Hand signals! What is that?

[TTR]

26 minutes ago, pmhowe said:

I hope that is a bit pessimistic..

Maybe a little, but unfortunately not too much off from reality I see every day.

Edited June 14 by TTR (see edit history)

[8E45E]

15 hours ago, Peter J.Heizmann said:

Who told you this?  I have not heard of a source that teaches bicycle riding other than parents or the child’s peers.

In Alberta, we had Pedal Pushers for bicycle safety courses back in the 1960's.  

 

Appears its still around: Pedal Pushers Bike Safety Program - ReachFM: Peace Country's hub for local and Christian news, and adult contemporary Christian programming.

 

Craig

[Brass is Best]

16 hours ago, Fordy said:

I have always wondered about this one. What is the prize for winning?

Steve

Not wrecking your car...

[Paul Dobbin]

I use hand signals and added turn signals and a 3rd high mounted Brake light with turn indicators.   Better Safe than Sorry!

[Gearheadengineer]

19 hours ago, John348 said:

John,

I have not seen a child ride a bicycle since my own children and that was well over 30 years ago. The only people I see on bicycles now are rich guys in spandex suits taking up the entire road abiding by no rules of the road! 

I don’t think I’m rich, but I do look damn good in my Spandex bike shorts. 
 

The vast majority of cyclists do abide by the rules of the road. It’s hard enough to stay alive out there as it is. I guarantee you that drivers violate more road rules than cyclists. Cell phone use/texting, ridiculous speeds, 8am pot smoking, rolling coal, passing around curves, you name it. 

 

Back to the original point, I do use hand signals when on my bike. But I’ve learned that people don’t understand the traditional right turn signal so I signal those turns with my right hand. My collector cars all have signal lights. 
 

As of four years ago, the CT driver’s manual and test questions still covered hand signals. 

[Gearheadengineer]

19 hours ago, John348 said:

 

Edited June 14 by Gearheadengineer
Duplicate (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

3 hours ago, Gearheadengineer said:

I do look damn good in my Spandex bike shorts. 

😳😬🤯

 

Mmph. There are times I wish I didn't believe in all things seen and unseen!

 

You and Dandy Dave Brennan. If ya got it flaunt it! I can garondamntee you'll be visible!😄

[Pfeil]

On 6/13/2024 at 1:09 PM, SteveMaz said:

Having had 2 kids get their DL in the not too distant past, I can say definitively that there is no mention of hand signals in any PA maual or test. I would not want my kids using hand signals. I wouldn't want someone misinterpreting the left turn hand signal for pull around on the left as they were attemtping to make a left turn.

Guess there is no point in getting them into the hobby in a pre-1938 (first patented earliest) or 1967 mandatory, vehicle without them. 

[EmTee]

I wonder whether the left turn signal was gestured using the index finger (i.e., 'pointing' left), or with the whole hand (i.e., all fingers extended).  The latter is the correct way to do it; using just the index finger could possibly confuse someone.

[R Walling]

 I still use my hand signals,...On my lawn mower!

 A few times I was passed (at a good speed) by cars as I drive on the right past my house just when I was ready to turn in my driveway.

  They dont even slow down or toot their horn!

[Jack Bennett]

None of my old car (not tractor or lawn mower) projects are completed without first adding a set of turn signals, and in the case of the Dodge, brake and emergency lights.

No one expects me to signal turns on the tractor, and just the intimidation of the four foot brush hog tends to make them keep their distance.

The motor scooter is a totally different story.

I have used hand signals all my life, and, in the absence of turn signals, always use them without fail.

Think back sixty six years, put yourself on the seat of a 1947 Cushman motor scooter, remembering its low center of gravity and its propensity to oversteer, and you’ll understand why I don’t give hand and arm turn signals while riding it.

Actually, I’m much younger than I appear, but, the first, and single, time I tried to signal a right turn on the scooter aged me ten years and now I just reach above my head, signal any nearby car to back off, and go for it.

Jack

[Jack Bennett]

A really neat way to drive our old machines without worrying about hand signals is to make use of our onomatopoeiacally, easily identifiable “Klaxon”……”Ahaooooooogah” horns instead.

I have found that it bring a smile to people’s face 100% of the times it is used.

  Sign on a rural road in the United States advising drivers to "SOUND KLAXON" (1920)

[60FlatTop]

I am a very defensive driver, trusting no one. The signaling, hand or mechanical, I can get through with ease. The really bad people on the road are those who see themself as being "nice". One's own perception of "being nice" supersedes all formal rules of the road. The fluttering of fingers above the steering wheel from the car to your right at a four way stop and the driver mouthing "You go" is very common. As is the person who stops in the flow of traffic to let someone enter from a side street. "I'm so nice" they think. A defensive driver knows to be aware of the unexpected. But there is also an expectation of others simply following the rules. If they don't the dangerous situation arises.

Two lanes of traffic and a young, inexperienced driver gets waved into oncoming traffic. How common is that at the Mall exit.

 

The classic is the driver telling the story of the horrific accident they witnessed in their rear view mirror. "Why, a couple of seconds earlier and I could have been involved!"

 

No, I am not a "nice" driver. Expect me to follow the rules. You know, the ones you had to learn one time in your life when you were in your mid-teens to pass the driver test.

 

That group of nice drivers is right in there with the ones thinking four way flashers exempts them from any rules.

[Glen Andrews]

I rarely drive my old vehicle, usually goes into a trailer. I drive it in my subdivision, and go on some two lane country roads. I have an orange da-glo glove I use to signal, while indicating the left I extend my arm out fingers flat and go up and down with my arm kind of mimicking a turn signal beat, when I go right arm is straight up and I pivot my hand with wrist action and do the back and forth motion pointing to the right. There is only one tail/brake light, and no turn signals, however I am getting closer to adding them in an easy way to remove them for shows. It's a 1938 Chevrolet pick up. These photos show a 1948 NC inspection sticker that was still on the windshield, the windshield was cracked so I saved this piece of it, the sticker is on the passenger side.

[Dr B]

I have been reading this topic with some personal interest. Besides old cars, I am an avid bicycle rider and usually ride about 1500 miles a year. Also, we have a lot of cyclists in the area and one can easily see many dozen out on our country roads on a given weekend. My bicycling riding and old car driving cover many of these same country back roads with an occasional faster road (40+45 mph, but no multi-lane roads or highways). I use hand signals for bicycling (however it is usually simply straight out arm for left and right turns with the appropriate side arm). I use correct arm signals in my pre-war cars. It might just be that I am lucky in my area, but I have never had any issues using hand signals on either my bicycle or in my car. 

 

Robert

[mercman from oz]

How about this Hand Signal attachment to a Jail Bar Ford Light Truck