Top Tips

Know all the car controls and switches

Always have the clutch down before turning the ignition key

Use mirror, signal, position, speed, gear, accelerate. 

Use handbrake, neutral, cancel, indicator

Go onto the gas before lifting the clutch

At junctions always look left (as well as right) before crossing the give way line. 

If you’re in the wrong lane go with it

Someone flashing their lights may be flashing to their mate

Do manoeuvres slowly and stop and start, use a method. 

Keep two seconds away from the car in front

Drive over mini-roundabouts when it is impractical to go around them. 

When overtaking parked vehicles be parallel to them before you get near them. 

Emergency stops with ABS - just brake hard

Bay parking - do it at 90 degrees, look down a line and it will go into the 3rd space back. 

Emergency stops without ABS - release brake and re-apply if the car skids

When reversing look out of the back window over your left shoulder at least half of the time

Look 5 cars ahead

Have a plan A and plan B

You can overtake through a roundabout in the right-hand lane. 

Give Way doesn’t mean “wait for” it means “don’t get in the way of”

If someone pulls into the kerb in front of you - they will either pull away or open the door

Steer the way you want the back of the car to go when reversing - to the kerb steer to the kerb

Your car will drive itself along for miles without you touching the gas pedal

Only use the right hand lane to overtake or turn right

Indicate to tell people what you are going to do next - give them time to react. 

Always approach a green traffic light as if it is a possible red light

Indicate to do the unpredictable - not the predictable

Don’t accelerate at what you’re trying to avoid

When manoeuvring you can always shunt forwards if you are unhappy with it. 

All roads are 2-way unless there are one-way signs. 

Always point your wheels where you want to go before you accelerate

Braking, steering, accelerating should always be smooth

Always take a right turn into a side road as though a bus is pulling out of it

Concentrate on your overall objective - where you are going, worry about the detail later

You can overtake a cyclist on the zig-zags of a pedestrian crossing

Meeting other traffic - only push through after you have seen them react to you

Emerging through a queue - stop at the centre line and look for overtaking motorbikes. 

Parallel parking - one turn left, full-lock right, stop with your wheels turned. 

Two way streets have different road markings each side, one way both sides are the same. 

At STOP junctions it is illegal not to stop completely. 

Never be the third car into a traffic light junction when you are turning right

When manoeuvring stop before the other driver is close enough to have to react to you

Slip roads - use the whole length and check your blind spot. 

Approaching traffic? First reaction is to slow down, before changing position

Children come in pairs, the child you can’t see is the dangerous one.

React to any HINT of danger - slow down

Indicate for 4 flashes before changing lanes on a dual-carriageway. 

Never drive in another vehicles blindspot on a dual-carriageway 

Never approach a roundabout with another vehicle next to you on your right-hand side. 

A lane change should take about 5 seconds to complete - very gradually. 

Accelerate in your lane to stay ahead of the vehicle behind when changing lanes. 

Do not pull out if another vehicle is moving fast enough or is close enough to hit you - they may not go where you think. 

Approach a roundabout slowly enough to work out what’s going on before you get there. 

Never pull out alongside another vehicle unless you can see clearly – it will not protect you. 

The closer a car is behind you the further you need to be from the car in front

Double check everything - one look is never enough

If you can’t see both ways at a junction for at least 100 metres - STOP

Once you begin to pull away push the clutch down a bit

If the engine feels rough- push the clutch down

You can bring the clutch up whilst braking if you are doing more than 15mph

Bringing the clutch up quickly doesn’t make you pull away faster - you just jump up and down

To pull away fast use loads of gas and stay in the first gear as long as possible

Use a 2-stage method of pulling out of junctions and mini roundabouts - one lane at a time. 

Keep your backdoor closed - don’t open a gap to your side if you’re going to close it again

At blind junctions use staggered stops. 

Timing is everything - avoid reaching a mini-roundabout at the same time as an approaching car

Use “slow in fast out” for bends

Use the same gear on a downhill as you would going up the same hill

If you expect something to happen you will react twice as quickly

Enough room to pass ? - use their and your distance from the white line as a reference

Look across bends

Seeing a reflection (or lights) tells you something is coming, but not seeing a reflection (or lights)doesn’t mean that there is nothing coming

Don’t look at cars as they overtake you - you might swerve towards them

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free information... about Hawkwell driving school... driving courses... driving test secrets revealed... top driving tips... use of driving mirrors... give way junctions... one way streets... junctions near Southend driving test centre... emerging from a side road... reversing around a corner... parallel parking... bay parking... overtaking parked cars... dual carriageways and two lane roads - slip roads, overtaking and lane changing... large roundabouts and lanes... mini roundabouts... DSA maintenance questions and answers... under the Ford KA bonnet... links page
driving test secrets revealed - free information from a Hockley, Essex based driving school. For free information that is not easily availableelsewhere about learning to drive and the driving test. All from a driving instructor with more than 20 years experience teaching people of all ages to drive in the Southend-on-Sea area: If you are learning to drive, or want to learn to drive in the Southend-on-Sea, Hockley, Rochford, Rayleigh areas personal one-to-one instruction is now available to you. Intensive Driving Courses, Accelerated Driving Courses, One and Two Hour Lessons. Covering:Hockley, Ashingdon, Rochford,Rayleigh, Southend, Westcliff, Hadleigh, Benfleet. List of driving tips and driving advice for driving lessons and driving test.