My ex-brother-in-law got hit by a motorcyclist. His left blinker was out on his truck so he signaled by sticking his left arm out the window. The motorcyclist took advantage of the truck slowing down in front of him and went to pass on the left only to be taken out by the truck turning. Because in this day and age, regardless of if it is taught or not, no one signals with their arm in a car.

Yes these are real.

Its a lot like the Bible. Some you should take literally and some you should not.

I was hit and severely injured by a driver who claims he thought left turn arm signals meant "pass us".

About hand signals: you aren't supposed to point, exactly, because pointing relates to some separate, specific reference, while the signals are supposed relate to oneself, for universal reference. They're supposed to be something you wouldn't do for any other reason, and they're not supposed to look natural. For a stop, you're supposed to show your palm, and for turns, you're supposed to show the back of your hand, in both cases with your thumb and fingers all straight and together. Also, the more orthogonal your arm position, the better. It's when you sort of vaguely flop your arm out, wiggle your hand or curl your fingers and point that people start getting confused; dorkiness provides clarity.

OREC sounds like the OCP bible.

Yeah.... not really. The 1950 Ford I learned to drive in had the optional add-on signal box that had been purchased and installed by Sears and Roebuck. Turn signals didn't become a requirement on new cars till 1954.

Not that the actual date matters.... in casual conversation or on a forum. Same with proper hand signals. Meaningless in most cases. BUT.... if you're in a accident after (or as a result of) an improper hand signal..... your at fault.

That's too funny. What you REALLY need to do is sign into the Velominati site, post that into the Rules thread, and let the fun begin! Feel free to liberally use emoticons and for good measure, say something about Eddie Merckx being vastly over-rated

This is kinda funny, because the only people I have seen using hand signals in a motor vehicle have been riding motorcycles! Maybe they were old Harleys and didn't have them? Either way, both guys (at least two separate times) gave very clear and bold signals. Hand signals were definitely taught in the late 90's when I learned how to drive, but I guess most people forget about them because they don't use electronic signals either. Seems that most of those who do use them only signal as they are actually turning. Thanks, buddy. It's called a turn signal, not a turn indicator...

As far as The Rules, if followed in their entirety they tend towards being a bike snob. It was a good read that my g/f totally didn't understand.

A Camelback? Really?

Heresy. You can break all the rules you want, but Eddy is sacrosanct.

Rules were meant to be broken.

Spelling, not so much.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fixed. You should be on the Velominati blog

No greater truth has ever been spoken.

Rules? Where we're going we don't need rules.

I can't speak for the poster, but that's exactly what I do. On a 60-70 mile ride, my goal is to be comfortable, go reasonably fast, walk if I have to, and carry tools, food, and extra tools. Camelbaks have saved my bacon more times than I can count.

The Keepers of the Cog (the four guys responsible for the rules) are really great writers. They wrote a book (The Rules - The Way of the Cycling Discipline) where they expand on many of their rules. It's one of the funniest texts I've read in a long time. Most of their material is targeted to roadies.

I find they also publish interesting articles on their site. Too bad it's so slow--at least when accessed from here in Montréal.

Don't miss their lexicon, which is hilarious:

I scored myself passing on 80 out of the 95 rules which I hope is acceptable since I'm earnest and really try, and I want to be better – I really do! When I photographed my bikes I inadvertently had the valve stems at 12 o'clock instead of 6 o'clock, but they were neatly aligned and I didn't think it made any difference. I'll try to do better next time. I could even re-photograph them if it would help. And I wear MTB shoes because I just recently bought my road bike and my MTB shoes cost $130 and I can't afford a new pair of road bike specific shoes and pedals just yet, but I really want some after I pay down the bike some more. And I measure my distances and speed in miles just because I'm a silly American and that's what we understand. My legs are unshaven and I feel so dirty and ashamed about that, but the drains in my apartment seem to get easily clogged, and I'm not sure I can afford all the razors either given how much I've spent on bikes and bike gear. I'd rather buy more high-quality beer for after my rides.

There are a couple more rules I'd like to suggest if it wouldn't be too presumptuous given my score:

Rule #96 : No spitting

Under no circumstances shall a rider turn his head to either side and project a mouthfull of the nasty stuff that coagulates within his mouth into the air. Said nasty stuff must either be swallowed, or the rider should pull over to the side of the road and project it safely away from the cycling surface.

Rule #97 : No bells or whistles

Bikes shall not be equipped with cute little bells to announce the rider's approach, nor shall a rider employ a mouth-blown whistle or other device, whether electronic or pneumatically operated, to accomplish same. Only the rider's voice shall be used, and in a polite manner unless the rider being approached is acting like a complete idiot, in which case mild profanity is acceptable.

I bet you said yeah three times to use those commas.

You might get a waiver for this one.



Ride off the front like Jens Voigt and this shouldn't be a problem

Only the sound of your rear hub should be used to announce your presence.

Rules? Why respect tradition? Greg Lemond must be a moron since he wrote a foreword to the book, right? Do what you want in all things, it's only you that's really important....

The OP has already broken The Rules just by asking the question! See Rule 1.

I think they should have "humor" in bold print and highlighted next to some of the "rules." I cannot picture anybody attempting to abide by such a subjective set of regulations... It is in my opinion that doing so would make something as beautiful as cycling into a real "fun sucker."

You're already off to a bad start.

Biker:




Cyclist: