Making traffic signals on your bike?

[foxfirefey]

So, I have a vague idea of what traffic signals you're supposed to do on a bike. The problem is, I apparently don't always have the talent to bike *and* signal at the same time! I totally tumbled onto the road today trying to signal a right turn with my right arm.

Is there a better way? Does anybody have particular strategies? Should I just practice more in non-traffic areas until I'm more confident? Do they matter that much in your experience--how bad a sin is it to not do them?

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

ack! so sorry!

probably the only two needed are the arm extended for left turn and the arm bent at the elbow and pointing up for right turn....

if you practice riding and steering with one hand for a bit, probably you can get better at executing the signals when necessary?

i mean, just ride with one hand or the other for a while on a trail or in a no traffic situation until you get comfortable?

the other convention i know is, when trail riding on mixed use trails when you are passing either a runner or a slower bike, you pass on their left, and you say ON YOUR LEFT as you approach from behind.... loudly but in a friendly fashion.

if you are encountering horses, slow down and give them a bunch of extra room and don't speak.

[kuwdora]

Hi,

When I'm turning right, I tend to use the third hand signal on this page since I've wobbled and almost fallen off my bike before.

But there's also the option of buying and installing turn signals on your bicycle. I've seen electronic turn signals for as little as $12.00 and upwards of fancy $60.00 signals that you mount just beneath your bicycle seat. It may be something worth looking into.

[foxfirefey]

That's...actually really tempting. The roads here often have potholes or big cracks or cobbles and the thought of falling into the road into possible traffic like I did today is...really intimidating.

[copracat]

Practising is good plan! I've practised emergency stops, too - where you lift off the seat and move your weight (ie bum) backwards over the rear wheel while braking fast, so you don't pitch over the front wheel. There might even be defensive riding courses near you. Your bike shop or local bike group might know.

[juliet]

I was going to suggest both practising, and seeing if anyone near you offers adult on-road bike lessons. (In the UK there are loads of people who do this -- I am a cycle instructor myself :) ).

Find somewhere offroad, and start off by just taking your hand off the handlebars and holding it above the bars for a bit. Next, try putting your finger on your nose for a couple of seconds :) before moving onto a proper turn signal (arm extended, fingers together, palm vertical -- think of your hand as a flag showing its largest surface -- for about 3 seconds, to give drivers plenty of time to see you). Things to bear in mind to avoid wobbling: keep looking forward, and KEEP PEDALLING, which is the most common error! If you stop pedalling, you'll slow down and are more likely to wobble. In my experience, it really only takes 5--10 minutes of practising to get much more confident.

The other thing to remember is that you should look behind you before signalling (to make sure you're not about to stick your arm out into another road user), and then do another 'lifesaver' check just before you turn, to make sure it's still clear behind you. This is especially important when turning across traffic (right in the UK, left in the US).

Signals are a fairly important way of communicating with other road users, but by no means the only way -- you can also use road positioning and eye contact to signal what you're doing. It is definitely a good idea to be able to do them, though!

Emergency stops: we teach 4 Bs: Both brakes, Brace your arms (to stop yourself going forward), Bum on the saddle (weight on the saddle & right at the back of it, again to keep yourself from pitching forward), and Balance (both feet on the pedals until you've come to a stop.

[vlion]

I point in the direction I am turning, if I remember to do so.

[darkemeralds]

I use the all-left-hand signals--pointing left when I'm turning left, and pointing up when I'm turning right (I'm not sure what the equivalent may be in countries where you drive/ride on the left-hand side of the road). I do the best I can, but very often when turning I need both hands to slow down and control the turn, so my signals are often pretty short.

I LOVE the idea of turn signals on a bike (brake lights would be good too!), but I'd rather have turn signals on the ends of my handlebars than on the seat, because it would be more obvious which one is blinking.

I'm sorry you had a fall. I hope you'll be able to regain your confidence and get back out there!

[juliet]

I use the all-left-hand signals--pointing left when I'm turning left, and pointing up when I'm turning right (I'm not sure what the equivalent may be in countries where you drive/ride on the left-hand side of the road).

FWIW, in the UK (where we drive on the left), pointing up with the right hand when turning left would not be recognised at all. Bike signals here are definitely right-arm-out to turn right, left-arm-out to turn left. (as in the Highway Code (PDF link). Note that that does show a right-hand signal for drivers -- circling the hand to signal a left turn -- on the grounds that you can't see a driver's left hand, but the motorbike/horse/pedal bike left signal is left-arm-out.)

[darkemeralds]

Thanks! That's good to know.

[zing_och]

I live in Germany and a quick poll of my coworkers told me that nobody had heard of the all-left signals. So if you're biking abroad you'd probably better check if those signals are known there. (I think it's a shame they're not common here - they sound like a good thing for those bikers who feel wobbly and don't use turn signals because of that.)

Apart from that: Like everyone else said, practice. When I was in primary school we had to do a "bike license" where the practical part was big on turn signals.

[wychwood]

For me with signalling the key was totally practice. I had horrible trouble with it at first, but after a few months of cycling every day I found that I was signalling with much less stress. Practicing off-road etc sounds like a good plan, though, to accelerate the process! It's a really good idea to signal if you can, and if you can't then a) you need to be keeping a much closer eye on traffic because they won't know what you're doing, and b) don't take any risks with your turns at all.

There's one turn on my route home from work that I really can't signal on - it's at the bottom of a very steep and narrow hill, and I'm always fully engaged in braking with both hands, but I've never actually had a problem there (so far!).

[roadrunnertwice]

I put signalling in the same family as looking over your left shoulder without swerving, riding no-handed, stealing a sip out of your water bottle on the go, and, in the more degenerate reaches of the skillset, texting or futzing around with your iPod.

Which is to say, yeah, practice: it's fiddley cerebellum bidness, so there's no way around it. Your idea of going someplace less populated is a good one, though I wouldn't have had the patience for it, I don't think. Also, like someone else said above, going faster makes it easier to keep your balance.

The type of bike also matters, I think; I used to ride a mountain bike with barely any trail, and everything got an order of magnitude easier once I got Brigadelle.

Also, if you're right-dominant and have a harder time controlling the bike with left only, you could switch to the old auto-style right-turn signal (left arm bent at the elbow with the forearm sticking up); it's less explicit, but drivers are theoretically supposed to be able to understand it before they can get licensed.