[MENTION=396692]Buffalo Buff[/MENTION] I do not recommend making something like a left turn signal if you're not intending to turn left. What you CAN do, if it's obviously unsafe to pass, is extend your left arm out, but down at a 45° angle, palm back. That signals to other motorists to "stay back". It's best to do this while center or left of center in the lane. In my experience, this works nearly all the time. But even the few idiots who pass anyway still do so with a full lane change and plenty of clearance.
Originally Posted by
FBinNY
I've never understood the idea that moving left will magically prevent close passes. It might if there's approaching traffic, and passing between you and the oncomers is physically impossible. But if there's room to pass, drivers here will pass with roughly the same clearance wherever you are.
So all moving left does, is making passing more dangerous for everybody by increasing the distance the driver has to move left, and the time before he can come back into the lane.
Maybe this is an East/West thing, and maybe drivers out west treat lanes digitally, either changing or not. But here in Metro NY area drivers are more analog and take lane markers as only a suggestion. They have no problem flowing around cyclists, and it's easier for everyone if they only have to flow half a lane across.
This isn't to say that I suggest curb hugging, which would give no room to maneuver, but to remind people that the roadway is a shared resource, and it's possible to share it safely to everyone's benefit, including your own.
[MENTION=158672]FBinNY[/MENTION] I know of a couple of LCI's, I think one in CA and one in FL, or maybe both in CA, who did some experiments where they rode the same stretch of (multilane I think) road, hundreds of time, at different positions in the right-hand lane. They started at the far right near the gutter, and would gradually move left in 1-foot increments.
What they found was that at first, moving left just a few feet, caused more close passes. But then at some point near the center of the lane, pretty much ALL passes became full lane change passes. This has been my experience by an overwhelming majority. Ride center or left of center in the lane and motorists WILL see you and notice you earlier and WILL change lanes to pass. I use a helmet mirror so I can monitor traffic in my lane behind me. Almost everyone changes lanes anywhere from 500' to a quarter of a mile behind me. Having ultra-bright rear lights helps with that, also.