Hand signals

T

ThompsonRH

Member
Region
Canada
I live in Quebec in Canada so the rules may be different in other countries. But still curious about your rules. We cycle on the RHS.
According to Quebec rules, a left arm held out indicates moving or turn left.
A left hand held up, elbow bent or the right arm held out is turn right. This is clearly indicated in all our rules of the road
But I thought hold the left arm up, bent at the elbow meant going straight on.
In fact according several guides I've seen, there is no indication for going straight on. So no signal means I'm forgetting to signal, I dont believe in signals or I'm going straight on.
But I do recal, all though seldom used, in Britain (riding on the opposite of the road), putting the right arm up, bent at the elbow, meant going straight ahead.
 
ThompsonRH said:
But I thought hold the left arm up, bent at the elbow meant going straight on.
Click to expand...
I'm from the U.S. and am not aware of any hand signal for indicating no change of direction.
My questions upon reading this:
  • How much bend at the elbow are we talking about?
  • If I'm traveling straight forward for an extended period of time, am I holding my arm up during all that time?! If not, how do I know when and how often/long?
 
I'm from the UK and there are a multitude of hand signals. More than I can remember. You're right there is one for straight ahead. I remember reading about some of them on this site. https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/community/how-to/how-to-signal

• Right hand held up from the elbow, palm forward, when stopped at a junction = 'I'm going straight ahead.' This is another signal that's very rarely used. Other road users may think you're waving.

Tbh.... Anything other than indicating left or right is probably not going to be understood by people so I don't use bother using any others.
 
Ahh thanks Mart, i thought that was the case. I think your correct, signals that are not well understood are probably dangerous. I saw one in the Quebec guide, left hand down indicating “I’m slowing down”. Understandably it states “rarely used”…..not that Quebec drivers would understand “slowing down” anyway, not in their vocabulary.
 
The left hand up (North America) is just like a letter L where your elbow is the angle. The hand signals are used mainly at junctions or to change lanes. The purpose of the straight on signal, as Mart mentions in Britain, is to let the traffic in front of you know that you are proceeding straight on, ie “stay there buddy, let me get through before u turn across the traffic”. I have seen it used in Quebec where a cyclist cycled straight on, so was surprised to see the official rules of the road say “left arm up” means turning right.
im going to quiz the local cycling association on the matter.
 
Okay, I guess I can see a use for a signal to indicate that you aren't going to turn, but I think the big problem is almost no one uses signals at all, especially hand signals. Unless this "straight on" signal is commonly used in your area, I think it would be way more confusing than useful.

I am very pro-signals. They are too easy to use and can be extremely helpful safety-wise. But pulling hand signals out of the bottom of the barrel and using ones that no one else uses just doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

You know, in addition to the esoteric nature of this "straight ahead" signal, If I saw someone with a left arm out, bent at the elbow, holding hand up, I would expect them to turn right. Am I missing something? This seems ambiguous at best and deadly at worst.

Laws are what they are, but I still think the best indicator for not turning is the lack of a turn signal. Of course, that's with the caveat that in most cases no signal is the norm for turning left, turning right, stopping, going straight, doing wheelies, running into trees, and just about everything else people do on bikes, or in automobiles.

TT
 
Tars Tarkas said:
I may have missed it, but I've never heard of a signal for "I'm not changing direction (or lanes)" here in the US. When would one use that anyway? It seems to me the lack of a signal for going left or right is (should be) a clear indication that one isn't going left or right, or not turning.

TT
Click to expand...
At a junction
 
Just seen this on another post (missed it before) but as stated by the Poster, a US resident, it depends on yr State
1630008540020.png
 
Hand signaling to drivers is fatally stupid, because it lures you into thinking that drivers are a) paying attention to you and b) will respond appropriately.

Act as if the driver can't see you, and you won't put your life in the driver's hands (as much, anyway).

I only find hand signaling to drivers at all worth the strain in rather low speed situations. Your desire to turn should be obvious from your direction, location and path.
 
I find a lot of drivers seem confused by the standard method of signalling a right turn. I cant count how many times people have "waved back" at me. I use my right hand to signal right turns now - legal in my state- and l worry less about someone hitting me while they try to remember the hand signals they learned in school 20 yrs ago.
 
onlineaddy said:
Same can be said for turn signals on a motor vehicle. Should we not use them either?
Click to expand...
Nope. Those should be used because cars can do a lot of damage to other people on the road. It's also super easy to signal in a car vs while riding on a bike (esp while turning)
 
Asher said:
Nope. Those should be used because cars can do a lot of damage to other people on the road. It's also super easy to signal in a car vs while riding on a bike (esp while turning)
Click to expand...
It's difficult to hand signal a turn on a bike?? I use them all the time, as I do when driving my truck. I am very much in the minority in both cases, but even though almost no one uses turn signals I think just about everyone recognizes them.

TT
 
I bicycle in busy Urban & Downtown areas around Montreal. There’s no doubt a hand signal left when passing parked vehicles or crossing the traffic to turn left is important. Right turn, I do sometimes but generally I tuck myself across to the RHS, slow down and turn right. Since we have lots of crossing bike paths, it’s really important to slow down because some cyclists barrel through junctions with only a glance which may not pick a another bike. But I wish there was a straight on signal, it would be handy for busy junctions without lights.
 
ThomsonRH's graphic, with the exception of the slow down and the alternate right turn signal, used to be mandatory on my Illinois Drivers License exam back in '66, and also was in the Cub Scout manual somewhere earlier than that,

I learned to drive in a 51' Plymouth which had no turn signals. There was a little lever that looked like a signal, but its purpose was to release sand in front of both rear wheels for winter traction. We were riding little motorcycles in 66-69, which had no turn signals either. Of course, we knew our hand signals.
 
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