Subtle usage of biking etiquette

Interesting answer to the question ‘What is meaning of a biker extending leg?’ (Q&A, February). Yes, it is to say thank you for allowing them to pass and helping in some way.

The salut des motards is a little more complex – the salute is actually to extend the first two fingers of the left hand horizontally to express deux roues. If this gesture is done slowly, it means ‘I’m progressing in a relaxed manner’. If it done with the merest flick of the fingers, it means ‘I’m riding fast, without time to acknowledge you’.

If it accompanied by the front wheel of the motorcycle coming up, it means the rider is about 16.

Interestingly, this gesture can’t be done in the UK, as it would be done with the right hand, which would mean closing the throttle. So UK motorcyclists do ‘the nod’.

Having travelled by motorcycle in many countries, I can tell you that all have a different gesture system to acknowledge you, and it is worth finding out what they are to avoid giving offence. In some countries a ‘thumb up’ is considered the height of rudeness.

Andy Wallace, Brittany