Pay attention: reach around and pat your backside.Preparing to brake: closed fist behind the small of the back.But safety advocates suggest some other signals for communicating within a group of riders. They are designed to communicate with all other users of the roadway. Legally speaking, these are the three signals riders should remember and always use. Since you should be riding your bike on the right side of the road going with the flow of traffic, you should give signals on your left-hand side. Some cyclists will use the right arm extended for a right turn signal, but that is not standard practice. Remember the automotive history - the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, and any signals with the right arm would be shielded inside the car and not visible by others. Braking: left arm extended and bent downward at a 90-degree angle.Right turn: left arm extended and bent upward at a 90-degree angle.Left turn: left arm extended straight out to the left side.The three basic signals are the same ones most will remember from first learning to ride a bike: A study from the Governors Highway Safety Association revealed that California led the nation with 338 bicycle fatalities in collisions with motor vehicles between 2010-12. More importantly, those signals can help protect a cyclist who will always lose out in a collision with a car. Bicyclists in California have largely the same rights and responsibilities as automobile drivers, including signaling. Those same signals remain in use for bicyclists today, but they’re not merely a quaint reminder of the past or unwritten rules of the road - they’re part of the state traffic laws.
ARM SIGNALS FOR DRIVING DRIVERS
Before electronic turn signals, blinkers, and brake lights began appearing on cars in the United States in the 1940s, motorists needed some way to communicate to other drivers that they were turning left or right. They date to the era of the first automobiles.
![arm signals for driving arm signals for driving](https://20somethingfinance.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/biking-hand-signals.jpg)
Using hand signals in conjunction with your indicator lights regularly, will ensure that you will always have a back up. Your signaling lights may fail and you may be unaware of the problem. You never know what unexpected situations you may end up end. Granted, most motorcycles do have the proper indicator lights but it is still wise to be familiar with the hand signals. As a licensed driver, it is already required to know some of the basic hand signals but motorcycle riders have quite a few that can be used when riding solo or within a group. One thing that hasn’t changed is the use of hand signals.
![arm signals for driving arm signals for driving](http://f3.thejournal.ie/media/2013/05/signals1.png)
These bikes have evovled over the years and now incorporate some of the features you would find in other vehicles. Aside from the obvious physical aspects, motorcycles can be a means of daily transportation, just like a car, truck, or SUV. You’re on two wheels instead of four, riding on it instead of driving it, and you’re exposed to the elements without a means of any overhead protection. Motorcycles are quite different from a traditional automobile.