Driving Hand Signals

How many times have you come across a driver, whose signal are very difficult to decipher? It is difficult to understand, whether the driver is going to halt his vehicle or is going to turn to either sides or there is some other issue? More often than not the driving hand signals are very confusing. It is important to understand, that the driving hand signals are the same for the auto drivers, cyclists or motorcyclists. Do you wonder, why is that the hand signals are so important during driving? It is because we cannot communicate verbally with other drivers, driving their own vehicles. Therefore, it has become important to have a lexicon of communication, that uses hand signals to convey specific meanings of the hand signals.

Although there is no formal sign language, driving hand signals form one of the largest sets of gestures, hence have become an important part of driver education. It is true that hand signals differ from one country to another, there are some signals which are universally acceptable and there are some that are acceptable within a specific region. We will now see what are driving hand signals.

Driving Hand Signals Explained

The turning hand signals are the most basic driving hand signals. These signals are used, when you are driving a car or if a truck has broken turn lights. They are also used to indicate, that you are turning, while you are on a bike, that has no turn signals to begin with. In countries with right-hand drive, including America, the left hand is used to indicate, as the driver is on the left side of the vehicle, due to which the driver is able to put his arm out of the window and it is also visible to the driver, who is following your vehicle. You may want to read on defensive driving.

When the driver wants to turn to the left, he puts his left arm out of the window straight and horizontal to the left. Whereas if the driver wants to turn to the right, he puts his left arm out of the window forming a right angle with forearm and with the hand vertically upwards to the left. If you are using your cycle, then you can use your right arm and put it straight out and horizontal to the right. We have seen the signals which we will use if we are turning, but what do we do when we want to halt? If you extend your arm with the forearm pointed straight down with the elbow making a ninety degree angle, it indicates that you are going to stop. This is one of the often used driving hand signals in California.

These were the basic driving hand signals. There are other signals, which a driver might want to communicate with the other drivers as a part of driving safety. If you want to indicate, that there is an obstacle in the road, then you will have to point out of the window and then down towards the road with the pointer finger fully extended. With this the other drivers would know, that there is an obstacle and he may reduce his driving speed. If the driver has the palm of the left arm, facing down and pushing it down slowly, it indicates that the oncoming driver, should reduce his driving speed. On the other hand, if the palm of the left arm is open and faces directly towards the oncoming driver, it is an indicator for the driver to stop. If you want to indicate to the driver, that he should pull over, then you will have the move your hand from side to side with the palm facing the side. This is not only a driving test tip, but also a tip while driving, which you should always remember.

There are some other driving hand signals as well, however, they are primarily used to show disappointment or anger to the other driver. Most of the basic hand signals are the same in most of the countries. The difference lies whether the country uses right hand drive or left hand drive. At the same time, there are certain signals which are also very culture specific. To get the exact hand signals, it is better to look up the handbook for the specific province itself.