{"id":457841,"date":"2026-02-06T15:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T15:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/457841\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T15:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T15:42:08","slug":"researchers-asked-drivers-to-interpret-cyclist-signals-it-didnt-go-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/457841\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Asked Drivers to Interpret Cyclist Signals. It Didn\u2019t Go Well"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re driving a car, it\u2019s always the cyclist\u2019s fault. If you\u2019re the cyclist, it\u2019s always the driver\u2019s fault. But what if it\u2019s neither of your faults, and you\u2019re simply misunderstanding each other?<\/p>\n

In a study<\/a> published late last year in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, researchers investigated how well drivers understood bicyclists\u2019 hand signals, and let\u2019s just say that sometimes it was like they spoke two different languages. The research is timely. More cyclists are sharing roads with drivers, raising the risk of crashes from simple miscommunication. In the U.S., cyclist deaths in traffic accidents have increased by 38% over the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cConfusion around cyclist hand signals could lead drivers to react too late or make a maneuver directly into a cyclist\u2019s path,\u201d Christine Petersen, lead author of the study and a researcher at Rice University, said in a university statement<\/a>. \u201cCyclists are required by law to use hand signals, but we don\u2019t really know whether those signals consistently help drivers understand what a cyclist is about to do.\u201d On the other hand, we know a lot more about the dynamics between pedestrians and drivers.<\/p>\n

Within that context, Peterson and fellow Rice University researcher Patricia DeLucia tested study participants\u2019 ability to determine a bicyclist\u2019s next move. No, not within a real driving context, you psycho. The \u201cdrivers\u201d watched videos of a cyclist delivering sets of indications (arm signals, head movement, and position on the road) and reported what they thought the cyclist would do next (go left, go right, stop, or keep straight).<\/p>\n

Arm signals for the win <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the drivers mostly used arm signals to understand the cyclist\u2019s forthcoming action (this video<\/a> from the League of American Bicyclists goes over the standard arm signals). Other indications you might think are effective, like if cyclists look over their shoulder or where they are on the road, didn\u2019t do much for the drivers\u2019 understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most drivers comprehended left or right turns communicated by a straight arm indicating left or right. The bent-arm sign, however, proved trickier. Would you have understood it? It legally indicates a right turn in a significant number of places, and not even 25% of the drivers understood it. Thankfully, a majority of the drivers understood the stopping or slowing sign. However, when presumably asked what signal they themselves would employ as cyclists to communicate stopping or slowing, a significant number of drivers reported a different sign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSignals that match the direction of movement, pointing where you\u2019re going, are especially important for keeping interactions predictable and safe,\u201d explained Petersen. \u201cHand signals matter, but clarity matters even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also doesn\u2019t help that, according to the study, the rules and expectations associated with gestures are not the same in every country, even though the gestures themselves are comparable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get distracted <\/p>\n

The researchers employed eye-tracking as well, which showed that drivers first concentrated on the cyclist\u2019s back, maintaining them completely within view. When the cyclist moved their head or arm, the driver\u2019s focus went to the movement, actively seeking revealing indications. Still, they dedicated a lot of time regarding the cyclist\u2019s face, probably trying to verify their plan with eye contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrivers aren\u2019t ignoring cyclists,\u201d Petersen said. That\u2019s for you cyclists who think drivers are purposefully pretending like you\u2019re not there. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to read them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, when the drivers took part in a pretend cellphone call, the accuracy of their predictions decreased despite the fact that they were still looking at the road. They were still most likely to correctly interpret arm signals but did worse in general.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDistraction isn\u2019t just about looking away,\u201d Petersen said. \u201cTalking on a cellphone can slow reaction time and make it harder to process what a cyclist is trying to communicate,\u201d she added. \u201cCyclists are already at a disadvantage\u201d because they don\u2019t have many of the visual signals that drivers use to understand car movement, like bright turn signals and brake lights. This worsens the risks associated with distraction. \u201cWhen a driver isn\u2019t fully attentive, misunderstanding becomes more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep using them <\/p>\n

While the results cast doubt on whether established traffic laws completely align with the way people think in such moments, Peterson says the legal hand signs\u2014though clearly not perfect\u2014remain the safest method for cyclists. For the moment, that is. Laws can improve. For example, the study emphasizes that more comprehensible and natural stopping or slowing indications, a.k.a. when drivers who really, really need to understand you, are necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch gives us an opportunity to rethink communication and invest in better education, so drivers and cyclists understand each other,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cWhen communication breaks down,\u201d she concluded, \u201cthe risks increase for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re driving a car, it\u2019s always the cyclist\u2019s fault. If you\u2019re the cyclist, it\u2019s always the driver\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[68896,49,48,10850,635,82,16085],"class_list":["post-457841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bikes","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-communications","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-vehicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}