: 1. Turn head and eyes to look for traffic. 2. Return head and eyes straight ahead, extend arm to indicate intention for at least 2 seconds and longer if possible. 3. For turns, after displaying the signal for a minimum of 2 seconds, Look to the side or back again to see if the way is clear, and if it is, return hand to the bars and immediately commence to begin the intended action.



Hagen post #230 re; average in-town cyclist speed traveled in Denmark and Holland: I suppose most in-town cyclists in Portland and Beaverton where I live, would likely find 7-8 way slow. In town in Holland though, which I haven't been to, with many more cyclists on the road than we have here so far, and with many more older and younger people among them, possibly accustomed to trips of routinely shorter length than we travel here, I can understand that speed to be the case.

John Forester #232 re; 'patently false', that "... Active transportation specific infrastructure...that's infrastructure specifically designed to support biking and walking...seeks to help resolve such conflicts in mutually beneficial ways. ... ": In my area, none of the examples of active transportation infrastructure that have been installed have posed the problems you claim. Bike lanes are basically working good, bike boxes...though they're rather few, have not been the cause of any close calls or cyclists deaths that I've heard of...there's a cycle track out in North Portland I've read about, seen pictures of but haven't personally seen; the word on it from people using it and driving along it is generally positive. It's an evolving thing, but signs are strong that active transportation infrastructure has made road use conditions better for everyone.

John Forester #236 re; head turning being a sufficient display of intention to other road users: I understand, but I don't find your advice here to be good advice.

John Forester #235 re; "...motoring in the older European cities is very inconvenient. ...": About my area, which I've described earlier, driving isn't so great, even with plenty of parking available on the street, at peoples homes, at the shops...for free. Motor vehicle traffic has made road conditions congested, noisy, dirty, dangerous and unpleasant for people not in motor vehicles, and people in motor vehicles. Many people that aren't presently because of the aforementioned, would likely love to walk and bike if the infrastructure enabled the experience to be safer and more enjoyable.