Hey ya’ll,
I spoke a little bit last week about having a “bike language” that can be different where ever you go. In America, we are “cyclists” while in other places you are simply a person riding a bike. In some neighborhoods you are an “environmentalist” riding “alternative” transportation while in another you are simply getting to work the way most people do and it is “primary” transportation.
I recently was thinking about turn signals on bikes. I spoke with my friend King Wayne of the East Side Riders whom have their own signals. Their turn signals are done simply by pointing where you are going with an outstretched arm. Stop signals are done by lifting your left fist in the air. They also have their own signals for speeding up and grouping back together. Basically, these folks that ride together all the time have their own language to communicate.
At the Hub working with youth, we struggle with what “the law” says is right and actually teaching our youth what is right. In other words, do we teach them the law or do we teach them the language that makes sense for bicyclists in Detroit? 
Legally in Michigan a right turn signal is done by placing your left hand up like you are waving hello to someone, which is what people often think you are doing. I only needed about two drivers to wave at me before I retired that hand signal. Legally, to signal a stop you are supposed to use an open left hand with your fingers pointing towards the ground and your palm facing behind you. When we had our Safe Streets Youth Ride last August, we rode with the East Side Riders. To signal stops I joined Wayne and started putting my fist in the air. Legally what I was doing was wrong, but as a group everyone knew what I was signaling and we rode together more efficiently. I didn’t get a ticket and none of our youth died.
To me, riding in a group is all about having that common language so you don’t run into each other and everyone knows where the group is going. However, when riding as the lone cyclist in the road or with any sort of motor vehicles nearby you need a legal code so everyone on the road is sharing the same language. This is why right turn and stop signaling have always bothered me. 
The main reason this bothers me is that the legal way to signal is based on what motorists should do when their tail lights go out. This is why everything is done with the left hand because your left arm can go out the window when you are driving. This doesn’t cut it for people on bicycles who are not constrained by windows and doors.
I have argued before that roads are not simply a cars world. We all share that space and it can be frustrating for cyclists to exist in that world where the rules and infrastructure was not built for them. (If you read Jack’s previous post, it could be argued that roads originally WERE built for cyclists and then changed during the car craze). That tide is now turning in some areas (see all the new bike lanes in Detroit), but we are still speaking a language that isn’t our own to communicate to road users that may never understand us unless something changes. Bike lanes are great, but it uses car language (solid white lane markings) to segregate bikes as separate traffic. I don’t think segregation is the answer because the bike lane will always end or you will eventually want to turn left. So what is the answer for common language?
To signal a stop is difficult on a bike. If you are making a sudden stop, you really want both hands on the handlebars. If you have hand brakes, you need your hands to brake, especially your left hand which traditionally controls your front brake! But even if you are riding fixed gear or have a coaster brake, it is helpful to have your hands on the handlebars. I would like to see someone on a fixed gear do a skid without their hands on the handlebars (and I mean a controlled skid, not skidding on your face). I like the East Side Riders signal because at least if you are having your hand off the handlebars you are putting your fist high up so folks can see it. Having an open palm down below your saddle height may not be the most visible. It really is an awkward movement, especially on road bikes when your body position is lower than on cruisers or mountain bikes. Does anyone have a better solution?
For right turns there is a better solution though. Like the East Side Riders, simply stretch your right arm out and point to where you are going. I like this for many reasons. I have found that turns signals send many messages to cars. Stretching your arm out straight makes you a wider vehicle. For any motorist who wants to pass you closely having an outstretched arm is more likely to gain you the “safe distance” the law requires because you are taking up that space (Some states have written into their laws that a “safe distance” is at least 3 feet). I have found that when I am pulling a trailer that cars give me more space because I’m a wider vehicle. Even though I may be moving slower from pulling extra weight, they give me more space! So when I turn, I want to be wide so cars don’t hit me as I turn or change lanes. Also, pointing is a signal many people understand already. If you point right as you approach an intersection, maybe motorists won’t get it entirely, but they will know that you aren’t trying to show them something and at least they won’t think you are waving. Just remember that pointing at people is not polite and to use your index finger if you are to use a single finger.
I was pleased to find out last Friday as I was hanging out with Rich Moeller of the League of Michigan Bicyclists that there is a bill in the Michigan legislature to make it legal for cyclists to point to the right to turn instead of using the waving motion with the left hand. Check out their website for information on that. I was also frustrated to find that Michigan is one of the few places that doesn’t legally allow bicyclists to signal in this matter. (It was also embarrassing to learn that as much as I chide police and motorists for not knowing the law, I didn’t know as much as I thought either!)
Now, the questions that remain are: why did bike turn signals come from motorists when cycling is way older than driving (perhaps the turn signals were for horse drawn carriages)? When are police going to understand the law for cyclists? One of the main reasons I don’t worry about having legal turn signal procedure is because I’m more interested in communicating with an uninformed motorist than I am with following a law written by the same bunch who don’t speak my language. Also, why does the UK have the same bicycle signaling law as the US when they have Right Hand Drive vehicles and drive on the left?
It seems as if some of the answers come from the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. It seems as if the United States ignored this but it explains some of the “international language” devoted to some forms of transportation. How do you communicate when you are riding?
Stay safe out there,
jason x