John Douglas Tolli, PhD, is an experienced educator who recently worked in areas of biology education at a community college in Southern California. Beyond his activities as a professor of biology, John Douglas Tolli, PhD, enjoys maintaining and riding his motorcycle.
Motorcycle enthusiasts, particularly those who enjoy long, group rides, should familiarize themselves with important hand gestures as a means of communicating with other riders. Hand signals can be especially important in the event that a rider's turn signal or brake lights fail over the course of a ride.
Signals used to indicate turns and stops are relatively simple to perform. A left turn is signaled by raising the left arm parallel to the ground and fully extending fingers or pointing to the turn. The same gesture can be used with the right arm to signal a right turn, though it is more common to raise the left arm, bent 90 degrees at the elbow, and holding the hand up at head level. The sign for stopping, meanwhile, is a mirror image of the right turn signal using the left arm, with the arm bent down at the elbow, palm facing back.
It can also be helpful to learn signals that warn other motorists of potential trouble on the road. Debris or other hazards ahead, for instance, can be signaled by pointing with the left hand around waist level or, if the hazard is off the side of the road, pointing with the right foot.
There are a number of slightly more complex signals that motorcyclists should learn in order to communicate with other riders as part of a group ride, such as the follow and lead commands, double or single file riding, and even gestures to indicate specific kinds of stops, such as for fuel or comfort.
Motorcycle enthusiasts, particularly those who enjoy long, group rides, should familiarize themselves with important hand gestures as a means of communicating with other riders. Hand signals can be especially important in the event that a rider's turn signal or brake lights fail over the course of a ride.
Signals used to indicate turns and stops are relatively simple to perform. A left turn is signaled by raising the left arm parallel to the ground and fully extending fingers or pointing to the turn. The same gesture can be used with the right arm to signal a right turn, though it is more common to raise the left arm, bent 90 degrees at the elbow, and holding the hand up at head level. The sign for stopping, meanwhile, is a mirror image of the right turn signal using the left arm, with the arm bent down at the elbow, palm facing back.
It can also be helpful to learn signals that warn other motorists of potential trouble on the road. Debris or other hazards ahead, for instance, can be signaled by pointing with the left hand around waist level or, if the hazard is off the side of the road, pointing with the right foot.
There are a number of slightly more complex signals that motorcyclists should learn in order to communicate with other riders as part of a group ride, such as the follow and lead commands, double or single file riding, and even gestures to indicate specific kinds of stops, such as for fuel or comfort.
