The purpose of this section is to give advice on how best to attempt some of the aspects of driving that people who are learning often struggle to grasp, from manoeuvres to roundabouts and lots of other things, I hope you can find some useful advice below.
Topics Covered (Click to go straight to)
7. Position When Turning Right
If you would like me to include anything else, please contact me.
1. Steering (number 8 on the DSA's top 10 reasons for failure)
Firstly, relax, it's very difficult to steer properly if you're hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life, most cars today are not fitted with ejector seats, so you are quite unlikely to need to prevent yourself flying out of the car by holding on to wheel as tightly as you can! You are aiming to hold the wheel, at either 10 to 2 or quarter to 3 (imagine the wheel as a clock face), between your fingers and thumbs, with your palms resting lightly on the outside of the wheel, your thumbs should be pointing towards the top of the wheel, not wrapped around it.
You will be expected to steer smoothly and at
the right time, without crossing your hands or letting the wheel spin back
after turning.
Steering faults often emanate, not from problems with drivers' hand positions, but from them not looking in the right places. For example, if you are shooting a gun, you look well ahead at your target, not at the end of the gun and it's the same with driving (although it's debatable which is more lethal). It is essential that drivers look where they're going and plan their path through whatever lies in front of them.
For example, in the diagram to the right, the driver of the red car spends too much time looking ahead, for oncoming traffic. They don't take effective observation down the road into which they are turning and position too far forwards. This means that the car follows the path shown, resulting in erratic and, possibly, rather frantic steering.
Click here to return to the top of page.
2. Reverse Parking (number 2 on the DSA's top 10 reasons for failure)
All of the reversing manoeuvres are assessed on three elements, these are control, observation and accuracy. You have to complete the reverse park in a controlled manner, with good observation and ending up reasonably close and parallel to the kerb.
Firstly, it is worth remembering that the amount of space (2 car lengths) allowed to complete this manoeuvre is actually quite generous. If I had a 2 car length space in which to park, it wouldn't be necessary to reverse in to it, it would be quite comfortable to go in forwards. You also don't have to finish up against the kerb, or very close to it, all you have to be is "reasonably" close to the kerb (a general rule of thumb is to ask yourself "would I be happy leaving the car parked here?") you should also try to be parallel to the kerb, if you're not sure what parallel is, see below.
Another thing to remember is that you can drive forwards and backwards (all within the 2 car lengths) after completing the exercise. Many learners fail because they don't correct their mistakes, remember, you won't always park perfectly first time in real life, so you need to know what to do to correct yourself should you not park perfectly in one go.
There are many different ways to reverse park, I've always been a firm believer in "if it works, use it". Different instructors and learner drivers will use many different methods and no one is more right than another. For what it's worth, my preferred method is shown below.
1. When the backs of the 2 cars are level, steer 1 whole turn to the left.
2. When the car reaches a 45 degree angle across the road, steer 1 turn to the right.
3. When the car is about a foot from the kerb, put your full lock on to the right.
4. As the car comes parallel to the kerb, straighten up by steering left.
As with most things, however, success is usually achieved through practise.
Click here to return to the top of page.
3. Reversing around a corner to the left (number 4 on the DSA's top 10 reasons for failure)
Again, there are a number of different "methods" for successful completion of this exercise, I tend to shy away from lining the kerb up with the pink sticker on the back window/Manufacturer's window sticker/corner of the window, etc. as these points tend to be very subjective and may change depending on the car you are driving. Think about how you drive forwards around a corner, you don't look down at the corner of the windscreen or at the kerb, you just look well ahead and "feel" how much to steer. I think it's best to try and do the same when reversing a corner, remember, you're learning to manoeuvre a car going backwards, the reverse around a corner is just a way of assessing your capabilities. If you know how to reverse, you can do the corner, sadly, it doesn't always work the other way around.
Make sure you include the 3 aspects of any
manoeuvre, control, observation and accuracy and, basically, just do it.
Some more details of this approach are shown below.
A. Drive past the corner, making sure to look in to the road you're about to reverse down. Make mental motes of any obstructions such as parked vehicles close to the junction or children playing and don't forget to keep checking you're mirrors in case you need to signal as you stop. Also, note whether the corner is sharp or sweeping.
B. Take effective observation (360 degrees around the car) before moving off. As you reverse, look over you're left shoulder through the centre of the rear windscreen.
C. When your instincts tell you that the rear of the car is level with the start of the corner, start turning, it may take a few attempts to gauge exactly how much. Focus your eyes around the corner to the point you want your car to end up (E), TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS (as to whether the car is heading towards or away from the kerb) and adjust your steering as necessary. DON'T DITHER, this is responsible for many a failed attempt as learners hesitate before turning. Remember to keep looking all around the you as you turn as the car's front end will be swinging out in to the road. If any other road users come, STOP, wait until they pass you, if they wait then carry on (except when they're behind you, see below).
D. As you come around the corner and on to the straight, line the car up with the kerb, a short check of the left-hand door mirror is permissible at this point, but DON'T overdo this, if you do, you are certainly not taking effective observation as the door mirrors have a very limited field of vision. Reverse straight back until the examiner tells you to stop, remembering to continue the observation, if someone turns in to the junction, stop. Again, we're looking to be "reasonably close" to the kerb at the end.
If someone comes up behind you as you're going around the corner, or along the straight, STOP. Give them a couple of seconds to come past you, or for the examiner to say "OK, thanks, off you go". If neither of these occur, then the only option you have left is to drive back around the corner and start the manoeuvre again, don't ask the examiner what to do, it's your decision. It will soon become obvious that this situation always occurs when you're doing a perfect reverse and never when you're messing one up!
Click here to return to the top of page.
4. Use of Mirrors (number 3 on the DSA's top 10 reasons for failure)
This topic can cause quite a lot of confusion to drivers, whether learning or not. The best thing to do here is probably to draw a distinction between looking in your mirrors and using your mirrors. There is a difference.
Many learners go on test, fail on mirrors and say things like "yeah, but, I was looking in them loads". It is not just a question of looking at the glass, or moving your eyes rapidly in the hope of convincing the examiner you're looking, it is a question of using them. In other words, making use of your mirrors to deal with whatever situation is occurring on the road around you.
While we're on the subject of mirrors, let's address an old wives' tale that I hear regularly. There is no need to mis-align your mirrors to make it obvious you're checking. The examiner will focus on you pretty closely and watch what your eyes are doing, even more so if they suspect that there may be a problem with your observation. If you have to move your head each time you check, all that it does is suggest that you can't even do something as simple as setting your mirrors up properly.
Click here to return to the top of page.
5. Observations at Junctions (number 1 on the DSA's top 10 reasons for failure)
Observations at road junctions is the number 1 reason why people fail their driving test in the UK and it seems to be a relatively trivial thing for candidates to fail on. After all, learner drivers have been negotiating junctions since their first few lessons, so why do so many fail?
There will be many junctions to negotiate on your driving test, both left and right turns, major to minor (main road to side road) and minor to major (side road to main road), so there is plenty of opportunity for the under-prepared to have problems. You will be assessed on whether the vehicle is completely under control and in the correct gear, you need to take into account relevant road signs and markings, give appropriate and necessary signals in good time and ensure the vehicle is correctly positioned. There is also the small matter of other road users, you must not make other do any of the 4 P's, that is slow down, stop, swerve or swear!
Click here to return to the top of page.
6. Inappropriate speed
This topic often causes a great deal of confusion for learner drivers, it encompasses categories such as making progress, use of speed and hesitancy. Use of speed is essentially going too fast, it does not necessarily relate to the speed limit. While exceeding the speed limit consistently, or by a large amount will almost always result in failure, we are talking here about appropriate speed, in other words, the right speed for the situation in front of you at all times. This obviously links strongly to your observational skills, as most things in driving do.
Hesitancy is the opposite, we're talking here about driving in a hesitant manner, whether too slowly, or hesitating when making the decision whether to go or not at junctions.
Overall, candidates need to ensure their speed is appropriate for whatever is around them. You are expected to make progress, but only WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. Anyone presenting them for the L test needs to show the examiner a confident drive, being cautious when necessary, but also "getting on with it" when the opportunity arises.
Click here to return to the top of page.
7. Position When Turning Right (number 9 on the DSA's top ten reasons for failure)
The
main areas referred to here are turning right from major roads into minor
roads and at the end of one way streets. When turning right at the end
of a one way street, the car should be positioned on the right-hand side of
the road (you do not need to allow for cars turning in). If the signs
indicating that the road is one way have been missed, the give way markings
across the whole width of the road at the end of it should give it away.
One of the other main reasons people fail when turning right is their position, as illustrated, left. Drivers often leave it too late to enter the central area and, therefore, end up with the car at an angle, leaving the back end of the car sticking out into the main road. This is potentially dangerous as the car is open to being struck from behind and will attract a serious fault.
A better approach may be indicated by the blue car (above) and one area which often confuses drivers is whether they can enter the hatch markings. Rule 109 of the Highway Code states: Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.
- If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.
- If the area is marked with diagonal stripes and bordered by solid white lines, you should not enter it except in an emergency.
- If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOT enter it except in an emergency.
So in other words, if the hatch markings are bordered by a broken white line (which they usually are), you CAN enter them if you can see it's safe. This is usually the best method as it enables the driver to get the car into a good and much safer position to wait if the right turn cannot be executed straight away.
Click here to return to the top of page.
There will be more topics added over the coming weeks, so please check back soon.
If you're learning to drive at the moment, enjoy it and best of luck,
