Hand signals?

[Threevok]

Not signalling left then veering off without warning also tends to irritate other road users though. Presumably as a cyclist you expect motorists to signal their left turns? Well, they also expect us to signal the same! The Highway Code says something along the lines of "always give a signal where it would be useful to another road user". It applies to everybody.

Who said I was veering off ?

and by the way "always give a signal where it would be useful to another road user" is exactly what I described doing,.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Who said I was veering off ?

and by the way "always give a signal where it would be useful to another road user" is exactly what I described doing,.

I was referring to @Profpointy - who seemed to be saying it's better to just ride along as though you are going straight ahead, then suddenly disappear to the left down a side road without giving any indication of your intention. The problem with this approach is anyone following in a vehicle tends to then think "why didn't that w***** riding the bike bother to tell me he was about to turn off?" It's just perceived by following motorists as bad/improper use of the road.

 

[Tim Hall]

I was referring to @Profpointy - who seemed to be saying it's better to just ride along as though you are going straight ahead, then suddenly disappear to the left down a side road without giving any indication of your intention. The problem with this approach is anyone following in a vehicle tends to then think "why didn't that w***** riding the bike bother to tell me he was about to turn off?" It's just perceived by following motorists as bad/improper use of the road.

How do you know how it's perceived? How do you know what anyone in a following vehicle is thinking?

 

[Dayvo]

I do, but mostly this one - (un)fortunately it's not recognised here.

 

[Profpointy]

I was referring to @Profpointy - who seemed to be saying it's better to just ride along as though you are going straight ahead, then suddenly disappear to the left down a side road without giving any indication of your intention. The problem with this approach is anyone following in a vehicle tends to then think "why didn't that w***** riding the bike bother to tell me he was about to turn off?" It's just perceived by following motorists as bad/improper use of the road.

I strongly recommend you are very cautious about indicating left if you cycle much in town. If you indicate (left) as a matter of habit you will be hit

 

[Racing roadkill]

I was referring to @Profpointy - who seemed to be saying it's better to just ride along as though you are going straight ahead, then suddenly disappear to the left down a side road without giving any indication of your intention. The problem with this approach is anyone following in a vehicle tends to then think "why didn't that w***** riding the bike bother to tell me he was about to turn off?" It's just perceived by following motorists as bad/improper use of the road.

It’s also likely to end up in tears, if you’ve picked up a silent wheel sucker. I had one last weekend. I had to come to an unplanned halt, owing to my front tyre puncturing rapidly, there was no time for any signal, and the idiot who’d planted himself on my rear wheel, without highlighting his presence nearly ended up as a bonnet ornament.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

There was one point on what used to be my regular commute where signalling was problematic - a right turn halfway down a steep descent. It's simply not possible to signal right and operate the front brake at the same time.

It is if you have the front brake lever where it should be - on the left

It's what us cool kids do.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

It’s also likely to end up in tears, if you’ve picked up a silent wheel sucker. I had one last weekend. I had to come to an unplanned halt, owing to my front tyre puncturing rapidly, there was no time for any signal, and the idiot who’d planted himself on my rear wheel, without highlighting his presence nearly ended up as a bonnet ornament.

First hand experience of this. The fellow overlapping to the left of my wheel has first elbow experience of this. And 8 stitches to hold it all together experience of this. The amount of gravel he collected was impressive.

 

[User10119]

The Highway Code says something along the lines of "always give a signal where it would be useful to another road user". It applies to everybody.

Can someone with proper internet connectivity (am currently dipping in and out of signal on a Northern service over to the other side of the hills and reading on a poky phone screen) look up what it actually says? My memory tells me that cyclists are told something like indicate when it is safe do so and motor vehicle drivers are advised that cyclists may not always be able to indicate... But struggling to load pages and check.

The point being that indicating in a motor vehicle is a question of flicking a lever whereas on a bike it can be trickier.

 

[boydj]

It's often, maybe usually, best NOT to signal left when cycling as it tends to encourage stupid overtakes, or clowns left hooking you into the turn

I brought this up at the Cycle Trainer course I did, which surprised the trainer somewhat. However, the very next ride we did a car cut across the lead rider as we were about to turn left.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I just use audax sign language, but only on 100km ones.

 

[Milkfloat]

For stopping round these parts, it is:

Which is a patting motion towards the ground. However, in practice it is usually shouts of 'stopping' or 'slowing' that works, especially in an emergence when grabbing handfuls of lever.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Quite handy this thread

 

[The Crofted Crest]

[QUOTE 5294926, member: 10119"]Can someone with proper internet connectivity look up what it actually says? [/QUOTE]

Rule 103:

Signals warn and inform other road users, including pedestrians (download ‘Signals to other road users’ (PDF, 102KB)), of your intended actions. You should always

• give clear signals in plenty of time, having checked it is not misleading to signal at that time
• use them to advise other road users before changing course or direction, stopping or moving off
• cancel them after use
• make sure your signals will not confuse others. If, for instance, you want to stop after a side road, do not signal until you are passing the road. If you signal earlier it may give the impression that you intend to turn into the road. Your brake lights will warn traffic behind you that you are slowing down
• use an arm signal to emphasise or reinforce your signal if necessary. Remember that signalling does not give you priority

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I just use audax sign language, but only on 100km ones.

Dry. So dry. The driest. That’s also the funniest funny of 2018 for me. That’ll take some beating.