Featuring Paul Dragan, Cycling Equipment Specialist

Duration: 1 minutes, 28 seconds

When you're on your bike and you're riding on the public street, you must remember that your class is a motor vehicle and you must obey the same rules that cars obey.

That’s the biggest problem when you talk to automobilists and bicycle riders is, each claims the other one isn’t doing something they shouldn’t be. 

So the simple way to remember it is if whatever rules you have when you are in your car, you should abide by the same rules. That means stopping in stop signs. That means not riding through the crosswalk.

That means ringing your bell when you're passing someone or to let them know there’s danger coming. Hands signals are probably the biggest one that most recreational riders do not know exists or know they exist but ignore them or don’t feel that they apply to them. 

They're very, very simple and it tells the driver behind you what you're going to do.  And also, perhaps a pedestrian who’s crossing the street as well might even know what you're doing. So the basic hand signals are very, very simple. And these are the basic hand signals. 

This is a right turn, this is a left turn, and this means stop or slow down. And now we’re going to on the road and I'm going to show you how those hand signals work. Signal in advance of the sign. When you stop, stop before the line, put your foot down. 

Now you can make your right turn. You can see how it's fairly close to the curb when making a right turn. When approaching a stop sign, it's not necessary to do the slow down signal. What the driver’s looking for is whether you're going to turn right or left.

However, the slow down or stop signal, is very important if you're riding with a group of riders, because that rider behind you needs to know what you're doing. Now we’re approaching a stop sign where we’re going to do a left turn.

The one thing you want to think about is where, is the driver, going to see you. For a left turn you would like to be positioned well out into the street so the driver can see you. Again, look both ways, when it's cleared, make your turn.

Remember, I put my foot down at the stop sign. If you ride your bike like you drive your car you will be safe, the motorist will understand what it is that you're doing, and both of you will get along very well and you’ll both be happy to see each other.
    

Presenter: Mr. Paul Dragan, Bracing & Equipment Specialist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Bracing & Equipment Specialist