What might a flag on the back of a bicycle indicate?

1. The operator will be making frequent stops.
2. The operator drives above the speed limit.
3. The operator is hearing impaired. ✓
4. The bicycle is broken.

Answer: C. The operator is hearing impaired.

A flag on the back of a bicycle may indicate that the operator is hearing impaired.

Why this is the answer

The Texas Driver Handbook has a bicycle equipment rule saying that riders who are hearing impaired are allowed to display a safety flag. In the signals chapter, the handbook repeats this and tells you to slow down when you see that flag on a bicycle because the person riding may not hear you. Nothing in the handbook ties the flag to frequent stops, speeding, or a broken bike.

Why the other answers are wrong

• A. The operator will be making frequent stops. — The handbook never links the flag to a rider who stops often; the only meaning given is that the operator may not hear.
• B. The operator drives above the speed limit. — Nothing in the passages says the flag marks a rider who travels above the speed limit.
• D. The bicycle is broken. — The flag is described as a safety flag a hearing-impaired rider may choose to display, not as a warning that the bicycle is broken.

Remember it

Think of the flag as the rider's way of saying "I may not hear you" — so ease off and give room.