Have you been driving for a number of years?  Never been involved in an accident?  Do you think this is an indication of how safe you are?  Do you understand why and where crashes occur most often?  The following is an example of a very near-miss crash in one of the most common scenarios; it is a true story as it happened with myself and one of my pupils:

Location:  learner driver on main road with 50mph limit, having rounded a bend, ahead a T-junction on the right, some 10 seconds distant.

Scenario:  a vehicle arrives at the T- junction to turn right onto the main road; however, several vehicles approaching from the opposite direction caused the driver to stop; during the 10 second approach, instructor discusses this scenario with the pupil, as this is the kind of road environment commonly associated with crashes.

Event:  just as the last vehicle has passed the junction, the waiting vehicle emerges, at the moment when the learner car, proceeding ahead along the main road, is drawing level with this junction.  Instructor sounds the horn, pupil brakes promptly then, as emerging vehicle stops in response to horn, obstructing part of learner’s carriageway, learner swiftly responds to instruction to come off the brakes and steers through the available gap, thereby preventing a serious crash.

So what happened?  Why did this car driver pull out right in front of the learner?  The temptation is to label them as a fool but did that driver set out to be so foolish?  Are their normal driving skills really so bad?  I think not.  A simple, but nearly fatal error was made, most probably one of the following:

• the driver continued to focus on the vehicles obstructing their passage, approaching from the right, without any observations to the left during this time, a full 10 seconds.  Once the last vehicle had cleared the junction, the driver was still remembering the last thing they had observed to the left, which was that the road was clear, and simply forgot to check again, thereby pulling out straight into the path of another vehicle.
• The driver did observe left, taking one very quick glance, but because the junction was on a slight angle to the road, and the driver had failed to ’square up’, the approaching learner driver would have been in the blind spot/spots of the driver’s car - the windscreen pillar and/or the passenger seat head restraint;  the ‘driver looked but failed to see’, one of the most common police statements on crash investigation reports.

So, the lessons to be learned here:

• When waiting to emerge right at a T-junction, continue observing in both directions.
• When pulling out right or left from a T-junction, never rely on one brief glance in either direction as vehicles, and in particular motorbikes, can be hidden in your vehicle blindspots.
• Keep your thinking ‘active’, and never make any assumptions, especially at the most familiar junctions you use every day, at the same time, and where you believe you know every other vehicle on the road!  One day a ’stranger’ may arrive and catch you out.
• And never assume a crash-free driving career is a reliable indication of your driving safety - you will never know how many other drivers have been ‘proactive’ in their driving and have avoided a collision with you!

The best way to ensure your continued safety is to take a driver refresher course - you never know whose life you could save, maybe even yours!

PS.  Congratulations to Neisha Kerridge of Barford, Norwich, for handling this situation so admirably, even though you are a relatively inexperienced learner driver.  Your calmness at the time, and prompt actions, saved the day!  Very well done!

Do you do the lottery?  Do you hope every week that ‘it could be you’?  Do you know the odds of winning the lottery?  Yes, I’m sure you do, but it’s still worth a go isn’t it?  After all, someone’s got to win!

What if I told you there was another game of chance where the odds are 30 times greater than the lottery?  Interested?  In fact, you have a one in 200 chance of winning, now how about that for good odds?

So, what is this game?  It’s the Road Death game!  Yes, we Britons have a one in 200 chance of dying in a road crash.  How about that?  Much shorter odds by train, that’s 1 in 65,000 and by air, shorter still, 1 in 7.6 million in fact!  This is according to an unpublished report by the Department for Transport, obtained by the Times.  Follow this link to read the article:

 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article3621890.ece

Drivers who take driver training greatly reduce their chances of being involved in a crash, simply because they have raised awareness of the mistakes other drivers make, and are ready to deal with them, together with heightened hazard perception skills coupled with the right level of anticipation to deal effectively, and in good time, with these hazards.  And, as a very welcome added bonus, this safer style of driving also saves money!  It reduces fuel usage, which also reduces the CO2 emissions, reduces wear and tear on the vehicle and significantly reduces driver stress and associated fatigue!  In fact, most drivers who take this training save themselves at least £120pa.  If you would like further information on how you can start to make savings, please contact us now.  The Road Death game, that’s one lottery you definitely don’t want to win!!

Learner drivers and, I might add, instructors (judging by queries posted recently on an instructors’ web site), concern themselves with the top ten reasons why pupils fail their tests.  My answer to that is that they simply are not ready to tackle the driving task alone out on the roads - even those who say their nerves caused them to fail, because perhaps those same nerves could cause them to have a crash, either because they are over-timid or because a driving test pass has now turned them into an over-confident driver!  Either way, there were aspects of the candidate’s driving which showed they were not yet safe enough to be allowed out alone.  However, because this question has been asked so often, you might like to download this pdf document - it is from Northern Ireland but, with the exception of the Highway Code section, everything else is relevant in the rest of the British Isles:

Top Ten Driving Test Faults

You might also want to take a look at this advice from the RAC: http://www.rac.co.uk/web/knowhow/learning_to_drive/the_driving_test/the_top_10_reasons_for_failure

This was the headline of a ‘news in brief” account I read recently in my local paper.  It concerned a VW Golf, without a driver, which moved out of the car park and crashed into the wall of a convent nearby.  The report stated a faulty handbrake was suspected and went on to report that it was the third time in a year that a car had damaged walls at the convent in this way.

Recent discussions with drivers has revealed to me that many people believe you should not leave your car in gear when parked, citing the reason for this belief being that their driving instructor always told them to leave the gear lever in neutral.  This highlights a lack of understanding behind the reason for the driving test safety check before switching on the engine, ie check handbrake is on first, then check the gear is in neutral: because there is a very sound safety reason why the car may have been left parked in gear, which is that if the handbrake fails, the car will be held by the gear-box now acting as a second brake.  All drivers are aware of the use of gears as a way of slowing the car down, (although this is not the principal method taught today), of braking in fact, but it appears many have not related this fact to when the vehicle is left in a parked position.

The advice should be:

Leave your car with the handbrake on and in gear whenever you are parked in a position, such as a car park, even with a slight slope, where a faulty handbrake could cause the vehicle to roll off and cause damage, even injury!

Leave you car in gear, but with the handbrake off:

• when leaving the vehicle for an extended period of time, eg when going on holiday
• when parked outside overnight during icy conditions

The reason for the above is that the handbrake, which operates on the rear wheels only, can seize up, thereby preventing you from moving the vehicle.

Far from being bad practice, leaving your car parked in gear is a wise safety precaution.  Just remember the important safety checks you were taught before starting the engine: check first that the handbrake is on and then that the gear lever is in neutral.

Yesterday another driver prevented me from using road space, effectively pushing me into the path of oncoming vehicles.  How and why did this happen?  Well it occurred after a set of traffic lights where there is a left turn into a Tesco store, no turning to the right, and 2 lanes marked for traffic continuing ahead.  As I approached, the lights were on red, a fairly long queue of vehicles was in the left lane, but just 3 waiting in the right-hand lane; I chose to proceed in the right.  Just after the lights the road narrows into one lane, marked with arrows for right-hand lane traffic to move into the left.  It was at this point, as I looked for my gap to move left, that the driver of the car behind accelerated to fill this gap, effectively putting me in danger.  The reaction from the female driver and her male passenger (both middle-aged) showed they believed I had committed a traffic offense by using this space to get ahead of traffic, and they were determined I should not get ahead of them, even to the extent of causing a collision!

This is the worst type of driving!  Even if my actions had been wrong, to then deliberately force another car into the path of oncoming vehicles is putting everyone around them in danger, all for the sake of ‘punishing’ another driver!

Many of you reading this will have had the same thing happen to you, and it shows the worst form of human nature, the ‘me first, my space’ culture, and it causes more traffic queues than necessary as many drivers are afraid of using the available space of the second lane for fear of being put into just such a position.  The road planners put these extra lanes in place, at enormous cost to the tax payer, to relieve traffic congestion, so please do not let those who do not understand this fact put you off. 

If you would like to learn how to use space safely and effectively, how to assist other drivers and keep yourself safe, then why not enrol on a refresher, or better still advanced, driving course with us?  Good driving is about being considerate, aware and responsible, and driving with this in mind will lead you to becoming a safe and economical driver, ‘eco-safe’, saving you money on fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.  Call us today and don’t let drivers like the one highlighted here force you to be a timid driver.

By-the-way, the correct way to deal with queues of traffic where 2 lanes merge into one, is to use the ‘zipper’ action: left vehicle proceeds, then right, then left, then right etc, just like the teeth on a zip.  Everyone moves in turn and everyone remains safe!

Is this a topic which ‘gets you going’?  Do you get annoyed when others fail to signal?  Does lack of signalling at roundabouts annoy you?  Do you give perfect, unambiguous signals or do you simply remember because you always signal ‘automatically’?  Do you always check all round, including in your mirrors, before you signal?

Consider the following:

Ahead of you is a junction on the right and a line of parked cars on your side of the road.  The driver ahead signals right.  Do you:

• follow close behind him because his signal tells you it’s safe to pass the cars?
• hold a position further back as he might be turning right?

The first option demonstrates a ‘lemming’ mentality, blindly following another; the second shows you keep your options open and give yourself time and space to assess the situation for yourself, but clearly a right signal at this point is confusing.  Vehicle positioning is also a way of communicating our intentions to other drivers; in this case correct position (just left of the centre white line) would say the driver was neither parking nor turning right, therefore he will be overtaking the obstruction, so no need for a signal.

 There are numerous examples like this, so how do you know when you should signal?  The following questions should help you decide when considering a signal:

• who am I signalling to?
• what information do I want to convey?
• can I be sure drivers will understand my signal?
• where is the best place to start to indicate?  Visually scan for alternatives which could make your signal ambiguous.
• Does my position, coupled with my signal, confirm my intentions?

Approaching a roundabout with 2 exits, straight ahead and right, would you consider that a left signal would be appropriate to go straight ahead?  Well, ask yourself this - would you give a left signal to go straight ahead on a main road whenever there is a road off to the right?  Clearly not, this would be very confusing and would most certainly indicate to a following driver that you are about to pull over or turn left (maybe into a driveway).  So why should a roundabout with no exit to the left be any different?  Signals should never be used to give negative intention - I’m signalling left to confirm I’m not going right!  At a mini-roundabout in East Dereham, where there is the option of straight ahead or right, numerous drivers signal left when going ahead, but there is a B&B on the left.  I fully expect to see a rear-end collision one day when a visitor is signalling left to go into the B&B but the driver behind assumes the intention is to continue ahead!

So, take care over use of signals.  Consider every signal before you give it, check your mirrors and ask the who? when? why? questions first.  Then your signals will be of value to others, including pedestrians, and it will have the added effect of making you think about your driving more.

For further information on signalling at roundabouts, please refer to the Highway Code - new edition out now and available through this web site.

Driving from East Dereham in Norfolk to Cambridge last Friday was not one of the most enjoyable drives I’ve had.  Why?  Well first of all weather conditions were atrocious, rain shrouded in mist creating a kind of wet fog, so visibility was poor.  But worst of all a small minority of drivers had failed to put their lights on!  As a result they were virtually invisible, making the potential for a crash to happen on the road ahead much higher.  The golden rule must be, if you see the majority of drivers have their lights on, you become far less visible because of the light around you, so switch yours on too.  Even in daylight, heavy rain and mist-shrouded rain vastly reduces visibility so switch on your lights (but not front fog/spot as the light from these can add glare from reflection on the wet surface, so adding to the danger!).

In wet weather stopping distances are doubled, so increase your following distance to 4 seconds - use a static object, such as a lampost, and start counting as the vehicle ahead passes this object; if you reach the same object before you’ve finished counting you’re too close, so increase your distance by slightly easing off the throttle.

Tip:

Count in 1000s, 1000, 2000 etc or say the sentence “Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule” twice.  You need to say it at a steady pace, don’t gabble!

In many ways driving in rain can be more dangerous than driving in snow as other drivers fail to recognise the dangers associated with rain, so fail to adjust their driving.  Read our tip on driving in floods for information on aquaplaning.

With so much rain around our roads are fast becoming flooded once more!  The ground is still saturated so even a relatively small amount of heavy rain can quickly cause severe flooding.  When you are faced with driving in these conditions, the following advice will help to keep you safe and keep your vehicle going:

• Take your time when you have to negotiate a flood/deep water.  Stop and assess how deep it is first.
• Drive in first gear as slowly as possible but keep the engine speed high and steady by slipping the clutch.
• Keep to the highest part of the road, ie the middle or ‘crown’ of the road.  For this reason, do not try to negotiate the flood if another vehicle is coming towards you as you, or the other driver, could be forced into deeper water.  
• Never ‘take a run’ at the flood in the hope your speed will get you through!  Quite the opposite will result as this is a sure way of getting water into your engine which could cut out.  On some vehicles serious engine damage can be caused if water finds its way into the air intake. 
• Always consider other drivers as well as yourself - do not drive at a speed which will cause water to be thrown up all over their vehicle as you may cause them to break down.
• Although some diesel engines will tolerate a little water, many modern fuel systems are electronically controlled and therefore affected by water.
• Even small amounts of water splashed onto the electrical components of a petrol car can seriously affect the engine. 
• In residential and shopping areas, do please consider pedestrians on the footpaths - try to avoid puddles at the side of the road, they may well be very deep, but if you can’t avoid them because of oncoming traffic, then please drive slowly through them - don’t soak the pedestrians Brigitte Jones style!

Aquaplaning:

This is what can happen when driving at speed in very wet weather.  It is caused by a build up of water between the tyres and the road surface - your vehicle is literally floating on water!  Your first indication of this is when your steering suddenly feels very light.  When this happens you have no control over braking or steering so do not attempt to brake or to steer.  Release your pressure on the accelerator and hold the steering wheel firmly until you regain control.  The higher your speed, the more likely you are to aquaplane.  Even at lower speeds, if your nearside wheels hit a patch of deep water, your vehicle may swerve because of the additional resistance on that side.  Therefore, keep your speed down and avoid deep puddles at the side of the road if at all possible.  Look well ahead so you can do any necessary braking before you reach the deep water.

In these wet times, stay safe!

We should like to wish all readers a very happy, healthy and safe 2008.  With severe winter conditions forecast over the next few days we thought you would like to be given as much help and advice as possible with winter driving - please see our previous tip on this topic and click on the following link to the ‘Brake’ website, where you will find lots of advice and links to other organisations for even more!  When it comes to road safety, you cannot have too much advice!  http://www.brake.org.uk/index.php?p=602

If you have read through the pages of this site, you will have become aware of our endorsement for Stephen Haley’s book, ‘Mind Driving’.  Click this link to read an article by Stephen on the topic of Sense of Danger: http://www.skilldriver.org/index.asp?page=0.2.3.0.SenseOfDangerArticle

Do take a look around the rest of the skilldriver.org web site: the section on ‘What people say’ makes very interesting reading, and you can also view a list of the contents of ‘Mind Driving’.  Please do visit our shop, where you can purchase your copy of this truly ground-breaking book.  Possibly the best book purchase you’ll ever make!