Independent driving, new driving test from 4th October 2010

Ok so the driving test is changing soon, is there anything to be concerned about? I'd say not. This is what will happen; at some point during your test the examiner will get you to stop on the left as normal advise you that he/she wants you to do some independent driving. They will explain that they either want you to follow a series of directions similar to the junctions shown here. Alternatively that you should follow signs for a location e.g. major town. Since it is always the second half of the test, you are bound to be driving back towards the test centre. So for example please follow signs for Lichfield or Sutton Coldfield. You may also be asked to do a combination both following a series of junction, then follow signs for wherever.

Important note: In the current test if the examiner asks you to turn left at the end of the road and you actually turn right, what happens? As long as you do it safely and commit no driving faults, the examiner will say "I actually asked you to turn left, but don't worry I will get us back onto the correct route." It doesn't matter at all, really, really it is fine. Similarly in the independent driving section of the new test, if you can't remember the route or get confused, this is what to do. Follow the route that you think is probably correct and do it safely (using you normal procedures). If there is time ask the examiner to clarify, but if in any doubt just carry on safely and the examiner will help with directions as necessary.
Independent driving is being used from October 4th 2010 and there will be one less reversing manoeuvre, you still have to be able to do all four, so keep practising.

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RAMP and MSPSL - secrets for passing test

Following on from yesterday's tip - let's look at how the examiner's are taught. Ok so there's a junction coming up and we are going to turn right - this is what the examiner thinks: RAMP = (check) Road Ahead, (check) Mirror, (eyes on) Pupil and says "at the road ahead please turn right". The examiner then checks if the pupil follows MSPSL. Mirrors - are pupil's eyes looking into internal and right mirrors? Signal - is pupil's finger applying right signal at the correct time? Position - are we steering to just left of centre? Speed - are we slowing down to correct speed for junction, correct gear too? Look - is pupil looking ahead and right? And finally is the pupil's decision a good one i.e. to go or stop?
So every time the examiner says " at the ..... ahead please turn ......" - you should kick off your MSPSL procedure - this is the correct way to deal with ALL hazards anyway and if you apply it correctly, you will have a better than average chance in your test.

More tips soon in the meantime check out my intensive course website

Get inside the examiner's head to help pass test

During the practical test the examiner must to go through a number of set procedures and understanding these will help you pass. You will be stopped on the left around 8 times on your test, sometimes prior to a manoeuvre but mostly to check that that your safety check hold up when put under pressure. So to stop on the left we use MSM and it isn't finished until you apply parking brake, select neutral and cancel any signal; you will then be told "thank you, drive on when your ready". When you hear this, think "drive on when safe" & do all around observation finally checking right over your right shoulder. Sometimes you will be stopped on an uphill & yes your ability to use good clutch control is being tested, but the main thing is this. Since it generally takes a few seconds to pull away uphill, you MUST check over your right shoulder again & again, as often as it takes until you are off and running. You will be asked to stop on the left reasonably close to a parked car; again when you drive off it will take a few seconds to clear the obstacle; no prizes for guessing what you MUST do (again & again as often as it takes). Next tip about RAMP and MSPSL in next blog.

Learn safe driving for life AND pass your test.

Keeping a bubble of safety around your new (or old) car

Here a few tips to keep you safe before and after you pass.

When travelling in traffic & you need to stop, try to maintain a gap of around 1.5 meters to the vehicle in front. Measure this easily by checking that you can just see the tyres of the vehicle ahead touching the tarmac (road). Why why why - try the car in front breaks down & if you are too close, how would you steer around? It could also roll back - who hasn't done that? If an emergency vehicle wants to come between traffic, it will be easier to go left or right if you leave a gap - could save a life or ....

In dry weather use the 2 second rule; by watching the vehicle ahead pass a stationary object (tree, sign, bridge) and then saying "Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule". If you get to the stationary object before you finish that phrase, then you are following too close. It takes 2 second to say that and if the road condition is poor e.g. wet or loose surface then double that time i.e. say it twice.



Let's say you overtake a slower vehicle on a dual carriageway, how soon should you pull over in front of it? Well you really want to leave a 2 second gap again; but how to measure that? The easiest way is to carry on until you see BOTH headlight come into you internal mirror - works every time.


Drive safely and take care especially just after you pass.

Top ten reasons for failing the practical driving test

According to the Driving Standards Agency, the current pass rate for the UK driving test is 43%. So it has to be useful to know what most people do wrong.

The top ten reasons for failing the driving test are:

1. Observation at junctions: Ineffective observation and judgement.
2. Reverse parking manoeuvre: Ineffective observation or lack of accuracy.
3. Use of mirrors: Not checking or not acting on information from mirrors.
4. Reversing around a corner manoeuvre: Ineffective observation or a lack of accuracy.
5. Incorrect use of signals on driving test: Not cancelling or giving misleading signals.
6. Moving away safely: Ineffective observation before moving.
7. Incorrect positioning on the road: At roundabouts or on bends.
8. Lack of steering control: Steering too early or leaving it too late.
9. Incorrect positioning to turn right: At junctions and in one way streets.
10. Inappropriate speed during the test: Travelling too slowly or being hesitant.

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Signals to other road users

The Highway Code states that signals are used to warn and inform other road users of our intentions. How many signals can you think of and how often are they used? Most people would say, indicators, brake lights, reversing lights, hazard warning lights - then err err can't remember. Anyway for what it is worth there are 8 and I believe this is the correct ranking based on usage.

1. Car position i.e. parked or holding back; positioned to turn right/left; lane discipline on roundabout, dual carriageway etc.
2. Brake lights
3. Indicators
4. Reversing lights
5. Headlight flash
6. Hazard warning lights
7. Horn
8. Arm signals

So if you think about it we are continuously giving at least one signal at all times, even if we are simply driving down a straight road with no intention of turning off. The car position is an intuitive signal straight from the driver's subconscious.

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Today's Tips For Eco Friendly Driving

Plan your trip before you leave home, paying attention to both the route and timing of your trip. It’s estimates that around 350,000 tonnes of fuel is wasted every year by drivers who get lost. Don't use the car for short journeys - take a walk or cycle and keep fit! Similarly, public transport can often be an easier and more cost-effective way of travelling, and you don't have to worry about parking. When you do use the car, try to combine trips into one journey and, where possible, share trips with friends.
Learn to drive the eco friendly way.

Environmentally friendly tips for all drivers

If you are going to be stationary for more than two minutes, switch off the engine rather than waste fuel.
Recycle: Batteries and oil can be recycled at your local household waste disposal centre.

Rescue courses are one of our specialist courses, so if you were not success in your practical test, we can help you be safe and pass next time.

Thursday's eco tip

Every extra 50kg of weight can increase your fuel costs by around 2%, so avoid driving around with unnecessary items (or people!) in your car. Also roof racks, spoilers and anything else that increases drag on the outside of your car can dramatically increase the amount of fuel you use. Take the roof rack off when you are not using it.



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Wednesday's Tip For Eco Friendly Driving

Dirty filters can dramatically reduce fuel economy and they can also make your car fail a roadside emissions test. They are usually very easy to change, either by you or your garage. More tips soon.

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Save energy with properly inflated tyres

Under-inflated tyres waste fuel, adding maybe 2% to your fuel bill. They will also wear the tyres on the outside before the inside thus reducing life, so check the pressures regularly - using the vehicles handbook as a reference.

Check out the site if you need lessons - more tips tomorrow

Today's Tip For Eco Friendly Driving

Air conditioning increases fuel consumption by around 10%, so it is usually more cost effective to open a window. However, at higher speeds of 50mph or above, the additional drag caused by having a window open begins to approach the cost of the aircon.

Watch out for more tips soon and don't forget to check out the websites for special offers.

Daily Tips For Eco Friendly Driving

Smooth driving at a sensible speed is the best way to keep emissions and expenditure to a minimum. Generally speaking, petrol is consumed quicker at low and high speeds, with 50 to 60mph usually being the most fuel-efficient speeds. So, try to plan your route and timing to avoid traffic jams, and remember also that driving over 70mph, as well as being against the law, dramatically increases emissions and consumption. Even driving at 70mph can cost up to 25% more than driving at 50mph. Remember too that both fast acceleration and heavy braking use more fuel.
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Blind Spot

Driving Instructors will quite rightly harp on about checking over your right shoulder, kiss the parrot or whatever. But this picture really illustrates WHY....This is an actual sequence & believe me it happens EVERY day.

There he is


now a bit bigger (nearer)

now disappeared - hands up if you think he is in your blind spot

Now passed us

Keep yourself and everyone else safe, keep kissing that parrot

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Learn how to parallel park in 20 mins

Parallel Parking Made Easy ;-)


Following on from the last blog about setting up door mirrors, here a couple of tips that will trash the myths about how hard it is to parallel park your car. Get a small piece of white sticky paper and attach it to the top of the left rear wheel arch & fold it out so it is visible from the front - see picture.





So when doing a parallel park, one of the keys is reognising when you are reasonably close to the kerb. The trick is that the piece of paper can be seen in the left door mirror hovering over it - time to straighten the wheel.
So starting at the beginning: Choose a car on the left that faces forward to practice around, follow all the usual safely procedures and pull up parallel to the target car about 1 meter away and half a meter beyond it. Reverse back (taking precautions) until your left door mirror is opposite the target car's mirror and after looking all around, turn the wheel one full turn to the left and hold it there. Taking all around observations and glancing into the left door mirror watch for the label appearing to hover above the kerb, the turn the wheel briskly to the right until it will not turn any more (full lock). Again looking all around and glancing into the mirror you will see the car come towards being parallel to the kerb and now is the time to straighten the wheel. With a little practice in your own car, you can perfect this in 20 minutes.

Let me know which other maneuvers you find difficult and I will try to help.

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Setting up door mirrors

Front door handle is here ^


OK, so instructors will generally tell you to set up your door mirrors virtically to allow you to see a 50/50 split i.e. bottom half road, top half trees, houses, sky or whatever - this is fine. But try doing that when your Dad has parked in on your driveway, against a wall, on a slope etc etc. Check out the 2 picture and notice the position of the division between the door windows and the door; also the rear door handles (if a 5 door car). Obviously these objects are in a fixed position in your particular car, so you car set up your mirrors in any situation.
Always set up the left mirror slightly biased downwards, as in left image above and notice that we can just about see the front door handle(shown with little arrow). Consistent with having an excellent long view behind, this slight bias is great for accuracy when doing the manoeuvres. This is because you will be able to see the left kerb, left white line in a bay park etc; and if you can see what you are trying to get close to it really helps.

Hope this helps you learners, try it for yourself and see.

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Speed humps as a learning aid

New drivers often find it difficult to stay a reasonable distance from the left kerb and instructors will correctly help them by giving them a reference point. Something like "we are about a meter from the kerb now, so tell me where the kerb appears to come into the car?" "Oh its in the middle of the wiper blade", "OK so try to keep it there; this is your normal driving position".

Personally I find that traffic calming speed humps like the one here really help. I get the learner to try to straddle the hump and mostly they are too far to the left, consequently their side of the car bumps up. So next time aim a little to the right; oh! this time neither side of the car raises up. Well done, let's practice that a few more time - excellent you've got that perfectly.
What happens is that the drivers spatial awareness is improved by the physical feedback of the car raising left side or right and they keep looking ahead rather than ahead then to the side.

Hope this post helps you a little, if you want to find out more about our driving lesson summer special offers and teaching methods click a link.

Hazard Perception Test

The Driving Standards Agency's car driving test is conducted in 2 parts, theory and practical. The theory is split into questions and answers about road procedures, the law, traffic markings and signs etc and the hazard perception test.
The Q & A section is multiple choice with generally one correct answer to each question. This tests a new drivers knowledge about the subject and mostly can be learned from the Highway Code, other DSA publications, various commercial DVDs and web based resources. Encourage your friends and family to quiz your knowledge; both you and they may be surprised about each others competence.
The hazard perception test is often misunderstood, but put simply it tries to assess a new drivers ability to read the road, traffic and other road users intentions in a rapidly changing environment. A good driver will be planning ahead, observing and anticipating what other vehicles and pedestrians are doing, picking up on as many clues as possible to see a developing hazard as early as possible. So what is a developing hazard? Well let's start with a hazard! This can be as mundane as a parked car on the side of the road; this hazard develops if for instance another vehicle approaches and changes direction to overtake; it may further develop if the driver of the first car opens his door and the second vehicle has to swerve into the path of on coming traffic. So if you see a hazard, as simple as a junction or a zebra crossing; think "what could happen & how will it affect my intentions" as well as other users in the vicinity.

You need to pass both parts, but if you know your stuff it is not so hard. Time allowed for Q & A 57 minutes and you need to score at least 43 out of 50.

There are 14 video clips in the HPT and you need to score 44 out of 75. Check out this video that surprised me and hammers the perception point home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47LCLoidJh4

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