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 - Follow This Easy Method to Pass the Hazard Perception Test

Before we go into any more detail about the test, let's first be clear on what a hazard is and how your perception affects your reaction to them.

A hazard is anything that will cause you danger. When driving this means something that will cause you to take action such as; change speed or direction or both.

Perception is your interpretation of the information you are picking up. The correct interpretation is essential to you being able to respond with the correct action.

The hazard perception test is designed simply to check that you can recognise a developing hazard and can respond accordingly. 

It's likely that you've used hazard perception many times in your life, so it's nothing new to you. The only new bit is applying it to driving. 

Here's an example using a situation you may have experienced before. You're walking home when you see a group of kids making snowballs and think to yourself “yep, I bet one of those is coming my way, so I'll keep an eye on them.” You've just identified a potential danger and carrying on walking but with more caution.

What you're doing is gathering information and using past experience to interpret it. This forms your perception which then influences your decisions and actions.

As you carry on walking you see the situation developing as a couple of the kids point towards you and then begin throwing the snowballs at you. This potential danger has just developed into a real danger and you have to duck to avoid being hit.

When driving, instead of the snowball being the developing hazard it will be either a person, a vehicle or even an animal which makes you change speed or direction.

In the hazard perception test, it's the developing hazards that have a score attached, but there's no problem when clicking for potential hazards, so think of it like this.

In real-life when driving, the potential hazard makes you check your mirrors and the developing hazard makes you press a pedal or move the steering wheel. 

During the computer based test you register your response by clicking a mouse button.

You will need to scan the screen as if you are driving. If you imagine splitting the screen into three horizontal bands - Top - Middle - Bottom.

The hazard will most likely be somewhere across the full width of the middle band of the windscreen.

As soon as you spot a potential hazard – click the mouse to record your response.

As soon as the hazard begins developing – click the mouse to record your response.

This is important because the sooner you spot the developing hazard and click, the higher your score. Many people tell me that they see the hazard and click too soon but don't follow this first click with a second click. 

Example;
You're driving along and see there's a side road on the left - no click needed, but keep an eye on it just in case.

Potential hazard (I might). You see a car slowly approach the end of the side road on your left and it comes to a stop, it might pull out – click (mirror check in real-life)

Developing Hazard (I will). As you get closer you see the car start to move forward – click (brake or steer in real-life)

A third click helps ensure that you haven't clicked a fraction too soon.

Developed Hazard (I am). In real-life further action might be needed.

My pupils know this 3 click method as “The Mighty Will.i.am Method"

If you know the song "boom boom pow" by the Black-eyed Peas try clicking to the same beat as the bit in the song that goes "boom, boom boom, gotta get that" We have a laugh about it (and I can imagine the look on your face as you read this) but it produces outstanding results.

This method also reinforces the real-life actions you take because when you see a potential danger you think "I might" have to react, when it is developing "I will" have to react and after it has developed "I am" reacting.

Go on try it!

The developing hazard has a scoring "window" that begins counting down 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0 the moment the developing hazard appears.  If you don't react soon enough you may miss the scoring opportunity completely.

There are 14 video clips, but there are 15 scoring hazards. This means at least one of the clips has two scoring hazards. You won't know which clip this is or which hazards have a score, so make sure you stay alert throughout and respond to every developing hazard you see. Some hazards require you to react quickly. These especially occur when driving around bends in the road or over the brow of a hill.

The key to being alert and spotting the dangers is to scan & plan and anticipate. Keep scanning from side-to-side and along the road, starting with the far distance, the middle distance and the near distance and anticipate danger by saying to yourself – What if?

What if there's a pedestrian crossing the road just over the next hill?

What if there's an obstruction just around the next bend?

Try to avoid clicking continuously or in a rhythm as this might be interpreted as cheating and the computer will give you a zero score for that clip. You shouldn't have to worry about this at all if you follow the previous advice of scanning, planning and anticipating and then clicking for potential and developing hazards as you see them (Boom Boom Boom).

Practising – You can of course practise by using the hazard perception apps that are available.

Recommended are Driving Test Success and Theory Test Pro. You can do these online too. However, a word of caution. You cannot improve your perception by going over the same clips over and over as once you've seen the clip you are testing your memory not your reaction.

The best way to develop your perception and reaction is to practice while out and about. You can do this as a pedestrian, passenger, cyclist etc. (People might look at you as a bit strange if you're walking around saying 'click' so it's best to do this silently in your head).

Check out this official video from the DVSA 

https://youtu.be/7womeV0brCo

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 - Parking on the right - Do this to avoid failing

In this blog I'm going to focus on the relatively 'new' driving test manoeuvre of pulling up on the right-hand side of the road and reversing two car's lengths parallel and reasonably close to the kerb and then rejoining any traffic flow on the left. Although you will not be asked to park between vehicles, the reverse element simulates reserving to improve your view before emerging from between parked vehicles.

The skills being tested are; 

• choosing a safe, legal and convenient place to pull up on the right and pulling up safely
• reversing under control, with effective observations before and during the reverse, reversing accurately
• moving away safely and under control using effective observations before and during the move away to rejoin the flow on the left

The important skill it doesn't test is deciding whether or not you should choose to do this manoeuvre - this element is vitally important.

Introducing this manoeuvre to the test has caused the biggest stir among driving instructors, who for many years have passed on the best advice in the Highway Code (rule 239) which advises, among other things, "do not park facing against the traffic flow". 

This is still good advice and parking with the flow of traffic is preferred unless there's a very good reason not to.

It's important to note that during daylight hours it isn't actually against the law to park against the flow, it's just more risky than parking on the left, hence the Highway Code's good advice. However, if you choose to ignore this advice and cause a collision, this may be used against you to form a prosecution for careless driving or worse. 

"You MUST NOT park on a road at night facing against the direction of the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space. Laws CUR reg 101 & RVLR reg 24"

What a driver with a good understanding of the rules and laws knows is that there are often exceptions for circumstances beyond their control. Highway Code rule 248 specifically tells you when this exception is. Your responsibility as a driver is to know when it is necessary to do something; when it is safe to do it and when it is legal.

Parking against the flow of traffic has additional dangers, such as; oncoming drivers misunderstanding your intentions; your headlights may be dazzling oncoming drivers and when parked your vehicle is displaying the wrong colour reflectors which can mislead other drivers in poor visibility conditions. 

If the Highway Code advises against this and it involves higher risk, then why would the DVSA include this in the driving test? 

Well, the key factors include the real-life 21st century issue where parking in many places has become more and more difficult due to increased car ownership. This has in turn forced local authorities to manage on-road parking more heavily. In my local city of Nottingham, it's almost impossible to park anywhere except in a recognised parking place and often there are parking restrictions on the left, leaving only the recognised spaces on the right. 

For years driving instructors hadn't been teaching pupils to park against the flow and yet as soon as they pass their driving test, these pupils, just like millions of other drivers each day, take to parking against the flow as if it's acceptable in any circumstance. Because driver education hasn't focused much attention on this, the risks weren't highlighted well enough. By including this in the test, driver educators can raise awareness of the risks and produce drivers who can make sound decisions - 

Is it always necessary? No!
Is it always safe? No!
Is it always legal? No!

It's a driver's responsibility to know when it is acceptable to do this manoeuvre.

Just like every other aspect of driving, if you do not recognise how risky your actions are likely to be in the particular circumstances you are facing, it can be very dangerous. A good risk assessment should always be made and you may even conclude that it would be best to find somewhere to turn around so you can park with the traffic flow.

Most on-road recognised parking places are well lit, however, at night you need to consider; will I dazzle the oncoming drivers? Should I switch to side-lights? Is it legal on this road to use only side-lights? Is visibility seriously reduced? Should I park off road? Will my reflectors confuse another road-user?

Another huge risk factor is crossing oncoming traffic to rejoin the flow on the left. Would you have a good view of the road? Are you aware of the vehicle's blind spots (van drivers especially)? If you can't see, is someone able to help (just like reversing into a side-road)? How could you improve your view (reverse, creep and peep)?

You see, there's always some level of risk in driving whatever you're doing but the decision to park against the flow - or anywhere else - is more than a matter of habit or because "I live there." 

Parking on the right can be done safely as long as you are aware of the problems you might have and by considering and managing the risks. 

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

Driving Test Tips - Block Gear Changes - Learn how and why these are so important

Typical gear position layout

"Doesn't your instructor teach you to change down through the gears?"

During the pandemic lockdowns many learner drivers have been turning to their parents/grandparents to help them practice. This is generally welcomed and has more benefits than it does drawbacks, however, there are often clashes with the style of driving and techniques being nurtured by the instructor (officially considered best practice by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency) and the style and techniques an accompanying driver has developed since learning to drive (considered best practice by Mum or Dad)

Some of the common clashes are the use of gears, the use of the handbrake and steering techniques.

The most common clash, in my experience, is the use of gears. "Doesn't your instructor teach you to change down through the gears?"

The short answer is, no we don't, with the exception of beginner lessons where we may use this as a way of familiarising the learner with the gear positions. 

Out-dated techniques

In days of old it may have been necessary to change down one-by-one (sequential gear changing), but the flexibility of modern engines and the efficiency of modern braking systems means that we can use cars differently to those, for example, of the pre-1970's. 

This is not something that has changed recently - I was taught to drive in the early 1980's in a 1978 Toyota Corolla and was taught to block gear change way back then. I also used this technique when passing an advanced driving test in 1990 and the Cardington Special Test Grade A (super advanced driving test) in 2000.

There are a number of reasons why sequential downward gear changing is not best practice. These include; increased wear and tear on expensive components, increased fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, reduced car control and most importantly - under-developed situational awareness.

Best Practice! 

The terms used for missing out gears are 'selective' or 'block' gear changing.

There should be no need to rush gear changes. Smooth and even movements are best and this is made possible by planning ahead.

You need to be aware of the situation ahead. What is likely to make you change speed or direction and by how much? By anticipating changes to the situation and planning how you're going to cope with it, you will be able to make good use of the brakes and avoid unnecessarily changing through each gear. 

A driver who has developed good sense of situational awareness and judgment will be able to recognise how much the situation will make them slow down and is able to reduce speed using the brakes and then selecting the gear that matches the lowest speed matching the situation. This awareness is missing in drivers who change gear one-by-one out of habit rather than through good forward planning.

Common downward selective gear changes are  5th to 3rd; 4th to 2nd; or 3rd to 1st. A good driver will also be able to make good use of the brakes and clutch pedal timing to skip from any higher gear to any lower gear.

One obvious benefit in all of this, is that you are warning following drivers via your brake lights of your actions. Gears may help slow the car down by using the 'engine braking effect' but this technique gives no warning to following drivers and therefore increases the risk of a rear-end bump.

In addition, when braking, force is heavier on the front wheels, which is why front brakes are designed to be stronger than rear brakes. In a situation where you are changing down sequentially, your hand spends less time on the steering wheel and therefore less time under full control of the steering. 

It may seem like a matter of fine margins but fine margins are what defines 'practice' and 'best practice'. These best practices play a significant part in reducing the risk of crashes.

Do you know you can also block gear change up?

Again, a driver who has developed a good sense of situational awareness and judgment will be able to skip gears when accelerating. An example of this is when joining a dual carriageway where you need to match your speed to the flow. Third gear may give you the acceleration capability to quickly get to the required speed but once in the flow and the need for acceleration is replaced by the need for fuel-efficiency, it is beneficial to go from 3rd to 5th gear without selecting 4th. Commonly used block gear changes upwards are 2nd to 4th, 3rd to 5th, 4th to 6th.

Ask for clarification

If you are helping someone practice between lessons, please continue to do so, but if there is anything which you do not understand, for the learner's sake please don't try to change what they have been taught before communicating with their instructor.

Take care!

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

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

New Driving Test - Parking on the right-hand side.

There's been a lot of media attention around the changes to the U.K. driving test due on 4th December. In this blog I'm going to focus on the 'new' manoeuvre of pulling up on the right-hand side of the road and reversing two car's lengths parallel to the kerb before rejoining any traffic flow on the left and why I think it's a good thing to include on the driving test.

This manoeuvre has caused the biggest stir among driving instructors, who for many years have passed on the best advice in the Highway Code (rule 239) which advises, among other things, "do not park facing against the traffic flow". 

This is still good advice.

It's important to note that it isn't actually against the law to do so, it's just more risky than parking on the left, hence the Highway Code's good advice. If you choose to ignore this advice and cause a collision, this may be used against you to form a prosecution. 

You see, even though rule 239 advises against this, there are often exceptions to rules and rule 248 specifically tells you when this exception is. Your responsibility as a driver is to know when it is necessary to do something; when it is safe to do it and when it is legal.

"When you change what you believe, you change what you do" - Spencer Johnson

The mistake made by many, including some driving instructors, is to isolate each rule, which leads to the well-intended yet misguided and steadfast belief that you should NEVER do this. 

Having a really good understanding of the Highway Code, as a whole, helps avoid becoming misguided. If you know rules 239 and rule 248 for example; 

"You MUST NOT park on a road at night facing against the direction of the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space. Laws CUR reg 101 & RVLR reg 24"

rule 248 clearly tells you not to park against the flow of traffic specifically at night, and for good reason. This time it is against the law, probably because of the additional dangers, such as; dazzling oncoming drivers and displaying the wrong colour reflectors when parked. However, as is often the case, there are exceptions to rules and you need to know that this rule has one - "unless in a recognised parking space."

If the Highway Code advises against this, then why would the DVSA include this in the driving test? Well, I guess that key factors include the real-life 21st century issues where parking in many places has become more and more difficult due to increased car ownership. This has in turn forced local authorities to manage on-road parking more heavily. In my local city of Nottingham, it's almost impossible to park anywhere except in a recognised parking place and often there are parking restrictions on the left, leaving only the recognised spaces on the right. 

For years driving instructors haven't been teaching pupils to park against the flow and yet as soon as they pass their driving test, these pupils, just like millions of other drivers each day, take to parking against the flow as if it's acceptable in any circumstance. So, why don't they know it's not always acceptable? Because driver education hasn't focused much attention on this. By including this in the test, driver educators can raise awareness of the risks and produce drivers who can make sound decisions as to when it is necessary, when it is safe and when it is legal.

Is it always safe? No!
Is it always necessary? No!
Is it always legal? No!

It's your responsibility to know when it is!

I'll be focusing on teaching my pupils that despite this being on the test, it's still risky and should only be considered as a last resort and within the legal exceptions.

Parking on the right is not ALWAYS dangerous and therefore you should not be led to believe that you should NEVER do this. However, ONLY do this when you can answer yes to each of those three important questions.

Just like every other aspect of driving, if you do not recognise how risky your actions are likely to be in the particular circumstances you are facing, it can be very dangerous. A good risk assessment should always be made and you may even conclude that it would be best to find somewhere to turn around so you can park with the traffic flow (the reverse left and turn-in-the-road are not be part of the new test but are still useful). Most on-road recognised parking places are well lit, however, at night consider; will I dazzle the oncoming drivers? Should I switch to side-lights? Is it legal on this road to use only side-lights? Is visibility seriously reduced? Should I park off road? Will my reflectors confuse another road-user?

Another huge risk factor is crossing oncoming traffic to rejoin the flow on the left. Would you have a good view of the road? Are you aware of the vehicle's blind spots (van drivers especially)? If you can't see, is someone able to help (just like reversing into a side-road)? How could you improve your view (reverse, creep and peep)?

You see, there's always some level of risk in driving whatever you're doing. We're not advocating that you park there as a matter of habit or because "I live here." 

Parking on the right can be done safely as long as you are aware of the problems you might have and by considering and managing the risks.