Safety

Whether riding in a group or riding alone, hand signals are critically important to your overall safety. Motorcycle safety using hand signaling lets the other people (mostly cars) around you know what you are doing. Turn and brake lights are small, and often not familiar to automobile drivers. Hand signals greatly increase your visibility and over safety. Hand signals are really important when riding in groups, because of the limited visibility of the riders behind you, but equally important when sharing the highways with cell-phone talking, or equally distracted drivers that likely don't even know that you are on the same road with them.

When riding in a group, the person behind you likely does not know what's going on ahead of you. The courteous rider will relay signals back through the pack.

NOTE - While it's best to use hand signals, you should only do them when you are in a safe position to do so. For example, if you are in a turn, you don't want to take your hands off the handle bars or your feet off the pegs/boards. Just use common sense and everyone will be ok.

START ENGINES

With your right or left arm
extended, move your index
finger in a circular motion.

LEFT TURN

Raise your left arm
horizontal with your
elbow fully extended.

RIGHT TURN

Raise your left arm
horizontal with your
elbow bent 90 degrees
vertically.

HAZARD LEFT.

Extend your left arm at
a 45 degree angle and
point towards the hazard.
alternate: use your left foot

HAZARD RIGHT A

Extend your right arm at
a 45 degree angle and
point towards the hazard.
alternate: use your right foot

HAZARD RIGHT B

Extend your left arm upward
at a 45 degree angle with your
elbow bent to 90 degrees and
point towards the hazard over
your helmet.

SPEED UP

Raise your left arm up and down
with your index finger extended
upward. This indicates the
leader wants to speed up.

SLOW DOWN

Extend your left arm at
a 45 degree angle and move
your hand up and down.

STOP

Extend your left arm at
a 45 degree angle with the
palm of your hand facing rearward.

SINGLE FILE

Position your left hand over
your helmet with your fingers
extended upward. This indicates
the leader wants the group in a
single file formation. Usually this
is done for safety reasons.

STAGGERED
FORMATION -

Extend your left arm upward
at a 45 degree angle with your
index and pinkie finger extended.
This indicate that it is safe to
return to staggered formation.

TIGHTEN UP

Raise your left arm and
repeatedly move up and down
in a pulling motion. This
indicates the leader wants the
group to close ranks.

PISSED OFF

Extend your left arm straight out
with your elbow bent 90 degrees.
Carefully extend your middle finger
to clearly demonstrate your
dissatisfaction with the other guy.
NOTE: Of course no one should use this.
It's only meant to have fun here.