xxguitarist

I've been commuting to my university from my girlfriends house by bike whenever I stay over. ~10 mi each way. Mix of single lane per side & two lane per side roads, speed limits under 30, though some probably do 40. Some of the ride is a bit heavy on traffic, unfortunately.

My commute from home would be ~25 mi each way & on a divided surface highway. That won't be happening.

Back to the topic at hand- no pun intended- what percentage of motorists do you think understand the classic turn signals?
Do you signal with just your left hand (straight for left, bent up for right) or do you simply point with the arm that corresponds with the direction you're headed?

Bander

This. I don't think most people know what bent arm signals mean. "Hey, that guy's waving at us."

formerbrit

Almost none of them

10 Wheels

Just point at what direction I am turning toward.

JeffS

No idea.

I'm confident that they all understand when I point right with my right arm though, so that's what I do.

wuzzer

The %age depends on where you live, I think, or maybe the road you are on.

I point to where I'm going. Occasionally I even point straight ahead at a 4 way stop. I find that helps a lot.

Sometimes I will signal a car to go ahead even if I have the right of way. The locals remember that and cut me slack the next time.

thenomad

I point where i'm going to go. I hold my hand up to "stop" a right or left intersection driver.
I'll look back and give a "slow down" motion if i'm going to need to bleed over into the lane and I think it's needed. I motion single cars around me when they want to turn right at a light so they don't have to wait for me and I'm left with a wide open area behind me once they go. I give the "no no no" finger wag, the "F-U" finger salute and a "thumbs up" depending on the situation.
Etc.


In group rides I still point where I'll go, I give an open hand behind my back for slowing for lights and I'll point out hazard areas and flap an elbow when I'm peeling off the front of the paceline.

Does that answer your question?

unterhausen

I give most people enough credit to think that they understand if you point in the direction you are going to turn. I also occasionally use the "slow" signal with a dropped left hand. That doesn't work as well, but I don't know if it's just because it conflicts with the "see bike, must pass" imperative. I was on a curvy, narrow mountain road a while back and cautioned some guy on a blind corner because I could see oncoming traffic that he couldn't. Guy floors it, goes into the opposing lane and forces the car coming the other way to go into the ditch. Didn't understand that one.

I don't think most people know the raised left hand is for right turns. Just my impression. Also, most cyclists I see doing that botch it pretty badly anyway.

thompsonpost

The latter.

nwmtnbkr

Not many, let's face it, hand signals are a dated hold-over from the days when safety standards for cars were almost non-existent and turn signals weren't a stock item. That era is long gone and most drivers under 60 have always had cars with turn signals. I was so uncomfortable with drivers thinking I was waiving when signaling a right turn that I added turn signals to my bike (front and back). They're large, super-bright LEDs (22 LEDs per unit) and are visible day and night. I've got a center-off toggle switch mounted to my handlebars to control them. While I was at it, I added a red, super-bright LED strip brake light. It's triggered whenever I press the rear brake by a micro lever switch on the rear brake cable. (Most drivers didn't understand the hand signal for stop, either.)

Amani576

I've been wanting to try something like this. I'd love to see pictures of your setup.
-Gene-

old and new

The hand-down-palm facing back for stops, hardly any..... Right hand turn = left hand up-rt.-angle, it confuses most. NYC, the signals are understood, a very safe place to ride as long as you're sensible. The motorists are sharp. Rude but not dim.

xxguitarist

Think there's any legal difference between the official left hand signals and the "point where you're going" type? IE, you signaled, had right of way, and still got tagged by a car who should have yielded to you?

Nerdanel 

Being a dated holdover myself I use the left-hand signals. I'm sure no drivers recognize the stop signal, but if it has any utility it is only to communicate with other cyclists (who also don't recognize it). If I need to tell a car behind me I'm slowing down, I better just get the h3ll out of the way!

whatsmyname

I noticed that in Denmark lots (not all) of the cyclists would raise their right arm to signal that they were stopping (a bit like asking a question in class) but to anyone that isn't familiar with it, it just looks like Hitler's self-salute.

If I'm going left, I stick my arm out to the left and if I'm going right, I stick my arm out to the right. The point of the "bent up for right" signal was that if drivers used their right arm to signal right, it would be less visible to the cars behind - better if everything was stuck out the window. But it makes no sense for cyclists to do that.

crhilton

My stop signal is when my ass shoots back behind the saddle, body drops down lower, and everything looks like it's leaning into the front wheel as the back wheel slides back and forth a bit. Oh, wait, that's just what it looks like when you're stopping as fast as you can...

I really hope they can recognize that, otherwise I'm liable to get rear ended if I make an emergency stop. I suppose there are worse collisions...


I use the right hand right signal, left hand left signal. Occasionally I'll do the stopping signal, but I think it's pretty pointless outside of a group ride. Most motorists seem to key off my head movement before my arms do anything. I was carefully trained to check for an opening before signaling in drivers ed, and I still do precisely that.

jefferee

Depends on your jurisdiction.

Where I live, pointing to the right is a legal right turn signal (although it is called an "alternate" signal in the literature). You may not be so fortunate.

Generally, I use my left arm for signaling. I will point to the right in situations where my left arm wouldn't be as visible to the relevant traffic (exiting a roundabout, merging to the right, or changing lanes to the right).

jefferee

As for the original question....

Probably about once a month, a motorist will wave back when I signal a right turn.

making

me too.

JPprivate

Judging from what I see around here, not many - partly because hardly any cyclists ever use them.

Bekologist

point and shoot!

you can even indicate, at a four way stop, your intent to turn behind a motorist.

there's a lot of nuance to hand signals that appear to be widely but not universally understood by motorists.

Pointing an intended vector seems fairly well understood.

chephy

Point where I'm going. Or forget signals and just go when it's safe.

making

yea, lots of times I am just hanging on.

Big_e

I really don't trust most drivers to understand hand signals anymore and to answer the question, I'd say that about 80% may not.

I don't use text book or bent arm turn signals. If I'm turning I use straight arm and point in the direction I'm turning. Left arm for left and right arm for right and point, just as motorcycles do. I may even shake my finger a couple of times for emphasis. It seems to work.
One time a pedestrian thought I was pointing at her and waved. You're the man-woman!

Kevin666

Same here. But I do it for safety reasons to reduce ambiguity at certain intersections, or just to give them a break since bikes are more agile.

I find that drivers seem to understand pointing left surprisingly well. I rarely see the need to point right because I'm not crossing in front of oncoming traffic or somebody who's pulling out of the street I'm turning left onto, if that makes sense.