What Does It Mean If A Biker Bends Their Left Arm Down With The Palm Facing Back?

Every person on the road needs to be as safe as possible. This should go without saying, but there are a shocking number of people who completely forget the basic elements of road safety when they get behind the wheel of a car or straddle their motorcycle. Those on motorcycles need to be extra mindful of driving safely because their overall protection is basically next to nothing outside of a helmet and the clothes they are wearing. People in a car at least have a large metal enclosure surrounding them. Of course, motorcycle drivers are putting a lot of trust in all of the car drivers around them to keep them safe, but there are a lot of things the bikers can do themselves to best protect themselves. One of the most basic is knowing different motorbike hand signals.

Because motorcycles nowadays are equipped with things like tail lights and turn signals, people may not think they need to provide their own hand signals while driving a motorcycle, but just like with a regular bicycle, it is vitally important that you use your arms and hands to best get across what you are going to do on your motorcycle. There are a lot of these hand signals, so it may be difficult to remember them all, especially if you're learning them for the first time. Arguably, one of the most important of these hand signals involves bending your left arm down at a 90-degree angle with your palm facing backward. Doing this motion enough that it becomes second nature could very well save your life.

When you make this palm-backward, bent-arm hand signal, you are indicating that you are coming to a stop. Yes, your taillights should illuminate your motorcycle to tell the person behind you that you are stopping, but sometimes that is not enough. Your taillights could not be working properly, and you might not be aware of that. There is also the notion that the back of a motorcycle is not a particularly large surface area, and the person driving behind you may not notice them turning on when you apply the brakes, especially during a bright day. In that scenario, seeing your arm stretched out could be far more noticeable to that driver, making the driver behind you apply their brakes far sooner. This is also crucial if you are the leader of a motorcycle club who may not all be able to see your taillights.

It is very important to remember that this 90-degree has your forearm pointed down. If you have your forearm pointed up, that is telling the person behind you that you are making a right turn. Of course, that is also a hand signal you need to commit to memory, but it is crucially important that you do not mix them up.

Apart from palm signals, there are also finger signals, like two fingers up, that the rider should know. All such information is not just useful to motorcycle drivers — those who drive in a car need to know these hand signals as well. That way, you can know exactly how the cyclists on the road with you are moving. After all, it is not the cyclist's sole responsibility to look out for themselves. Everybody needs to be looking out for everybody on the road.