Driving Lessons - Where will my Instructor pick me up and drop me off?

"Hi, I've got a lesson later today can you pick me up from.....?"

Or...

"Do you mind if you drop me off in town at the end of the lesson?"

Your Instructor might be able to, but don't be surprised if the answer is a polite no!

There may be a number of reasons for this, but it definitely isn't just to be awkward.

Most Driving Instructors set their diaries up to provide lessons of between one or two hours duration. This means they are teaching quite a few different pupils each day and usually over a weekly cycle. Your instructor will agree a pick up and drop off location at the time of booking and then fill their diary spaces with pupils from a similar location. 

To keep costs down and to maximise their use of time, they organise enough time between lessons for travelling to the next pupil and to take a short break - it can be hard work teaching people to drive, so regular breaks are required. 

In these pandemic times we even have to plan a cleaning down break or a comfort break as many of the usual local public toilets have been closed.

In addition to this they will have to consider the impact this request will have on the lesson plan and how suitable the location is to your level of ability and also the impact it will have on arriving on time for the next pupil.

I recall a pupil asking, as his lesson started, if he could be dropped off in the area we intended to practice, which was around a 15 minute drive away from his home. My next lesson was due to start 15 minutes after his ended and his home was 10-15 minutes from my next pupil - but in the other direction from where he'd asked me to drop him off. This would have meant we finished the lesson half an hour away from my next pupil. Do you see the problem? 

This would have had a knock-on effect with all of my subsequent bookings and put me behind schedule for the rest of the day. 

I gave him two choices - both are in my terms and conditions; either finish at home as was agreed when booking the lesson or end his lesson fifteen minutes early to allow me the time it would take me to travel back. This travel time is taken from the scheduled lesson time. He chose to be dropped off early. 

On the next lesson he insisted that I owed him fifteen minutes extra because he'd finished early. I had to politely explain that when booking he had booked an hour of my time. His obligation when booking was to pay for the time he had reserved as no one else could use that time. 

It's wise to keep in mind that you are employing the services of a professional - you are paying for both their time and expertise.

My best advice is to plan your commitments around your lessons so that they don't impact on your learning or your finances and remember that the lesson journey isn't just a drive around the area, it's planned learning time based on your learning needs.

Driving test tips - How to Save Money by Hiring a Professional

When you are working to a limited budget hiring a professional often appears to be a luxury. This is probably why DIY is so popular - it can't be that hard can it?

My garage is full of tools I've bought for a particular job and never used again, I've completed the job to a fair degree of satisfaction and saved some money but it never really looks like a professional has done it. My garage also has it's fair share of part completed 'projects' where what seemed to be a straightforward easy job turned out to be slightly more complicated than I'd imagined.

To a large extent this is the case with learning to drive. Loads of people can drive and therefore think it must be easy to teach someone to do it and part of me agrees - driving is not rocket science and even an amateur is allowed to teach you and there's a chance of passing the driving test, even when using techniques that are less than car or wallet friendly.

"If you think hiring an expert is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur"

So why pay a professional?

The difference lies in both the effectiveness and efficiency of learning from a professional.

The cost of learning is quantifiable and therefore it's really easy to see exactly what it costs and think "wow that's expensive." However, it takes a long-term view to see how the techniques taught by a good instructor could save you £1000's. The techniques an excellent instructor teaches you could save you even more.

Take for example the average driver's mileage of around 10,000 miles per year and the cost of fuel at 20p per mile, that's £2,000 per year. But what if you applied the fuel-saving techniques taught by your instructor and reduced this to 15p per mile, it would save you £500 per year.

I recently helped a pupil, initially being taught by her parents, get an extra 18 miles per gallon. Over a lifetime she could save enough money to buy a new car!

Added to these savings is the potential reduction in maintenance costs such as, amongst other things, replacing worn out clutches, brakes, tyres and steering and of course a reduction in insurance premiums by avoiding crashes.

You may not fail a driving test for using certain habits or techniques that are unlikely to be corrected when learning with an amateur, but over a period of time these are serial clutch killers. Habits such as 'riding the clutch' or occasionally unnecessarily 'slipping the clutch', or sitting at traffic lights in first gear with the clutch at the 'biting point' for long periods. These faults may not be deemed worthy of marking on a test but can take thousands of miles off the lifetime of the clutch. Considering that a replacement clutch is going to set you back a good £400-£600 these are expensive habits to have. This cost is comparable to around half of the current fee for learning to drive with a professional. The difference being, you only pay to learn to drive once. When treated well a clutch can last the lifetime of the car, yet if treated poorly may need to replaced regularly.

Another common habit we see that leads to additional wear and tear is changing down through each gear instead of using the more effective, and cheaper to replace, brake components . You really don't want to know what it costs to replace a gearbox.

I often recall a conversation I had with a friend many years ago. He was buzzing because he'd just taken his 4 year old car for a service and he still had 50% of his brake pads left.

"Not bad for 40,000 miles" he beamed.

I replied "that's interesting Rob, haven't you recently had your clutch replaced?"

"Yes" he said.

"How much did that cost you?"

"About £400"

"Oh, and how much would it have cost you to replace your brake pads instead? About £40?"

He didn't reply, but you could see the sudden dawning of realisation on his face.

You may have noticed that I've used the words 'could' and potential' a lot so far. This is because these savings rely on YOU doing what you've been taught, not just in the first few weeks of driving but for a lifetime (a lifetime that can be greatly reduced if you don't). And don't listen to that nonsense about learning to drive properly once you've passed your test, this just makes others more comfortable with their bad habits. You're as much an expert as they are.

Saving a few quid here and there may seem like a good idea in the short-term and I'm all for parents or friends helping out by giving learners the chance to gain experience in addition to driving lessons and actively encourage this, but a wise person should look at the money they are paying for an Approved Driving Instructor as a long-term investment in theirs or their child's future.

Something that has stayed with me is a phase my old House-master at school often said "the saddest two words in the English language when put together are...if only"

He's right you know.

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk



Driving test tips - Parking on pavements - you could be breaking the law

No way past

Pavements are for people

Parking a vehicle on the pavement, either wholly or partially happens all around the UK every day and has become a habit for millions of drivers. This often thoughtless and unnecessary act can cause all sorts of problems for pedestrians, especially those with pushchairs, wheelchair users, mobility scooter users and of course blind pedestrians. 

During your driving lessons you are taught to choose a safe, convenient and legal place - along with all the other rules around parking, this doesn't generally include using the pavement.

What does the Highway Code say?

Rule 244 of the Highway Code states: “You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.” 

Despite a number of efforts to implement a blanket ban on pavement parking over many decades, none has ever been implemented so we currently have no national ban on pavement parking. The reason for this is probably down to the enormous cost of additional resources the police and local authorities would need to tackle the problem. However, following a report into the problem in 2019 and further consultation in 2020, there may well be a ban in store within the near future.

Apparently it is difficult to bring a prosecution for simply parking on the pavement and so the police often turn a blind-eye. This said, there are circumstances in which the police will take action, especially if a vehicle is parked 

• on zig-zag lines at a pedestrian crossing
• within 10 metres or opposite a junction
• over a dropped kerb or obstructing a driveway
• blocking a road or pavement which causes pedestrians to enter the road
• preventing an emergency vehicle from accessing an area

The offence of unnecessary obstruction of the highway, which includes the road as well as the pavement, already exists and can be prosecuted under criminal law.

You may well be tempted to pull up on the pavement because "everyone does it". 

If you were to park on a pavement during the driving test, unless signs permit this, a serious fault will be recorded and you will fail your test. 

This is because although there is no blanket ban and there's a very slim chance of being prosecuted, you are breaking a law in the act of driving on the pavement and an examiner does not have the discretion to turn a blind-eye to this. 

The law in question is in the Highways Act 1835 Section 72 

Highway Code Rule 145 states "You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency"

Since January 1999 a fixed penalty notice (FPN) can be issued for this offence. This can include penalty points and a fine for the offender. 

For a new driver, under "The New Drivers Act" these points could prove disastrous and eventually lead to losing their licence, should they tot up six points within the first two years of holding a full licence. 

Can you imagine how you'd feel losing your hard earned licence for this easily avoidable reason?

The key to making any driving decision and avoiding danger or prosecution is answering yes to these three questions

Is it necessary?

Is it legal?

Is it safe?

Apply this to your driving and you are unlikely to get into trouble.

Check out this video illustrating the danger caused pavement parking .

https://youtu.be/6jOT41gnXlo

For expert driving tuition or more driving tips, visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

For more Highway Code rules follow this link. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/waiting-and-parking-238-to-252

Insider Tips to Save Money When Learning to Drive

I make a living out of teaching people to drive, so I shouldn't really be telling you this, but there are a number of ways you can save money when learning to drive.

1. Don't just think you are only learning when sat at the side of your instructor. If you study the Highway Code and other books frequently in the periods between lessons and get to know and understand the rules, you can spend less time talking and more of your lesson time experiencing the wide range of situations you'll need to deal with on your test. Result - fewer lessons

2. Practice with friends or family. As long as you're insured and the person supervising you is at least 21 years old and have had their full driving licence for 3 years or more then this is perfectly legal. Make sure you speak with your instructor first to ensure you are ready for private practice without the help of dual controls. Result - fewer lessons

3. Ask your instructor if you and a friend can learn together. You get to sit in the back watching and listening to your friend's lesson and therefore learning from any explanations the instructor gives or any mistakes your friend makes and vice versa. And you get twice as long for your money. Result - fewer lessons

4. If you can help it don't take 1 hour per week at the early learning stages. If you can afford it, try to fit at least a couple of 90 minute lessons in each week. This helps you retain more information over a shorter period of time. You can always reduce this when practising with friends or family. Result - fewer lessons

5. Watch YouTube videos. There are loads of good ones showing you what to do and there are even official videos showing you what to expect on the test. This visual way of learning helps you retain more information. Result - fewer lessons

6. Make sure you're ready for your test. There's the test fee to consider and the cost of a double lesson on the day. Don't go if you're not ready as this results in you paying for another test and more lesson time. Ask your instructor to conduct a number of mock tests and to keep you regularly informed on your progress. DVSA provide free Progress Records. Result - fewer test attempts

7. During your lesson, listen carefully to what your instructor is telling you. Ask questions if you don't understand and make notes whenever possible. Reviewing these notes after your lesson will help you retain information longer. Result - fewer lessons

8. Avoid being suckered into cheap deals. As the saying goes, you only get what you pay for and you could end up spending more in the long term. Result - fewer tears before bedtime and fewer lessons

9. Tell your instructor if you don't feel you are progressing well enough and come up with a plan to help progress more. If this doesn't work you should consider changing your instructor. Styles clash sometimes and you may find a different style suits you better. Result happier lessons and fewer of them.

10. Make it important that you do well and learn to drive safely and responsibly. Being a good student and having the right attitude to learning means that you will achieve your goal sooner. Result - fewer lessons and fewer tests.

There you have it straight from the horses mouth. If you study well and find the right instructor for you, there's no reason for you to scrimp on quality, even if you are on a tight budget.

For more expert tips visit www.udidit.co.uk 

Driving test tips - Who has right of way? - You could have been doing it wrong.

There's no such thing as a driver's right of way

"It's my right-of-way you idiot" or words to that effect are often voiced by a driver who believes that the driver of the on-coming vehicle should have given way - but is the angry driver correct to claim it's his right-of-way?

Let's look at what the Highway Code says; 
"The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident."

That's pretty clear advice right? Then why is it that many drivers believe they have the right to force another driver to swerve or stop in any circumstance just because the obstruction is not on their side of the road?

I believe that this is largely down to what they have been told by an influential person during their learning to drive process. This person passes on their own received wisdom or misguided theories which in turn goes unchallenged, resulting in a whole lot of aggressive, obnoxious drivers. 

It obviously makes good sense to give way to any oncoming vehicle, regardless of which side of the road they happen to be on when faced with the prospect of either crashing into a parked vehicle or causing an head-on crash with the oncoming vehicle. It's a no-brainer!

If you compare the way two drivers deal with one another on a two-way single-tracked road with how they deal with one another on a wide two-way road with obstructions, the mindset is often totally different. Cooperation is easier to come by on the single-tracked road but equally required in both situations and yet you often meet an oncoming driver who simply drives straight at you regardless of the fact that you are most of the way through a long channel of parked vehicles, with no place to wait safely. I've experienced this myself, where a taxi driver insisted that it was her right-of-way and that I should reverse 12 car lengths when she'd had plenty of space and time to stop before entering the channel. She would have had to reverse 1 car length. The stereo-type became a reality.

Priority is based on safety. 
Who goes first isn't based simply on which side of the road the obstruction is on, it's based the safest option in every changing situation. Whether it be in a meeting situation or a junction, including traffic light controlled junctions (Green doesn't mean GO! it means go, if it's safe to go!).

The road is a shared space and especially with today's busy driving conditions, we need to work together to make safety work.

With an obstruction on our side of the road we generally have three options when  encountering an oncoming vehicle: 

1) Keep going because we can safely pass the obstruction and get back onto our side well before the oncoming vehicle gets there. 
2) Slow down and arrive at the obstruction after the oncoming vehicle has passed. 
3) Stop and wait until the oncoming vehicle has passed.

The key to surviving is - Don't expect the oncoming driver to do the right thing. 

Even when you see this sign, if someone is already occupying the space you should give way if that's the safest option!

Choosing the correct option relies on you being aware of the situation well in advance, anticipating the approach of oncoming vehicles and planning your actions in good time in order to avoid any sudden changes of speed or direction.

There's no such thing as "my right-of-way" so be prepared to give-way.

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

Why You Should Pay for a Lesson You Haven't Had

The vast majority of the UK’s Approved Driving Instructors are self-employed and only earn a wage when a client pays them – just like those awful zero hour contracts they're wanting to ban.

Imagine getting ready in the morning and turning up at work on time only to be told by your employer "sorry, we don't need you today". It has cost you time, and probably money, to be there and you might well have turned down other work and missed an opportunity to have been paid by someone else. How would you feel in those circumstances?

In a similar way it is you, the client, who employs the Instructor and therefore if you fail to turn up for your lesson or you give short notice of cancellation, your Instructor doesn't get paid.

The double-whammy is that the Instructor may well have turned down someone else for the time you have reserved and now can’t sell the lost time at such short notice. Not only does the Instructor miss out, other clients may miss out too.

When choosing a Driving Instructor, along with excellent teaching skills and a friendly manner, no doubt you will be expecting someone with a professional attitude and someone who provides excellent customer service. Within this you would certainly expect reliability and punctuality.

Looking at it from the Instructor’s perspective, they also hope that their clients are reliable and punctual, have a good attitude and are willing to accept responsibility for their own learning and responsibility for the bookings they've made.

If you had an instructor who consistently let you down, what would you do? I know what I'd do; I'd look for a replacement and many instructors do the same with customers.  I personally try to be as flexible as possible and I understand that life often gets in the way of learning. Maybe the kids are ill, unexpected bills need to be paid, work calls you in etc, or you simply haven't budgeted well and have run out of cash until payday. This all becomes obvious to an experienced Instructor, especially as the last week in the month sees more cancellations than any other. 

You may even be in the middle of a confidence crisis and can't face the lesson. Whatever the reason, to avoid having to pay, talk openly to your instructor and look for a solution before it's too late. 

Whenever possible and subject to availability, I personally allow some flexibility by offering another lesson time within 3 working days and waive the late cancellation charge if it is attended. However, as patient and understanding as I am there’s a tipping point and in these cases I have to take everything into consideration and reluctantly part ways with clients who consistently cancel at short notice or fail to turn up.

In my experience many Instructors have a standard 48 hour or so short notice cancellation policy whereby should a client cancel within this time then the lesson fee is payable either in full or in part. There are variations in these terms and if you're not sure, I recommend that you ask your Instructor what their business terms are.

“Why should I pay for something I've not had” cried the client who failed to turn up...

You may not have attended the lesson, but you have reserved that time for yourself and yourself alone. This is not dissimilar to booking a flight; a holiday; a hotel room or even a dental appointment - in fact any appointment you make and fail to pay for or attend,  costs someone something. One report estimates the cost to the taxpayer for NHS no shows as £162m per year, with more than 12 million appointments missed.

Unlike buying goods, if you reserve a service at a particular time and you don’t turn up, you have to pay because it can't be resold.

Sadly as consumers we all end up paying a little more to cover losses caused by other people’s actions, whether it’s for goods or services. Apparently we motorists pay around £30 extra per year on our motor insurance premiums simply to cover uninsured drivers. As a consumer I don't like the idea of paying extra to cover other people’s poor actions, but inevitably we all do and driving lessons are no exception.

“What can be done to reward the clients who are in the majority and are reliable?”

I often extend the lesson time for clients who turn up for every lesson and who give me plenty of notice if they ever need to change an appointment. It’s a nice way of rewarding them. I sometimes give away a free lesson as a way of saying thank you.

What I do know from my experience is that those clients who are reliable and hard-working are the ones most likely to succeed and ultimately spend less in getting their licence. 

The key to avoid paying for lessons you didn't attend, is to talk openly to your instructor, keep them up to date and together you will be able find a solution and maybe even get a nice little reward.

I'll leave you with a final thought - If businesses gave customer reviews, how would you rate?

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

Driving test tips - Follow these easy steps to Pass Your Driving Test First Time

Introduction

It is easy to see why many people believe that the most important part of learning to drive is learnt simply by driving the car. It's true that mastering the necessary practical skills is definitely an important part of learning. You will need a good level of practical experience to co-ordinate the controls and also a good deal of experience in varying situations in order to be confident in the decisions you are making and the actions you are taking. But practical skills and experience form only part of what it takes to learn to drive safely and responsibly. 

To learn fully and effectively there are four main elements of learning; Knowledge; understanding; attitude and practice. 

Gaining Knowledge

Nobody likes a know-it-all until it comes to driving. Then every other road user depends on you to know what to do and then do the right thing. If you don't know what to do in a driving situation then you can take too long to make a decision and have an equally good chance of making the wrong one.

This makes you unpredictable and this scares other drivers because it increases the risk of a collision. If you've ever felt annoyed at the person in the supermarket who stops without warning, you'll know how other drivers feel when you are unpredictable.

Lack of knowledge also increases the risk of you breaking a law which could result in a fine or even a driving ban.

Your level of knowledge affects the decisions you make and actions you take when driving. During the test your driving examiner will check to make sure you can consistently make the right decisions and take the correct actions - any gaps in your knowledge are likely to show up in your driving and may result in faults being marked.

What you can do to help yourself learn: Knowledge comes through study, so study frequently - the official publications "the Highway Code" and "Driving - the essential skills" are highly recommended reading materials for all drivers.

Developing Understanding

Knowing what to do is not always enough to convince you that it is the right thing do or even important to know. Sometimes we need to explore the reasons why this is the best thing to do in order to accept it.

Understanding can be developed through 'doing', so it is important to practice doing the right things.

Take this example; Normally you'd position your car about a metre from the kerb. There's not much to remember and it might not seem that important, but when you explore and consider the reasons why this distance is an important safety margin and then experience the benefits, you develop a better understanding, and in turn a good understanding helps develop a good attitude.

What you can do to help yourself learn: Don't be afraid to ask questions during your lessons,especially if you don't understand or agree with something - in fact your driving instructor encourages you to do so as this not only helps broaden your understanding, it also helps the instructor understand how to support your learning better. A poor understanding can lead to mistakes and mistakes lead to crashes. 

Demonstrating a Good Attitude

When you become a driver, you become a member of one of the biggest team participant events there is. In this team everyone depends on one another's co-operation. Some of the team are more experienced than others and some not as good as others - what we all have in common is that we all make mistakes from time-to-time.

We have to show tolerance of other's mistakes and actions because once you become annoyed or upset, your decisions and actions are affected and you become part of the problem, which ultimately increases the risks.

During the test your examiner will be monitoring your attitude to check that you are able

demonstrate tolerance and patience whenever necessary.

What you can do to help yourself learn: You need to become self-aware and recognise the behaviour in other drivers that makes you annoyed or angry and ask yourself why this is. Some drivers get annoyed simply because they've given way to an oncoming vehicle and the driver doesn't wave to say thanks - do you really need to put your own safety and that of others at risk by driving angrily for such a minor reason? Do you really need to be acknowledged every time you give way to someone? Instead, take comfort and pride from the fact that you were courteous and safe.

Developing Your Skills Through Practice

You will need to develop your practical skills and there's only one way to do this and that is by practising.

The key is to practice doing things the right way otherwise you will become very good at doing it wrong.

The sign of a good driver is well coordinated use of the foot controls and steering. This results in smooth driving which is unhurried.

During the test your examiner will check that you can maintain full control, and as you may expect, a loss of control can result in a fault being marked.

What you can do to help yourself learn: Once you have achieved a good level of coordination ask your instructor if they feel you are ready to practice privately with a suitable family member or friend. Remember though that you MUST be insured to drive any car you drive and the person supervising you MUST be over 21 years old and have had a full licence for at least 3 years. 

There's no real secret to passing first time, you just  need to take responsibility for studying to improve your knowledge, improving your understanding, developing a good attitude and getting plenty of practice with a professional instructor and private practice.

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

© UDIDIT Driver Training 2021 

Driving test tips - Animals In The Road - Emergency Stop or Not?

An alert driver who is planning ahead and driving at a suitable speed for the road and traffic conditions should have plenty of time to see a hazard and reduce speed safely or even bring the car to a gentle stop. Awareness, anticipation and planning are the key to avoid sudden braking or performing an emergency stop.When learning to drive or during the driving test your instructor or examiner will ensure that it is safe to perform the simulated emergency stop by checking that there is no one following close behind.

There are, of course, some occasions when even the best of us get caught out by a sudden danger, such as a vehicle or child crossing our path and it is entirely reasonable to perform an emergency stop. If the following driver hasn't left a sufficient gap and cannot stop in time then it can be successfully argued that they could have avoided the collision had they done so. However, slamming on the brakes for no apparent reason is clearly potentially dangerous and the Court would look at the reasonableness of doing so.

When it comes to making an emergency stop for an animal it would appear that reasonableness is based on the type and size of the animal. It may be deemed more reasonable to perform an emergency stop for an animal large enough to cause damage to the vehicle or injury to the occupants and by law you must report hitting some types of animals, as specified in the Highway Code, such as, dogs; horses; cows or sheep.

A Court may deem it unreasonable to perform an emergency stop for a small animal or bird but as any reaction could simply be instinctive they will look at each case individually and it could again be argued that the following driver could have avoided the collision.

Driving Test Tips - Highway Code or Myway Code?

One of the most frustrating parts of teaching people to drive is listening to pupils who tell me "my Dad says you only learn to drive properly once you've passed your test"

Is this really true or is it some well-intended but misguided advice?

It's true that experience teaches us many things but only if we are able to turn experience into a positive change of behaviour.

The problem is, the perception that there are two standards of driving means not everyone is speaking the same driving language.

I was recently drawn towards a TEDTalks video entitled "How to Learn a New Language in Six Months". Learning a language fluently in just six months is some achievement. This intrigue me, not primarily because I'm interested in learning a new language, but more for the insight into the teaching and learning techniques used.

As I watched the video it became clear to me that learning to drive has many similarities with learning a new language. A language student is taught the formal way of speaking and writing. However, when they listen to a native speaker, they often have no idea what the native is saying. You probably know from experience how frustrated or embarrassed you feel when you don't understand what someone is saying.

This is exactly the same for learner drivers. Driving is so much about communicating with others that it really is a language in itself and therefore it is little wonder there are so many misunderstandings on the road.

Highway Codian or Highway Code-ish?

Learner drivers are taught a formal and grammatically correct version of driving. A version that is available to everyone in the form of the Highway Code, however, once the driving test is passed, many of them quickly begin using the simplified "slang" version in an effort to fit in with their peers and most probably because this is what they've grown up experiencing. We can draw many similarities with "simplified English"

In order to help them understand what the other drivers are saying, I find myself not only teaching the formal version of driving but also interpreting the informal slang version so that learner drivers can respond safely to the strange and confusing messages being communicated.

It appears that many experienced drivers get to the point where they no longer recognise the formal language or even see this as applicable to learner drivers only.

Misplaced courtesy creates its own issues. "After you! No after you! No, I insist, after you..."

Here's an example we regularly deal with. We're waiting at a crossroad to turn right, there's an oncoming vehicle. Because we arrived at the junction slightly before them, the oncoming driver flashes their headlights or waves us to proceed. In the formal language version, priorities are based on safety and do not change on the basis of who's waited the longest.  Most of the time, the other driver hasn't bothered to look to see if it's safe for us to go and on many occasions they are inviting someone into danger.  Just stick to the formal rules please, it's safer and simpler!

Think about the things you dislike most in driving - Learners; buses; cyclists or pedestrians; traffic lights. These all share the same trait - some level of unpredictability. Learner drivers, on the whole, dislike dealing with roundabouts. It's not that these junctions are particularly difficult, it's the unpredictability of the traffic using them.

There is often a complete lack of communication at roundabouts despite there being a really simple way of communicating your intention and although BMW and Audi drivers are stereotyped and get the bad reputation, the truth is, the vast majority of drivers fail to signal correctly, if at all.

"Where there's doubt, there's danger" 

Miscommunication ultimately creates unpredictability and that is the enemy of safety. If I know exactly what you are going to do and when, I can avoid you, if not then we introduce an element of chance and therefore a higher risk of collision. With so much unpredictability, there's little wonder that many rear-end collisions occur at roundabouts along with unnecessary delays and congestion.

In the absence of a clear signal and in the same way we use body-language when trying to understand someone's real intended message, we have to fall back on interpreting more subtle clues in order to form an educated guess as to where the other vehicle is heading. I find myself teaching pupils that they should check the vehicle's position, if that isn't enough or it's unclear, consider the speed the vehicle is going, is it even possible to turn right at that speed? and if that's no help, look at where the driver is looking. Imagine trying to read all of that information instead of a simple, well-timed signal.

When someone is barking orders at you thick and fast and you're struggling to keep up, you would be forgiven for asking them to slow down so that you can take it all in. The next time you encounter a learner driver "holding you up" because they didn't go as fast as you would have or didn't take the gap you would have taken, please understand that they are trying to gather and process lots of information and decipher misinformation in order to make the right decision. You won't help the situation by harassing them.

The learner driver may be at the very early stages of learning to drive and it takes time to read a situation. When a person first learns to read and write they begin with learning each letter of the alphabet and then learn the sounds that two letters make and so on. Reading a word involves breaking it down into smaller chunks and then eventually, with time and practice, you no longer even need to do this, you can simply look at a word and know what it says.

"It deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

Each time you encounter an inexperienced driver, remember that they aren't yet able to glance at a situation and decipher it immediately. Added to this muddle of information are the additional "slang" terms used by experienced drivers. Keep in mind also that you may deal with a junction daily and have done so for years. The learner driver may not have seen or experienced this particular junction before in their life. There may even be missing signs or worn out road markings to contend with. Do you remember when you first encountered an unfamiliar junction and how it made you feel? This is exactly the way learner drivers feel.

I'm often told by pupils how impatient their parents are when following a learner driver. This only adds to the anxiety a learner feels because they know from experience how their presence is making other drivers angry.  Can you imagine this? A parent teaching their children to be impatient and not even considering that the learner driver may well be a child or young adult too.  Would you bully a child if they couldn't read well or as quickly as you? 

When you bully a learner driver because they are not quite as quick as you at reading the situation, their performance may well be directly and negatively affected by your actions. 

The next time you meet a learner driver, all that we ask is you speak the same driving language as they do; you give them a little more time and space and show some patience. They will be out of your way as soon as they are able - literally.


Do You Speak Highway Code?

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

Driving test tips - Top 5 Driving Test Faults and How to Avoid Them

There’s no such thing as a perfect driver, drivers often make mistakes, but a good driver is able to recognise a problem and take the appropriate action to correct it. Here are the 5 most common faults committed on the driving test and how to avoid them

Top 5 Male Faults	Top 5 Female Faults
Junctions - observation	Junctions - observation
Mirrors - change direction	Mirrors - change direction
Move off - safely	Reverse left - control
Junctions - turning right	Reverse park - control
Response to signs - traffic lights	Control - steering

Observations at Junctions

A typical fault at a junction is emerging without having checked effectively.

Making effective observations means not just looking but actually seeing what is there, making the right decisions and then taking the right actions. If you don't make effective observations you could cause another road user to slow, swerve or swear.

Poor observations are often caused by stopping too far back from the end of the road which restricts your view into the new road. The same goes for emerging when parked cars are blocking your view and you don’t move forward to improve your view.

Another common reason is the amount of TIME you take to look properly. If you approach the junction too fast or if someone behind is being impatient, you may feel under pressure to go and you won’t give yourself enough time to look in the right places. This can especially happen at roundabouts.

How to avoid this fault: An essential part of your junction routine is LOOK-ASSESS-DECIDE-ACT. Make sure you get the car into a good position where you can see clearly into the new road. Sometimes you may even reach the give way line and still can't see because of an obstruction of some kind. In this event edge forwards using clutch control to get a better view and only emerge fully once you know it's safe in both directions.

Another underlying cause may be that you are trying not to be hesitant. Hesitation in driving is not always a bad thing. If you swap the word “hesitation” to “caution” it becomes a good thing as caution can save lives. Many learners misunderstand this and believe they can’t hesitate at all. You can and should when necessary, but avoid being “unduly hesitant” or in other words “over-cautious”. Don't be rushed by an impatient driver behind or by thinking that there’s a time limit for waiting for a safe gap to emerge into – if there hasn’t been a safe gap, you can’t go and won’t be expected to.

Changing Direction -Mirrors

There are many similarities with this fault and not making effective observations at junctions. The huge number of mirrors checks needed means that there is a much greater chance for these to be missed and therefore a greater chance to be marked as a fault.

There’s that old saying you may have heard of ‘look before you leap’, well this definitely applies to observations at junctions and mirrors. You are expected to look well before changing speed or changing direction or signalling. Common faults include not looking in the mirror at all or looking at the same time as taking action or after you’ve started to take action such as changing position.

How to avoid this fault: Use your mirrors frequently throughout your drive and be aware of what is happening behind you and how this is changing at all times. This helps you to keep a track of what's happening and what might happen if you want to change speed or direction. The mirror checks you make before changing direction should confirm what you already know and that the action you are intending to take is the right one. The key steps of LOOK-ASSESS-DECIDE-ACT also apply to the way you use your mirrors. A good tip is to commentate and say to yourself before you take action, for example; “I’ve checked the mirrors, I won’t cause any danger if I signal and then change direction”

Move off safely

In this case it means failing to move off safely. This usually means you haven’t checked all around properly – often missing the final blind spot check just before releasing the handbrake. There’s another link to LOOK-ASSESS-DECIDE-ACT. You need to know if it’s safe to go and whether you need to let others know you intend to move off. This is a fault because if you move off without knowing what’s happening around you, you might put someone else’s safety at risk.

How to avoid this fault: Many learners get so wrapped up in deciding whether or not to signal that they forget to check their blind spot. Make sure you are well practised in assessing the situation around you. Your mirrors do not show everything so get into the habit of checking your blind spot by scanning the road, pavements and any driveways like a life depends on it. You may get away with not looking a thousand times or miss the check once and cause danger or worse – NOT checking your blind spot is always a gamble.

Reverse Left, Reverse Park - Control

This usually means that the manoeuvre was inaccurate – the wheels either hit the kerb hard or the car was too far away from the kerb, or over the lines when bay parking. The possible causes for this include going too fast with poor co-ordination of the foot controls and mistimed steering. Other causes are poor spatial awareness due to the driver looking at one particular place for too long or only in one place. For example, the nearside mirror.

How to avoid this fault: The key to any manoeuvre is getting the car to move at a slow but steady speed, so to be good at it get plenty of practice at getting the car to move slowly on uphill and downhill gradients as well as on flat roads and corners with varying degrees of sharpness.

This slow speed creates time for you to notice and correct any mistimed steering before it becomes a problem, giving you time to check lots of different views so you can work out exactly where the car is in relation to the kerb or line.

Spatial awareness can be improved through practise. Of course, you may well get the speed right but misjudge the turning point if you are not well practised, but a slow steady speed helps as it limits the impact. This creates time to make frequent glances into the door mirror nearest the kerb – in modern cars with high parcel shelves and broad pillars this is often the only way you can see the kerb and is perfectly acceptable as long as these glances into the mirror form just one part of your all round observations and are not the main focus of your attention.

Steering - Control

An example of this is when turning into a side-road and the car didn’t go where it should. This results in either the car hitting the kerb hard or swinging out too wide. This mistiming is often caused by being too close to the left kerb on approach, or not looking into the road when turning left or approaching too fast. When turning too late for a right turn, again this is often because you are not looking into the road but instead focussed too much on approaching cars.

How to avoid this fault: After checking the mirrors, signalling and positioning, it is essential to get the speed down before selecting the appropriate gear for creating enough time for looking, assessing deciding and acting. Make sure you are well practised at using the MSPSL routine and have the car fully under control and have made your observations and decisions well before turning so that the only things you need concentrate on when you reach the side-road is looking into the road and judging the turning point.

Junctions - turning right

This fault means you were late in positioning or incorrectly positioned before turning right. If you position the car incorrectly this gives confusing messages to other road users and leaves doubt. This can lead to them making the wrong decision. For example, if you stay too far back from the side-road turning point it encourages emerging drivers to pull out in front of you. This fault also includes not moving forwards into the correct position when turning right at traffic lights.

A common reason for not moving forwards is lack of knowledge such as; “Am I allowed to move forward before the filter light comes on?” or “Can I go into the yellow box?”

How to avoid this fault: The solution to this fault is reasonably simple – study well and know your Highway Code. Be aware of the unintended messages you can give simply by your car’s position and remove any confusion by positioning as advised by the Highway Code.

Response to signs - traffic lights

There are a wide range of things this could mean, such as; the driver reacting late to amber lights and failing to stop when it was safe to do so or not complying with a red light.

This could also mean the driver was late in moving off when the light changed to green and it was safe to do so. Not moving off on a green filter arrow is especially common.

These faults are often caused by not planning far enough ahead and not anticipating the lights changing or mentally switching off when the car stops.

How to avoid this fault: You should scan the road ahead and if the lights have been on green for some time expect them to change. Most traffic lights have a sensor of some kind that is triggered by vehicles approaching, so scan for clues such as vehicles approaching or waiting in the side roads. These sensors work in a similar way to those at pedestrian crossings and change when activated. If you can read these clues, you can plan to reduce your speed and therefore give yourself more time to react if the lights do actually change.

When you come to a stop at the lights you shouldn't mentally switch off. Treat this just as a pause in moving forward and stay alert. While waiting you need to continue gathering information, such as watching the other traffic flow to see if they are slowing down or stopping because their lights have changed. Remember though - Don’t be tempted to go too early when the lights are still on red and amber – wait until the lights are green and it’s safe to go.

Finally

To avoid getting any faults during your test you need to be well prepared – this means knowing what to do, why you are doing it and that have had enough lessons and practice to do it properly.

Good Luck!

© UDIDIT Driver Training 2021 

www.udidit.co.uk

The Dummies Guide to Dealing with Learner Drivers Part Deux

Following on from my previous blog where I touched upon the bizarre situations driving instructors and their pupils experience on our roads, here are a few more top tips for the dummies out there. These too are inspired by the real-life and bewildering antics of retired learner drivers - or full licence holders as they are better known.

#11: Driving instructors are keen to ensure their pupils cover a full learn-to-drive syllabus. Amongst the more obvious topics, such as car control and road safety, are the less obvious but equally essential Morse code classes. Morse code provides a solid foundation for dealing with drivers who use the flashing of headlights in the style of the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. For example; One quick flash means “I’m waiting for you to go” (or this can be one long flash), two quick flashes means “thank you” (or this can be one long flash) and multiple quick flashes means “You f#%king idiot, I'm waiting for you to go!” (or this can be one long flash).

#12:  Drivers suffering the debilitating effects of coming into contact with a full licence (chemical coating causing amnesia, see Top Tip #6) often find great difficulty in using the complex external communication system fitted to motorised vehicles. Whilst there is currently no known cure, (and euthanasia not yet considered ethical) scientists are working around the clock looking for a solution. In the meantime experts believe that sufferers can overcome this problem by signalling either left if they intend going left or right if they intend going right.

#13: Those drivers suffering from the acute form of signal confusion (Latin – Unpredictilitus) can take some comfort in the knowledge that they are creating opportunities for driving instructors to teach their pupils the fundamental principles of mind-reading. Roundabouts are a great place to put this into practice. Try signalling left two exits before the one you want, or swapping lanes at least twice without signalling. When faced with this test, by attempting to pull out in front of you, the learner may demonstrate that they are at the early developmental stages of mind-reading. In these situations try developing their lip-reading skills using words of no more than two syllables. No doubt you will already be familiar with many of these. (Note: if following a learner who is at the early stages of mind-reading see Top Tip #1)

#14: It is essential that learner drivers develop a good understanding of the law. You can help demonstrate its importance whenever you see a learner practising a manoeuvre outside your house. (Caution; avoid contact with the instructor, see Top Tip #6). Instead, whilst stamping both feet, shout from across the road “I'm going to call the police” The police will welcome your request to stop chasing bad guys and be grateful of the opportunity to arrest two people carrying out a legitimate manoeuvre in a safe and legal manner. “999 what’s your emergency?” “Yes operator, send someone quickly there’s a learner driver parallel parking around my car... quick, quick they’re slowly getting away....”

#15: An alternative to top tip #14 is to play hide-and-go-seek. When you see a learner preparing to reverse around your car, quickly run to it and drive off down the road or around the block pretending that you have to be somewhere urgently. The learner finds this game highly amusing and can’t wait to have another go, especially as they are hilariously left in the middle of the road looking like they are reversing around an invisible car. Bear in mind that most driving lessons are at least an hour long, so to avoid being found, it is recommended that you keep driving around the block for around 55mins. (Caution: As this game is so amusing, the driving instructor is likely to tell all their colleagues which car owners are willing participants, so be prepared for a long day)

I hope you've enjoyed the light-hearted humour I've used to highlight some of the issues faced by both learner and instructor at the hands of some experienced and apparently responsible drivers. I would like to point out that most days go without anything noteworthy happening and when it does we are trained well enough to avoid incident. I've managed to stay collision free since I passed my test in 1983 and as an instructor have had one very minor rear end bump in the 1990's. (We'd been stopped at a junction for 30 seconds when the driver behind misjudged his braking, well when I say misjudged his braking, he'd forgotten he was driving a Mini Metro and not a car with proper brakes).

Learning with a qualified instructor is actually pretty safe and people are surprised at the relatively low insurance premiums we enjoy. I'm led to believe that almost three-quarters of collisions involving a learner are actually the other driver's fault - rear end collisions mainly. 

There is a serious message behind all this humour. It raises the question of how full licence holders transform their habits from the safe practices we teach them during the learn-to-drive process, into the obvious complacency which no doubt contributes to the number of people each year who are injured or worse, on our roads.

We could point the finger at the learn-to-drive process and the limitations of the traditional techniques used, and in recent times we have done exactly that and have extended the range of techniques to include a more client-centred approach. This is an attempt to ensure learners take responsibility for their learning and future actions. Even so, this is a long-term strategy and we appear to be fighting a losing battle when it comes to continued learning for existing drivers. 

I've jokingly called full licence holders 'retired learners' In actual fact they were learning from life experiences years before getting behind the wheel for the first time - many are told by the people who care for and influence them the most that "you only learn to drive properly once you've passed your test". I wonder if this "properly" includes tailgating; speeding; cutting corners or crashing? 

No one stops learning and as soon as they're let loose on the roads they continue to learn from the environment and unfortunately begin to practice what they regularly see and experience - or in many cases, what they can get away with now that the UK's roads are so lightly policed.

A couple of questions being asked regularly are "Should driver education start at school age? and should drivers be retested periodically? Now that sounds like a good topic for another blog.

© Stu Walker 2014


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