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Hawkwell Driving School Hockley Essex. 01702 204674 |
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Top Driving Tips
Someone flashing their lights may be flashing to their mate Do manoeuvres slowly and stop and start, use one of our methods. Keep two seconds away from the car in front. three seconds when above 40 mph Know all the car controls and switches so that you are able to use them without thinking about it 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, when pulling away 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, unless you can change lanes in plenty of time 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 in first or second gear 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 two way unless there are one-way signs. Always point your wheels where you want to go before you accelerate Braking, steering and 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 vehicle's blindspot on a dual-carriageway Never approach a roundabout with another vehicle next to you on your right-hand side, it will block your view. A lane change should take about 5 seconds to complete - very gradually. Accelerate in your lane to stay ahead of the vehicle behind before you move out - 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, so that you don't have to brake suddenly Double check everything - one look is never enough If you can’t see both ways at a junction before emerging 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 a lot 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 - it might cause you to swerve towards them |