Proceed With Caution if Using Highway Hand Signals

A drivers’ group has developed a guide to gestures that motorists can give one another on the road, but the one you’re most familiar with is not among them.

These gestures are freeway friendly.

The National Motorists Assn., whose mission includes “the enhancement of motorist-to-motorist communication,” has developed signals that drivers can use to deliver such messages as “I’m sorry,” “Danger ahead,” “Pull over to let me pass” and “There is a problem with your car.”

This may seem the last thing you would expect on the freeways, which were once described by author David Brodsly as a sanctuary for steel boxes “safe from all direct communication with other individuals.”

Still, there is some precedent for mobile communication: Southern California is the home of freeway dating services and a company that makes electronic license plate signs that display messages like “I’m Going As Fast As I Can” and “Pull Over, Let’s Meet.”

The Wisconsin-based motorists association says it has developed seven signals to promote courtesy.

“You unintentionally inconvenience, irritate or endanger another motorist,” says the group’s guide. “You feel embarrassed and the other driver is angry.”

What do you do? Step on the gas and get out of there fast? No, you flash the apology signal: two fingers in a “V” like the peace sign, the association says.

Traffic experts, however, urge drivers to use caution in flashing signals to another driver who may mistake one finger for another.

And in multicultural Los Angeles, one man’s “thumbs up” might mean an insult to another. Or be misinterpreted as a gang sign.

“Obviously, you have to be careful,” warned Officer Rhett Price of the California Highway Patrol, which has its own secret hand signals, used by officers to signal danger and other messages to each other.

Earlier this month, a motorist on the Ventura Freeway was shot after giving an obscene gesture to a driver who flashed her headlights--the generally accepted signal for prodding slower-moving vehicles to move over. Several years ago an off-duty CHP officer, who flashed his headlights in frustration at a pickup driver who cut him off on the freeway, was pursued for several miles and then fatally shot.

Traffic experts also expressed concern that the signals could be distracting--or worse, if a driver gives the two-handed signal for “need assistance” by making a “T” like basketball coach Bobby Knight does to call a timeout. “You want to keep both hands on the wheel,” advised Price.

The search for civility on the roadway is not new in Southern California. In the 1940s, Los Angeles marked Traffic Courtesy Week, during which a local judge complained that it was a “lack of drawing-room manners when people are behind the wheel which puts many persons in the morgue.”

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Presently, the Department of Motor Vehicles includes a few references to courtesy in its driver handbook, such as: “Don’t honk simply to show other drivers that they have made a mistake. Your honking may upset them so much that they may make more mistakes.”

“The more opportunities for communication you have, the better the possibility for treating each other decently,” said Kenneth Sereno, a USC associate professor of communications.

John Tomerlin, a Laguna Beach writer and association member who uses the hand signals, said, “I just think the kind of signals that we see more frequently used in the Los Angeles area don’t really help the situation.”

Tomerlin, who owns a Jaguar and a Porsche, said he occasionally flashes his headlights for a slower vehicle to move over.

“It does work, sometimes,” he said. “I would be prepared to follow it up with the apology sign if someone takes it ill.”

Tomerlin said he has signaled other drivers to check their lights. “I’ve had people wave and correct the problem. At other times, I’ve gotten very blank looks. But I’ve never had any problems with anybody.”

“I’m very hesitant to try any of these things up in L.A.,” said Robert Epstein, a San Diego psychology professor and an association member who uses the signals. “I’m afraid someone will shoot me.”

Epstein said he has pointed to another car and flashed the thumbs-down to warn a driver of a problem. “Some people will get the message, and some people have no idea what I’m doing. If it were part of everyone’s training, we could all communicate with each other on the road.”

Here then are the signals:

* Slow down, danger ahead : Flash your headlights or brake lights to warn other motorists. Or you can extend your left arm and motion downward.

* Yield left lane : To signal a slower vehicle in the passing lane to pull over, flash your left-turn signal four to six times. If that doesn’t work, briefly flash your headlights. Officer Price urges caution in flashing your headlights because “it can be misinterpreted.” He said drivers can receive a ticket if they flash their brights within 300 feet behind another driver. And, he said, drivers should not be flashing their lights to a driver who is obeying the 55 m.p.h. speed limit. “If you are speeding, you are violating the law. . . . You shouldn’t expect those who are obeying the law to have to yield the right of way.”

* Pull over for a problem : To alert another motorist who is about to have a flat or lose luggage from an outside rack, point to the problem, then signal “thumbs down.” CHP Sgt. Ernie Garcia warns motorists to exercise caution in pulling over. If a driver is suspicious of the person signaling or is in unfamiliar territory, he should drive to a safe place like a police or fire station to check his car. “They should keep in the back of their mind that we’re living in a pretty dangerous environment,” Garcia said.

* Check your lights : To alert a motorist who forgot to turn off his blinker or has a burned-out light, open and close your hand, touching the thumb and fingertips together, like the yap-yap sign.

* Thank you, I understand : Use either “thumbs up” or “OK.”

* Need assistance. Make the sign of a “T” by crossing one hand above the other, like a sports time-out.

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Street Talk

Drivers can now let their fingers do the talking on the freeway. The National Motorists Assn. has developed signals to help drivers communicate with one another. A sampling:

* I’m sorry. If you unintentionally inconvenience, irritate or endanger another motorist, hold two fingers in a “V” position, like the “V for victory” signal or the peace sign. Or, for the Trekkies among you, Spock’s “Live Long and Prosper” sign minus a few fingers.

* Check your lights. To alert a motorist about a burned-out light, open and close your hand, touching the thumb and fingertips together, like the yap-yap motion. Hopefully, the other driver won’t think you are saying he is talking too much.

* Need assistance. Make the sign of a “T” by crossing one hand above the other, like Bobby Knight does when he wants to call a time out. However, this signal may present a problem if you are driving. The California Highway Patrol recommends that drivers do not take both hands off the wheel.