Why do so few people ‘use all of the road’?

[Gary C]

nonsequitur said:

Gary C said:

Not as much and not as safe/

Edited by Gary C on Tuesday 23 April 08:20

Gary, you have just said that staying in the correct left hand lane on a bend / curve that you don't make as much progress and is not as safe. I would argue that statement deserves its own thread.

I dont understand how you cant see that having a better view up the road provides you with a better ability to avoid hazards ? or would you argue you can drive around a corner at the same speed as a clear straight ?, of course your not.

If I can see a hazard earlier, then i can take action earlier.

[nonsequitur]

Reg Local said:

waremark said:

Is it possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst always indicating and always following marked lanes?

Yes.

Thank you. Got it in one word.

[dvenman]

nonsequitur said:

Thank you. Got it in one word.

And I know I shouldn't feed it, but conversely it's also possible to pass an advanced driving test while using the offside of the road in an appropriate manner.

[Pica-Pica]

Gary C said:

nonsequitur said:

Gary C said:

Not as much and not as safe/

Edited by Gary C on Tuesday 23 April 08:20

Gary, you have just said that staying in the correct left hand lane on a bend / curve that you don't make as much progress and is not as safe. I would argue that statement deserves its own thread.

I dont understand how you cant see that having a better view up the road provides you with a better ability to avoid hazards ? or would you argue you can drive around a corner at the same speed as a clear straight ?, of course your not.

If I can see a hazard earlier, then i can take action earlier.

..and on-coming vehicles can see you earlier too. After some tuition, my wife has got this idea of exposing herself early.

[lyonspride]

nonsequitur said:

On a serious note to end, the original poster summed it up succinctly when he stated 'Most people I know stick to the left hand lane'. That is only one person. Multiply that by a lot of 'other ' people and I would argue that the vast majority of drivers do not straightline / offside.
A simple conclusion I feel.

On roundabouts they do..........

[Pica-Pica]

Gary C said:

Pica-Pica said:

Gary C said:

edit - you do have to be aware of cars behind. while its unlikely to happen, if a car following wants to overtake and you stray across the line, then you become a hazard.

Edited by Gary C on Tuesday 23 April 08:20

..and therein lies the problem. Trying thinking of ROAD USERS, and not just CARS. More likely to be a motorcycle you fail to see.
This is not just pedantry - the mindset that writes cars, only thinks, and looks for, cars.

Good point about a bike but I think you are being a bit 'internet' to assume that I only think about cars. Says more about you than me I think.

Thank you, I take that as a compliment. I will continue to assume when people write cars, they only think (and look for) cars. Someone on here recently pointed to an article on ‘inattentive blindness’ - an excellent article about looking and not seeing. In that you are essentially looking for something, but not seeing everything.

[Reg Local]

nonsequitur said:

Reg Local said:

waremark said:

Is it possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst always indicating and always following marked lanes?

Yes.

Thank you. Got it in one word.

Don’t take my short answer to a very specific question to mean that your entire theory about “offsiding” is correct. It isn’t.

It’s also entirely possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst only indicating when appropriate and using the offside of the road, providing it is safe, appropriate and results in a genuine benefit.

In most respects, the public roads are not an environment where there is a right/wrong, correct/incorrect answer to dealing with hazards.

In almost every situation, there are a number of choices, in varying degrees of appropriateness/ inappropriateness.

When anyone asks me a question about driving, the answer almost always starts with “it depends”.

[vonhosen]

nonsequitur said:

Reg Local said:

waremark said:

Is it possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst always indicating and always following marked lanes?

Yes.

Thank you. Got it in one word.

It's possible to pass one doing either/or both & possible to fail it doing either/or both........it depends

[Reg Local]

vonhosen said:

........it depends

See!

[waremark]

Reg Local said:

vonhosen said:

........it depends

See!

Thanks both! I agree, but on an advanced driving test I would expect to see straightening the line on an empty roundabout - as well as keeping carefully in lane when others might be affected, and equally carefully making sure not to position where vulnerable to others who don't keep in lane.

[spikyone]

waremark said:

Thanks both! I agree, but on an advanced driving test I would expect to see straightening the line on an empty roundabout - as well as keeping carefully in lane when others might be affected, and equally carefully making sure not to position where vulnerable to others who don't keep in lane.

And if you want an IAM F1rst, you'll be explaining what you're doing and why you're doing it anyway

[Foss62]

waremark said:

Is it possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst always indicating and always following marked lanes?

I think the problem would be that indicating on a completely empty road would probably be notched up as poor observation and/or lack of system? I suppose you could try to rationalise it in your remarks at the start of the drive but I think it might be an uncomfortable discussion. Indicating can mislead, so it shouldn’t really be a ‘no thought’ process.
Equally, following marked lanes might sometimes mislead other traffic. I can think of a few junctions where pedantically avoiding the hatches (broken line) would be unlikely to impress examiners.

[waremark]

Foss62 said:

waremark said:

Is it possible to pass an advanced driving test whilst always indicating and always following marked lanes?

I think the problem would be that indicating on a completely empty road would probably be notched up as poor observation and/or lack of system? I suppose you could try to rationalise it in your remarks at the start of the drive but I think it might be an uncomfortable discussion. Indicating can mislead, so it shouldn’t really be a ‘no thought’ process.
Equally, following marked lanes might sometimes mislead other traffic. I can think of a few junctions where pedantically avoiding the hatches (broken line) would be unlikely to impress examiners.

In asking about always following marked lanes, I was thinking particularly about wide and empty roundabouts. I don't think an examiner would be impressed by a candidate who never looked for a shorter and more stable path through such a roundabout.

What would tell the examiner that the candidate had progressed beyond a good pass of the DSA initial driving test?

[Black_S3]

I used to commute back from night shifts at times when the roads were dead and got pulled countless times doing this and coming across a police car who I guess just assumed by the speed being carried I was likely arsing about. It’s a hassle getting pulled over so I’ve largely cut it out.

[lyonspride]

Strikes me that whilst straightlining roundabout is infinitely more dangerous than that cutting a few inches on a clear, because it's so common, people think it's OK.

[akirk]

lyonspride said:

Strikes me that whilst straightlining roundabout is infinitely more dangerous than that cutting a few inches on a clear, because it's so common, people think it's OK.

I think that we have to be careful with the words we use on forums - straight-lining a roundabout has absolutely zero risk or danger if done when you can see all entrances are clear and there is no other traffic around etc. - at times when there are other road users, then it becomes less logical / more dangerous - so you don't do it...

like all of this discussion - do whatever you want on the roads if you are managing the safety, the minute there is any doubt / anyone else around, your driving has to return back to the norm / expected pattern of behaviour...

but to say that straight-lining a roundabout is infinitely more dangerous is to generalise inaccurately...

[GW65]

Pica-Pica said:

..and on-coming vehicles can see you earlier too. After some tuition, my wife has got this idea of exposing herself early.

It's also important to consider this from the perspective of the oncoming vehicle that gets to see you earlier...

I live in a fairly rural area where many of the roads are just about wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass. When you encounter someone who's straddling the centre-line (assuming there is a centre-line!), there's no way of knowing whether they're doing it deliberately to get a better view and/or be more visible and will promptly pull back onto "their" side...or whether they're a numpty who can't drive and will drive straight into you. Unfortunately, the only safe option is to prepare for the worst which makes for tedious progress.

On a clearly sighted road where the distances are greater, it's fine...but on a lot of rural roads it's just a pain for other road users.

[bigdog3]

GOATever said:

Why do they not use the available road, to it’s full potential? I find it odd.

Using full racing lines on the road tends to be dangerous, from limited vision and elevated speed factors alone. Something I'm happy to do on the track, sometimes at over 100mph. Principle of using decent lines still holds true for the road, but it needs to be moderated.

[Gary C]

waremark said:

Thanks both! I agree, but on an advanced driving test I would expect to see straightening the line on an empty roundabout - as well as keeping carefully in lane when others might be affected, and equally carefully making sure not to position where vulnerable to others who don't keep in lane.

including multi-lane roundabouts ?

[Gary C]

Pica-Pica said:

Thank you, I take that as a compliment. I will continue to assume when people write cars, they only think (and look for) cars. Someone on here recently pointed to an article on ‘inattentive blindness’ - an excellent article about looking and not seeing. In that you are essentially looking for something, but not seeing everything.

Sorry, you seemed to be attacking me, but thats also very 'internet' of me

Mentioning bikes was worthwhile, but its a leap to think I don't see them.