In two club rides in two weeks, I've been 5 feet behind a serious wreck occurring on left turns.

I believe that both could have been avoided if, in addition to the hand signal:
  • an audible "slowing" signal is yelled by one of the front riders well in advance of the turn, and
  • an audible "left turn" or "right turn" is yelled as well


I think that experienced riders take these basic safety enhancements for granted. It's not just a speed/hammerhead issue:

  • Last week, it was a high speed fall at 40mph resulting in a rider's broken hip.
  • Tonight, it was a relatively slow speed fall, that created a lot of road rash an destroyed a deraillure (in the middle of nowhere...)