Briefings for Part Three Training and Professional Driving Instruction

This exercise will be introduced by the examiner in much the same way as the reverse exercises. He will say something on the lines."I would like you to imagine I have been having lessons in a car similar to this and my instructor told me this week he would teach me how to do the turn in the road using forward and reverse gears. Will you teach me how to a turn in the road explaining it to me as if I have never had it explained to me before and if you see any faults in my driving will you correct them?"

As with the reverse you are now in charge and the advice given for that exercise should be followed for this. Ask the pupil if he has driven in light traffic before and would he like to drive the car to a more suitable place, if you help him when necessary. No doubt he will answer in the affirmative. Watch him carefully and prevent him committing serious faults and eventually you will arrive at a place where you can teach the manoeuvre.

First, with the aid of a diagram, explain what is required. At the moment we are here, we are going to move off turning to the right and stop just short of the kerb. Then we are going to reverse and stop just short of this kerb, finally drive forward and stop on the far side of the road. This is a very useful exercise to learn because if you are ever in a cul-de- sac it is the only way you can turn round, because you cannot reverse into a main road. It will require three things: control, observation and judgement. I will deal with each subject separately starting with control.

CONTROL In order to reduce the number of forward and backward movements it is essential to make the fullest use of the steering by applying full lock as quickly as possible. The problem is we cannot turn the steering whilst the car is stationary, so we need to move the car very slowly in order to give ourselves time to turn the steering. Ask," How do you think we will achieve that, so we can be on full lock before the car has travelled a foot?" He will probably respond by saying clutch control. If he doesn't you will have to explain it to him by saying, When we move off normally we hold the clutch still at the biting point and the car moves off at a normal speed. In this situation we do not want that to happen. We do not want all the power of the engine to reach the wheels, so as soon as the car begins to move ease the clutch down slightly so that we have partial drive. It doesn't matter if the car stops, we can ease the clutch up a little and move it again. We can use this technique on the flat and uphill but if we are facing downhill we keep the clutch depressed and control the weight of the car with the footbrake. Whilst the car is moving slowly under control we quickly turn the steering so that the car is moving at it's maximum rate of turn within a very short distance. Most roads have a camber so once you are over the centre you may feel the influence of the camber and feel the car gaining speed. If you do feel the influence of the camber, you must react immediately by taking your foot off the gas, applying the footbrake and depressing the clutch. When you are about three quarters of the way across the road turn the steering to the left in readiness for reversing and stop just short of the kerb. Apply the handbrake if necessary and select reverse gear. Ask the pupil if he knows where reverse gear is on this vehicle, if he doesn't know, show him. If there is any camber then we will have to do a hill start backwards so we set the accelerator, bring the clutch to the biting point and release the handbrake. As the vehicle begins to move backwards control it on the clutch and if you didn't manage to get full left lock,complete it now. When the vehicle goes over the centre of the road be ready for the influence of the camber, as before come off the gas, apply the footbrake and depress the clutch. When the car is three quarters of the way across the road, turn the steering wheel to the right in readiness to move forward. Stop just before reaching the kerb. After stopping, apply the handbrake if necessary, select first gear, then drive forward and complete the turn. Any questions?

OBSERVATIONS During this manoeuvre we are likely to disrupt the flow of traffic, therefore we must maintain all round observation throughout the manoeuvre. Before moving off check all three mirrors the road ahead and your blind spot and do not move off if you are likely to interfere with any other road user. When safe begin moving looking repeatedly up and down the road. If you see any other road user who you are likely to interfere with, then you must stop. Having stopped get eye contact with the driver. The driver will then have two options, he can either continue (which will be better because he will be out of our way) or he can stop. If he stops and it is safe to take advantage, continue with the exercise. When you reach the far side of the road, whilst you are changing the gears be looking up and down the road. When you are ready to start reversing you must insist on the pupil turning round in the seat sufficiently to obtain a good view of the road behind the car through the rear window or tailgate. After a final check up and down the road begin to reverse when safe. At the point where the driver is about to change the steering to the right, insist on him looking over his right shoulder because that is the side of the car which is nearest to the kerb. Again whilst changing the gears, look up and down the road and when safe, drive forward to complete the manoeuvre. Before stopping on the nearside remember the MSM procedure, particularly if a driver has been waiting. Any questions?

JUDGEMENT Explain that we must use the full width of the road if we are to turn round with the minimum of forward and backward moves. We must get the wheels as close as possible to the kerb without actually touching it. The problem is we cannot see the wheels, however we do know where they are. Point out the front wheel arches and show how the windscreen pillars point down to the front wheel arches. You can now explain that the pillars are not now pointing towards the kerb and one can see there is a considerable distance between where the pillar is pointing and the opposite kerb. As we move across the road the distance will reduce until there will come a time when the pillar will point at the kerb. We will then know the wheel is very close and we should stop the car. You can show the photograph to consolidate, then with the diagram you can say that whilst the car is on the far side of the road you will be able to see a great distance between the rear wheel arch and the kerb. When you have driven across the road and turned round in your seat to the right, you will see the wheel is getting close to the kerb and just before you think it is going to touch, stop the car. To come forward and park by the kerb is no problem because you can already do that. Any questions? Then ask the pupil if they would like a demonstration or would they like to try and do it with your help. You will find the examiner will want to have a try.

Talk the pupil through every aspect and remember it will not be much use saying slow down, you will have to tell him what you want him to do with each control. Use easy to understand language such as 'Down a little on the clutch', 'Over to the brake ', 'Not too much gas', '\Turn the steering quickly.' Keep tight control over him and prevent him from gaining speed by using early imperative commands.

The examiner may ask questions such as:
a) Should I signal other drivers to proceed? Answer. No, let other road users make their own minds up, there are no signals in the Highway Code which you can give to inform other road users to proceed.

Can I let my car over hang the kerb? Answer. Not if it will endanger or inconvenience pedestrians. If there are no pedestrians then you may do so but be careful of high kerbs and steep cambers, also be careful of trees and lamp posts near the edge of the kerb.

Always answer questions based on what you would do under the same set of circumstances. Remember you are setting the pupil an example to follow, so make sure you are going to develop a natural driver and not a robot without common sense.