Colorado Drivers manual fails at bike signals

[Digitalpotato]

Now lemme ask you this...which side is facing traffic when you are biking?

According to the law and every biking rule....the left. This means you should signal with what hand when you're turning?


That's right...the left.

Not according to the colorado drivers manual. For such a bike-friendly state (as bike friendly as a state with a winter CAN be that is), the people printing the driver smanual sure don't know the biking signals. If you're turning LEFT, they say to extend your RIGHT arm out all the way, and if you are turning RIGHT, then you extend your LEFT arm out all the way.

[Lingering Grin]

.....I thought a left turn was sticking your left arm straight out, and a right turn was bending your left arm at the elbow

[Digitalpotato]

According to everywhere BUT the Colorado DRivers manual, it's exactly as you say. :P

[Argus]

Which manual would that be? I just checked their website:

http://www.dot.state.co.us/bikeped/M...the%20Road.pdf

Page 7 covers the hand signals.

To signal a left turn, it says to extend the left arm. To signal a right turn, it says to either raise the left hand or extend the right arm. And to signal slow/stop, it says to lower the left hand.

I did find a Driver Handbook at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite.../1212657832969 that might be confusing until you realize that the pictures show the view from the front, for both cars (page 18) and bicycles (page 30).

[Arm]

So for a left turn you point right, and for a right you point left?

Some copy editor wants bike riders to DIE.

[Dips]

Which manual would that be? I just checked their website:

"To signal a left turn, it says to extend the left arm. To signal a right turn, it says to either raise the left hand or extend the right arm. And to signal slow/stop, it says to lower the left hand.)."

Thank you for clarifying that, Argus. It's good to have the facts.

[Chromatix]

In Britain there are three hand-signals for bikers to use - and they apply to both pedal and motorcyclists. The turn signals are simply holding out the arm inside the turn. The third signal is to signal slowing down, and is waving the offside arm (in Britain, that's the right one).

Cars have a set of hand signals as well, though they are not normally used due to the ubiquity of indicators. These are broadly the same as for bikes, but because holding out the nearside arm isn't as visible inside most cars, the preferred substitute for a nearside turn is to move the offside arm in a circular manner. I occasionally see vintage cars (without indicators) being driven using these signals even today.

[FenigDurak]

I'm gonna agree with DP here. I'm not a biker here in Colorado as I'm far too out of shape to go far, heh, but there are a TON of bikers. Thing is, I'm not surprised that the manual doesn't know what the signals are supposed to be as neither do any of the friggin bikers that I encounter.

I've seen them run lights, stop signs, turn in front of traffic, all sorts of crazy stunts. Everytime I see it my heart skips a beat then I get irritated.

[Dips]

I'm not surprised that the manual doesn't know what the signals are supposed to be.

According to Argus, who checked it out, the manual does get it right. Not that it's much comfort if nobody reads it.