West Yorkshire Group RoSPA Advanced Drivers Association

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Newsletter articles 1

Here are a few articles from our newsletter torque.
Idiots - who says?
Steering - more to it than meets the eye
Steering like a learner - not me
The next two articles are on another page.
About braking
The dangers of . . .

Idiots - who says?
Treat every other driver as an idiot and you'll be safer on the road. How many members have at some time heard this gem? Here is an alternative point of view.
    I dislike this advice. I never thought much of it when it was given to me several decades ago and as my driving experience has grown I like it even less and I never offer it to people with whom I drive.
    For a start what is it supposed to tell me about another driver? Does the speaker actually have any idea of how an idiot behaves at any time let alone on the road or in charge of a vehicle? Does it suggest that the other driver is going to start driving with a pair of underpants on his head and a pencil up each nostril (cf Blackadder)? Or it is meant to suggest simply that the other driver may do something unpredictable? If so, what's new?
    Because another driver does something which you wouldn't do does that make him an idiot or just less knowledgeable, or more careless; less patient or more thoughtless? If another road user's behaviour makes you angry does that say something about him or about you?
    If your observations, hazard perception, anticipation and planning are superior to other people's, after all you are supposed to be advanced drivers, why not be thankful for it? If you have put into your driving years of learning, study, and work then perhaps you should feel that you are in a better position than the average driver to drive with skill and thought, to drive so as to allow for others' lack of expertise.
    I believe that the large majority of drivers are going about their business, driving in a way which seems to them to be adequate or even good (since over eighty per cent of drivers consider they are above average). They don't set out to drive badly, they don't intend to do dangerous things, they don't think they are going to behave in a stupid, irresponsible way. It is simply that they do not know any better. This is not patronising; it is fact. Let's face it, if they passed their learner test twenty or thirty years ago they are likely to be unaware of the changes which have taken place in roads, vehicles, driving methods and road signs. They probably watch Top Gear to see how the experts drive! It is likely that they have never looked at The Highway Code since they left behind their provisional licences. The only asset such people have is their years of experience which has made them to some extent 'streetwise' in driving. That this is insuficient is demonstrated by the silly (to us) things we see them do and by the accident statistics. Estimates suggest that seventy per cent of drivers would not pass the L test now.
    So what is the bottom line? Instead of Treat every other driver as an idiot, be positive and advise Expect the unexpected. Make driving plans which include what you can see, what you can't see and what you can reasonably expect to happen. Now that's a piece of advice I will give to others.

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Steering - more to it than meets the eye
Why do so few drivers use the pull-push method of steering? Properly done, pull-push is a simple, quick, accurate way to steer and has the added advantage that the driver always knows where the front wheels are in relation to the turn of the steering wheel. Learners are taught this method yet invariably cease to use it once they have passed their L test.
    My theory is that they never master it in the first place. What they consider to be pull-push is really pull-pull which is an awkward, inefficient and slow way to turn the wheel. No wonder they change as soon as possible.
    I have noticed that associates, when first trying to use the pull-push method, turn the wheel with a pull but never use a push. For example, when turning right their right hand pulls the wheel down, and thus turns the front wheels to the right, while their left hand stays at the ten o'clock position. Their right hand then slides back to the two o'clock position ready for another pull. The left hand never pushes the wheel. Consequently turning the wheel full lock, a movement which requires, say, three pulls and three pushes, requires six pulls and thus takes twice as long.
    Becoming proficient at pull-push does require practice. It is not a natural action but then nothing about driving is natural. I recommend associates practise with a circular tray or better still with a stool with a circular seat which can be raised or lowered by spinning it. Drivers who find pull-push a difficult and slow way to turn the wheel have not practised enough.

Steering like a learner - not me
The pull-push method of steering has a bad reputation with the public. I have often heard it referred to as steering like a learner. Advanced drivers use the pull-push method but their steering is nothing like that of learners. The steering of an advanced driver looks smooth, relaxed, efficient and controlled; that of a learner looks jerky, rushed, inefficient and uncontrolled. Next time you see a learner driving watch the steering.
Few drivers have seen properly executed pull-push steering and few have mastered it. No wonder they criticize it.

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