New driver… what would you tell them?
Discussion
DaiB said:
Vipers said:
Do you mean rear tyres, as in tyres and tarmac, or did you really mean the front tyres, to see those from the rear you are yards away surely? Just wondering if a typo, never heard of that one before.
On the subject of pulling up another behind another vehicle, there is an odd reference to stopping a tunnel in the HC by the way which I only came across the other week.
Rule 126. If you have to stop in a tunnel, leave at least a 5 metre gap between you and the vehicle in front.
God knows why!
Car 'in front', not front tyres...On the subject of pulling up another behind another vehicle, there is an odd reference to stopping a tunnel in the HC by the way which I only came across the other week.
Rule 126. If you have to stop in a tunnel, leave at least a 5 metre gap between you and the vehicle in front.
God knows why!
Re tunnel thing, presumably this is because a rear end shunt in a tunnel is more likely due to reduced visibility and reduced escape routes, and a multiple-car incident is considerably more dangerous in a tunnel environment.
flatlandsman said:
I think the handbrake thing is useful in an older car, but most new cars have an electronic system that basically allows you to sit with the brakes on and and it releases auto when you move off again, hence most people sit with the brakes on.
It dates form when all cars had a basic pull handbrake and really it is about conserving your brakes and pads, if you howl up to a set of lights, leave your brakes on, they will eventually warp.
They probably still will if you do it a lot!
The auto-off was part of my concern:It dates form when all cars had a basic pull handbrake and really it is about conserving your brakes and pads, if you howl up to a set of lights, leave your brakes on, they will eventually warp.
They probably still will if you do it a lot!
- Some cars have EPB's without auto-off (where I live, these are the only EPB's that are allowed for learner drivers). But then you have to look for a small switch when moving off - which could delay a beginner. Maybe it gets better with time in a given car?
- Most appear to have EPB's with auto-off, but what I'm learning is that the quality varies: I had a few lessons in my driving school's automatic which is a recent Seat Leon - the auto-off simply does not give you a smooth departure (same if you use auto-hold and turn on the EPB), so I'd always do it by hand - and my instructor personally did the same thing although some students didn't. Meanwhile I've had a few drives in 2018 Renault Megane (manual) and its auto-off is reasonably smooth.
- The real nightmare was today's drive in a Cupra Born (same as VW ID3, they're electric machines). It doesn't really have an independent parking brake switch - instead you've got the odd rotary "gear selector" with parking brake switch on the end, but "gear" and brake are controlled together: move into D and the parking brake goes off, switch the parking brake off and you're back into the equivalent of an auto's P mode. Fair enough - but while you were in P the virtual ignition might have gone off if the car thinks the key is gone. Moving into D automatically turns on the virtual ignition, but this is only possible if a key is present. What happened today is that the car thought the key had disappeared while I was in P, and I had trouble getting it back into D. Cue annoyed drivers behind me... Lesson learned: foot brake only unless I'm actually parking/stopping out the way. Mind you, this car has auto-hold too which is what I assume most people use, but I'm not a fan of auto-hold myself.
don’t get emotionally involved
its a white car or a blue van its not a t
t in a tesla or a berk in a merc
tyres and tarmac when stopped
and why are they taught to sit so close they have to put the clutch to the car floor not just past the biting point
its a white car or a blue van its not a t
t in a tesla or a berk in a merctyres and tarmac when stopped
and why are they taught to sit so close they have to put the clutch to the car floor not just past the biting point
Edited by GSA_fattie on Sunday 21st January 10:54
GSA_fattie said:
don’t get emotionally involved
its a white car or a blue van its not a tt in a tesla or a berk in a merc
tyres and tarmac when stopped
and why are they taught to sit so close they have to put the clutch to the car floor not just past the biting point
Got to say when I drove a manual, and kept it in gear but holding on the footbreak, I always had the clutch all the way in. Cant see it makes much difference what you do, didnt affect me getting rolling again when I had room to move forward.its a white car or a blue van its not a t
t in a tesla or a berk in a merctyres and tarmac when stopped
and why are they taught to sit so close they have to put the clutch to the car floor not just past the biting point
Edited by GSA_fattie on Sunday 21st January 10:54
Different lines of thought I guess.
We were shown road safety films before leaving school
Probably not allowed these days
https://www.sharetheroadtozero.com/TV
Probably not allowed these days
https://www.sharetheroadtozero.com/TV
Edited by henrycrun on Sunday 21st January 16:39
henrycrun said:
We were shown road safety films before leaving school
Probably not allowed these days
https://www.sharetheroadtozero.com/TV
Back in the 50's once a year the police would come around our school, and using one of their own police cars, Woolsey I think, would demonstrate with the help of another policeman on his push bike just how dangerour the roads were, with scretching tyres after the car had accelerated across the play ground and the brakes were applied (no ABS then) making fantastic skid marks as it came to a halt, just missing the one on his bike. We always enjoyed that demonstration in our play grounds.Probably not allowed these days
https://www.sharetheroadtozero.com/TV
Edited by henrycrun on Sunday 21st January 16:39
Plus other demonstrations as well, but that that one was always my favourite.
Still remember this from my instructor 24 years ago.
"Whoever holds back maintains control". This was in relation to giving way round parked cars etc. Basically meaning if you plough through, you have no control and the other person could do the same. If you hold back enough not to be hesitant you keep control of that. Still think of that today. Probably applies to many situations, like driving too closely or just avoiding being a bullish driver.
"Whoever holds back maintains control". This was in relation to giving way round parked cars etc. Basically meaning if you plough through, you have no control and the other person could do the same. If you hold back enough not to be hesitant you keep control of that. Still think of that today. Probably applies to many situations, like driving too closely or just avoiding being a bullish driver.
Alex_225 said:
Still remember this from my instructor 24 years ago.
"Whoever holds back maintains control". This was in relation to giving way round parked cars etc. Basically meaning if you plough through, you have no control and the other person could do the same. If you hold back enough not to be hesitant you keep control of that. Still think of that today. Probably applies to many situations, like driving too closely or just avoiding being a bullish driver.
Indeed... I have told her not to accelerate into trouble, and reduce speed and leave more space if possible when there is lots going on."Whoever holds back maintains control". This was in relation to giving way round parked cars etc. Basically meaning if you plough through, you have no control and the other person could do the same. If you hold back enough not to be hesitant you keep control of that. Still think of that today. Probably applies to many situations, like driving too closely or just avoiding being a bullish driver.
She spends a lot of time driving round local towns with friends, and I must say it has quickly made her a very positive driver. Probably cruising for a fall, but she is really enjoying it, touch wood.
An extra 10-30s looking at a junction might result in someone honking at you and/or getting to your destination 10-30s later.
Not taking an 10-30s to look around might result in the car/motorbike/etc you didn't see ploughing into you at speed and never getting to your destination.
One is annoying, the other is fatal...
Basically you can do absolutely anything behind the wheel as long as you stay under the speed limit 
In seriousness though my biggest peace of advise amongst all the others mentioned above would be to always keep a cool head and remain calm and focused. Patience is key on our UK roads with endless poor driving, roadworks, congestion, etc. My kids are both quite hot headed so I will be drilling this into them as much as possible.
In seriousness though my biggest peace of advise amongst all the others mentioned above would be to always keep a cool head and remain calm and focused. Patience is key on our UK roads with endless poor driving, roadworks, congestion, etc. My kids are both quite hot headed so I will be drilling this into them as much as possible.
Hustle_ said:
You are in a probation period. You're a couple of minor speeding offences or bald tyres away from losing your licence and having to re-sit the test.
Indeed you are on the first rung of the ladder, I have been driving for over 50 years now and in arms reach from my armchair a copy of the new HC code.My son I and often discuss parts of it. So never throw the HC away, we don’t know it all and can always learn something, well most of us.
One last thing, get her a dash cam.
Miserablegit said:
Talking of dashcams- I’d let her watch a few “bad driving caught on dashcam” videos to see what happens and see if she can anticipate where the danger is and what is going to happen.
As my driving instructor said “Treat everyone else on the road as a total idiot”. I watch a lot of dash cam vids on PH, and some are so totally avoidable, some are beyond belief, as if they take aim and keep going knowing they will collide.
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