High Country Harley-Davidson/Buell  
3761 Monarch Street, Frederick, CO 80516  
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Using Hand Signals

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.

In motorcycling, hand signals are extremely important, not only when riding in groups of motorcycles, but also when riding in traffic with cars. It is always a good idea to give the automobile driver a little more visibility about your intensions.

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

 

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
HAZARD RIGHT A		Extend your right arm at a 45 degree angle and point towards the hazard.
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   or SIDE-BY-SIDE 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:  It is not recommended you do this when you are alone.

 

Special thanks to graphics from: http://www.a3hog.com/

Ann Arbor Hog Chapter,   HOG Chapter 2171,  Ann Arbor, Michigan

 

 

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