20. Progressive driving.
Progressive driving.

Introduction



The aim of this lesson is to help you learn how to control your vehicle at faster speeds, negotiating different types of bends on out of town roads and also breakdown how to safely overtake different vehicles travelling at different speeds when the opportunity arises on 50/60MPH roads.

Strategy


On this lesson we are going to start looking at urban (out of town) driving and fine tune your forward planning on faster roads using your  hazard and L. A. D. A. routines. 


Believe it or not A + B roads are the most difficult subjects that you will ever undertake in driving. As there are no pavements but there are grass verges, tree, sharp bends and ditches as you have a lot of slower moving vehicles like Racing bikes, Tractors and a lot of cars only wanting to do 40mph on a 60mph road. So if you plan wrong it could be very dangerous.



Lesson aims


The aim of today’s lesson is to understand the difference between progressive driving (eco driving) and reckless speeding (you will see someone driving beyond their own limits every day and these drivers cause accidents). You will be briefed on the correct road positioning while negotiating different bends safely, keeping full control of your vehicle with the correct speed and gear, while understand the risks that could be involved when overtaking slower moving vehicles.


During this lesson you will be assessed on your general drive but I will be giving you as much support as you need. 



Objectives


Your objective will to be as independent as possible on your general drive to the training location and given as much help on the new topic brief.  By the end of your lesson you will have a better understanding on the skill you will need to go around sharp country roads corners and develope your hazard perception and  highten defensive driving skills. 



lesson brief


Progressive driving is about making maximum progress on your journey without putting anyone else into danger. Unfortunately slower traffic and long queues get drivers angry and they will take unnecessary risks to overtake when they are not 100% sure it was safe too.  When you’re driving always think of the weather and road conditions. What I am saying is in rainy weather your stopping distance is longer (X2), your tyres will have less grip on the roads that you are on. Also your observations could be compromised as the rain could have misted your front windscreen or the sun could be in your eyes.


Golden rules


1. Never drive beyond your limits.

2. Allow more time when your vision is compromised.

3. Always keep the two seconds safety gap.


Remember speeding can result in a waste of time, waste of energy, waste of fuel. Unfortunately there are driver’s that drive like this all the time or there could be a time that you was just running late for an appointment! One mistake could cause a serious accidents or worse deaths. You may think its fun to take a corner or bend at 50/60mph,

PLEASE think of the consequences if you get hurt by losing control and going into a ditch or even worse a tree (a tree will not move like a lamppost). However you could be the lucky one and it could be someone else that got hurt. Could you live with yourself if you ruined life just because you can!! It takes a split second to ruin a life .

THINK.



Speed V progress


Speed does not necessarily equal progress! Remember you are in a killing machine and one wrong decision can be fatal. Imagine you were driving in a queue of slow moving traffic that had very few gaps to overtake, there would be little point in racing to overtake at every opportunity. You would probably cut a 60 min journey by 5 or 10 minutes. But think of the carnage you could leave behind you.

Constant accelerating and braking will affect your suspension, fuel consumption and energy from all of the extra concentration you would need to cope with when overtaking and the constant changes of speed.



Driving round a blind bend

When approaching bends you need to consider the shape of the bend and what you can or cannot see ahead!  

Balance

There is a lot of skill and balance needed to make maximum progress round bends.  
If you push your own ability to its limits then you are dicing with death as bends take lives. 

JUST REMEMBER

Just because you can take a bend at 50 mph doesn’t mean that you should, especially if you cannot see what's around the corner.
You may be confronted with a cyclist, an oncoming vehicle, articulated lorry, tractor cutting hedges or even a set of tempory traffic lights! 

Don't let the grim reaper get you!!
Negotiate bends.
The first thing that you need to learn to successfully negotiate bends at speed is balance. So always slow down on the approach to a bend and not half way around it. This will then enable your vehicle to achieve maximum adhesion when the weight of the car is evenly spread over each wheel and across the whole of the tread of the tyres. 

So let's break it down:-
Left bends

On a left bend you visually see less compared to a right bend as you are approaching and driving around the corner.

As you are travelling at 50/60mph not all corners are as sharp as each other so at times you may think it is a very sharp bend as the road marking and signs are dictating it. But as you going around it is a shallow bend, do not think the next corner is the same.

Let’s say we are on a 60MPH road, so let’s break it down with the hazard and L.A.D.A routines.
On a left bend you visually see less compared to a right bend as you are approaching and driving around the corner.

L.A.D.A to scan the road for the triangle sign and the black and white chevrons (or even assess the tree line).

Start to reduce your speed to 40/30 MPH 6 lines from the start of the corner (or at the triangle sign):-


Mirrors (all).

Position (middle of the road).

Speed (reduce to 25/30MPH)


As your negotiating the left bend:-

Mirrors (left).

Position (middle/over to the left of the road).

Speed (increase to 40/50MPH)


L.A.D.A to scan the road ahead and make progress.


Right hand bends.

L.A.D.A to scan the road for the triangle sign and the black and white chevrons (or even assess the tree line).


Town roads and Country roads



Plan ahead with road marking and signs as your approaching bends, on sharp bends their will always a triangle sign (warning bends ahead) and a black and white chaveron sign.  In town you want to be 10/12MPH  and 2nd gear two to three stright lines before the corner and on a faster road 25/30MPH and 3rd gear.



Left hand bend



The position on a left hand bend you need to position your vehicle closer to the centre white line and as your going around the bend you move more to the centre of your lane or the curb.



Right hand bend



The position on a right hand bend you need to position your vehicle closer to the curb and as your going around the bend you move more to the centre of your lane.



When driving on blind small country roads consider the extra dangers:-



1. Vehicles driving too close to the centre line


2. Overtaking dangerously on bends


3. Drivers driving too fast


Always pay attention to road marking and warning (signs) triangles


Start to reduce your speed to 40/30 MPH 6 lines from the start of the corner (or at the triangle sign):-


Mirrors (all).

Position (more to the left hand side of the road).

Speed (reduce to 25/30MPH)


As your negotiating the right bend:-

Mirrors (right).

Position (middle of the road).

Speed (increase to 40/50MPH)


L.A.D.A to scan the road ahead and make progress.


Braking on the bends

When you brake or turn your steering wheel at high speeds on a bend the weight of the car shifts to only one or two of the tyres and if the driving wheels lock up this dramatically increases the risk of a skid (i.e. the loss of adhesion) and the car becomes very unstable. 
Therefore you should not be braking or accelerating at the point you enter the bend. Always reduce speed on the approach to the bend then begin to accelerate gently into the bend and build your speed up once you can see its safe to do so.


Steering

Always turn your steering wheel gradually and smoothly without jerking (the golden rule is when u drive fast "move the steering wheel slow" and when you’re going slow i.e. when reversing "move the steering wheel fast"). 

Follow the shape of the curb and DO NOT turn the steering wheel sharply as you could easily skid and cut across to the other side of the road or allowing your road position to become a hazard to oncoming vehicles. 
Remember when the vehicle is moving fast move your steering wheel slow and when the vehicle is moving slow move the wheel fast.
Remember when the vehicle is moving fast move the wheel slow and when the vehicle is moving slow move the wheel fast.


Overtaking at speed on single carriageways

Overtaking moving vehicles at speed on a single ("A" roads) carriageway is potentially the most dangerous manoeuvre you can perform. 
You are driving on the wrong side of the road while traffic may be driving towards you. 
Always choose a safe place to overtake, never overtake immediately after a warning sign. 

You need to look well ahead (L.A.D.A) for these hazards, road markings and signs.

Dead ground

One physical hazard that is not easy to spot is something termed Dead Ground. 
This is where the road dips and gives you the illusion that there are no oncoming vehicles when in fact there are.
Using your L.A.D.A observations look ahead so you see the vehicle approaching you then you will see it disappear (awareness and planning).


There are two important points to learn from this

Firstly - if your view ahead is NOT absolutely clear, wait and DO NOT overtake a slower moving vehicle that is in front of you.. 
Secondly - Always be prepared to brake and abort overtaking if necessary.
Occasionally you will find yourself in a stream of vehicles all of which intend to overtake a slow moving vehicle.  

Make sure that you can see clearly ahead before overtaking in this situation.  
Never ‘blindly’ follow the vehicle ahead assuming that it is safe.

The overtaking procedure

The overtaking procedure is similar to that was covered on the dual carriageway lesson. 
However we now have to consider oncoming traffic on a single carriageway, again you would probably use the hazard drill at least 3 times as shown below:  

Overtaking a bicycle, motor cycle or a motor vehicle

You’re going around a right bend on a 50/60MPH road the procedure differs on different speed roads. 
So let’s say again it’s a 60MPH road lets break it down with the hazard and L.A.D.A routines.
L.A.D.A to scan for slower moving vehicles

Once you see your approaching a slower vehicle check your:-
  • Mirrors (all) to see if anything is overtaking you. 
  • Position (closer to the line).
  • Speed (maintain the same speed of the road)

Before you negotiating and overtake the slower moving vehicle:-
  • Mirrors (right).
  • Signal (right).
  • Position (right side of the road and overtake).
  • Speed (maintain the same speed of the road)
  • Gear (sometimes you might need to change gears down depending on an incline of a road or if the slower moving vehicle decides to speed up, Yes it does happen!).

Once you have overtaken it check your:-
  • Mirrors (interior and left), once you have seen the headlights of the vehicle you have just overtaken you have adequate clearance to move back to the left.
  • Signal (left)
  • Position (back to your normal road position).
  • Speed & Gear (adjust to maintain progress).

L.A.D.A to scan the road ahead and make progress.

Reflect & Review

So remember your instructor is there to HELP you so on your driving lesson if you have any uncertainties or need anything rewording or recapping to make things any clearer, just ask.

Your training Vehicle is fitted with dual Controls and if necessary could be used throughout your lesson if needed. These are here for your safety so we can step in to keep you safe. 
So don’t worry if the issues arise we will aid & guide you VIRBALLY or PHYSICALLY and we can go over the situation if happens to correct if in the future.

Risk management

Physical control of your vehicle
The aim is for you the student to have full control of this lesson with previous lessons and have full talk through on the new topic and then reducing the support throughout  with you decision making as best you can.
Your instructor’s job is to analyse any faults or new faults that may accrue in this lesson and put them right.

Talk about any issues if the situations happen on the driving lesson and put issues right.
  •   Fault identification.
  •   Fault analysis.
  •   Remedial action.

Level of instruction on your lesson
  •   Full talk through.
  •   Prompt.
  •   Independent.

End of lesson
  •   Feed back at the end of your lesson.
  •   Student’s responsibility of lesson and improvements.
  •   Plan for the next lesson.
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