3 point turnabout

oldbeard

Should I straighten the steering wheel before each stops?
Or is it allowed to turn wheel completely to one side. after i stopped- turn the steering wheel to other side and move off...? Maybe both techniques are equally good?
What is your experience?

chin_grin

"Dry steering" is when you're stopped and steering in place. You can do either (dry or steer while moving) once you feel like you'll get the manoeuvre.

So yes I think is your answer!

Also it's good to know that it doesn't strictly have to be in three moves. Just once you get the vehicle pointing the other way with proper observation.

oldbeard

Thanks for reply!
I had two instructors and now with two techniques i'm a bit confused, but if it's ok to use either , i'm ok

chin_grin

oldbeard wrote: »

Thanks for reply!
I had two instructors and now with two techniques i'm a bit confused, but if it's ok to use either , i'm ok

Once you pull off the move safely and correct you're fine. Yeah you can dry steer if it's quite tight.

cosmic

If you have good clutch control and do the manouver nice and slowly there should be no need to dry steer. As soon as you start rolling (slowly) really quickly lock the steering wheel. In a test situation it makes you look like a more competent driver.

stevenmu

In long term driving 'dry steering' is not a good idea, it's not great for the tyres. But I think all that really matters in the test is that you do it safely, with good observation and car control and judge the distances correctly (i.e. don't drive up onto the curb).

Personally I just find the whole thing easier if I start turning the wheel back the other way before I stop, but different people will have different preferences.

condra

I think you should do what feels comfortable, as long as it is within the limits of what is allowed in the test.

If you try too hard to do something in a way that you're not used to, there's more chance of it going wrong.

When I did my test I made a complete hash of reversing around the corner because I was too nervous to have a good oogle out the back window!

Emperor Tomato Ketchup

My ADI said not to dry steer, but lining up the wheel seems ok.

Am I correct in thinking that bumping the curb is an automatic grade 3? My wifes car is pretty big and its hard to see precisely where the wheels are in relation to the curb so when doing turnabouts I err on the side of caution.

On the other hand someone I know got a lack of progress for doing it in 5 rather than 3 which seems ridiculous. But better than a G3 I suppose.

**Timbuk2**

Emperor Tomato Ketchup wrote: »

On the other hand someone I know got a lack of progress for doing it in 5 rather than 3 which seems ridiculous. But better than a G3 I suppose.

I got a fault for this, but it was a G2 for Lack of Competency during the Turnabout, as opposed to progress (and trust me, I got enough progress faults on my first test - failed for having 4 progress on the straight faults in a row).

I was too careful "because it was my test" and did it in 5 turns. The ironic part was that I had actually done the turnabout in the same place in lessons and could always do it in three.

As far as I know, just bumping the kerb is a G2 but mounting it is a G3, but try and avoid hitting it altogether. After I failed my first test, I went to a quiet street, practiced the turnabout but got out of the car when I thought I was about to hit the kerb, to see how close I actually was. You could also just go very slow and tip the kerb to get an idea where the wheel is (I don't think it would do much damage if they aren't high kerbs). I sometimes got my accompanied driver out of the car and let him look, but it's much more beneficial to actually see for yourself rather than having your dad (in my case) doing the frantic "keep going, keep going, keep going, straighten up, STOP" hand movements

ADIDriving

Oldbeard: Many good points above. If you can do the turnabout without drysteering that is much better. If you struggle, dry-steer.
Emporer: Always better to ere on the side of caution and avoid the kerb.