e2e.bike

Cycling adventures across Yorkshire, Britain and beyond

Menu
  • End to Ends
    • Britain
    • Ireland
    • France
    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Belgium
    • Netherlands
    • Luxembourg
    • Denmark
    • Austria
    • Switzerland
    • Czechia
    • Slovakia
    • Poland
    • Latvia
    • Cuba
    • Sri Lanka
    • Taiwan
    • Isle of Man
    • Faroes
    • Liechtenstein
  • Coast to Coasts
  • Yorkshire Ridings
  • Others
  • Writings
Menu
← PreviousNext →

Copenhagen v London 4: Not waving but turning

Posted on 5 November 200911 March 2021 by Rob Ainsley


Copenhagen’s cyclists have a hand signal I’d not seen before. It consists of raising one hand level with the head, the palm flat and facing outwards, as if acknowledging a friend (right).

At first you think people are just being sociable and waving to each other, but then you realise it’s a hand signal with a specific purpose. It seems to mean ‘I’m turning left, but not yet’.

Turning left involves crossing an oncoming stream of traffic, because in Denmark traffic drives on the right, instead of London where traffic drives around the Thames Water roadworks. At some junctions, though, you’re not supposed to turn left by waiting in the middle (which you would sign in the normal way by sticking your left arm straight out).


Instead, you join the head of the queue of cyclists coming perpendicularly across you from your right, and wait for the signal to go straight on. To show that you’re going to do this, you do the Copenhagen Wave, like the two lasses in these pictures.

Of course, we have several hand signals in frequent use in London which aren’t in the Highway Code, but I don’t propose to illustrate them.

Previous
←   Copenhagen v London 3: Cargo? Not by car
Next
Copenhagen v London 5: Bikes of a different colour →

You are here

e2e.bike > Other > Copenhagen v London 4: Not waving but turning

Recent Posts

  • Germany 9: Kassel to Beverungen 14 September 2025
  • Germany 8: Bad Hersfeld to Kassel 13 September 2025
  • Germany 7: Kothen to Bad Hersfeld 12 September 2025

Random Posts

  • (Latvia 0: Gulbene to Alūksne)24 June 2023
    I’m going Baltic for my latest End to End, riding Latvia’s quiet …
  • Quirky London 11: The flying canal11 February 2010
    Where is it? On the Grand Union Canal Paddington Arm, about five …
  • Rutland 1: Water, water everywhere25 June 2018
    More cycle-route research, this time in Rutland and with Tim. Yes, it …

Search e2e.bike

Find me

        
Facebook • Bluesky • Linked In • Email
© 2025 e2e.bike | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme