Reacting to hazards

Bobby42

Just a few questions on reacting to hazards,

I was out driving today and I was turning left off a mini roundabout, but there was an elderly couple with a dog about to start crossing the road.

I slowed well down, giving time to see if they were going to cross the road. But my da freaked at me for stopping , saying I was blocking the roundabout.

Another thing I wasn't sure about. I was doing 60km on a main road and up ahead a pedestrian was crossing the road. Now she was a good distance ahead, no chance of me hitting her or anything like that but I deaccelerated anyway until she had fully crossed the road.

Again my da looses it at me, saying there was no need to slow down as much. Maybe dropping to third gear would have been enough to show I had reacted to the hazard?

My da is a fairly old school driver though, he often freaks at me for doing things my instructor taught me.

cats.life

was like you when i started driving all those years ago. but what you need is an instructer to tell you where your going wrong. get a few lessons from them . and in time you will be able to judge for your self at what distance you wil need. a shouting dad dont help, always look in your rearview mirror to see if there is anyone behind you if you were to slow down you dont want to be rearended.. i would not have slowed down if they were not crossing already.

Mister Jingles

I know the feeling !

As the saying goes though, your parents are usually the worse people you can have in the car with you when learning how to drive. Your the driver, your in control, your the one who makes the calls.

starlit

Go with what your instructor has taught you, they understand the system for the driving test and what the right thing is to do. Learning the right way to do things from the start is one way of becoming a better driver and pass your test. The learning never stops even when you pass your test!

There is more learning after than than before it and though once you have learnt to drive you have learnt it for life but being a better driver and improving as a driver you still keep learning after passing the test.

With the mini roundabout, you give way to those who were already crossing near it despite the elderly couple walking slowly I'd imagine you need to give them right of way and have let them across. Maybe so you were blocking it and causing an obstruction but you did the safe thing to let them cross otherwise you would let them wait, you wouldn't have known what they were going to do. No different if you met a cyclist!

If they are about or to to start crossing then they have right of way over you! Your dad really needs to read up on the rules of the road and check out the log book details if you doing the EDI lessons.

Don't mind your da, he is more experienced on the road and his reaction to hazards would be a bit quicker and knows how to deal wit it in a short space of time but that not necessary the safe thing.

What you are doing is the safe thing, you don't know who could be nearby where the pedestrian was, as people can change their minds about crossing or not on the spur of the moment. You can't read their minds!

60km might been too high a speed I would have slowed down a bit there to less than 50km if you needed to have stopped in an emergency. You have to think ahead not just about the pedestrian crossing. Its all about judging, anticipation and awareness and most importantly observation and mirrors!!

Though if you thought you hadn't much chance of hitting her you needed to have slowed down some bit even if it were a bit of distance as you needed to give them a chance to cross.

Depending on the distance, dropping to 3rd would have been ok in this case, though in generally I be in 2nd gear.

The old school way of driving is not usually practised by instructors or expected on a test, you either do it the proper way or the high way basing from the impression I get from the rules of the road and from instructors based on the system for learning to drive and the driving test system.

Keep your cool and a level head, be patient, don't listen to your dad unless what he says is the same as what your instructor is telling you. If you get conflict advice from your dad then go with what your instructor tell you, there is a driving standard to be met.

ADIDriving

Ok, so your Dad should be staying calmer. But he may have a point. It is impossible to tell whether he is correct or not from what you have written. If you slowed for the couple a fraction more then an undetermined norm, then that is good. If you slowed excessively, that is wrong. But not the worst mistake in the world. As for the pedestrian crossing the road further ahead. Maybe 55 would have been fine, maybe 35, maybe 15, maybe you could have speed up to 75. For all the attempted advice, we really can't tell. We were not there. Your Dad was there and has more driving experience then some of the people who will try to give advice here. Listen to him, consider his point in a rational manner and double check with your ADI on the exact stretch of road or by saying the pedestrian was at the ... you can see ahead.

andrewg82

sounds like your father has a bad case of front seat driver!!!! my own dad does the same!

Bobby42

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Yeah I've come to realise that although my da is a fantastic driver himself (professional driver for 40 years) he is a terrible instructor.

Any time I make a mistake he absolutely looses it at me and tells me how awful my driving is. I'm talking fully raised voice screaming at me.

"SECOND GEAR FOR F**KS SAKE!!!" ect all the time.

I'm only on the road a year, which isn't a very long time.

I think it makes me nervous and more likely to make mistakes.

I think I'll let a few more lessons in with an instructor before my test.

But he's probably right to an extent, just wondering if there is such a thing as over reacting to a hazard?

I guess slowing down too much may equal lack of progress.

ADIDriving

Bobby42 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Yeah I've come to realise that although my da is a fantastic driver himself (professional driver for 40 years) he is a terrible instructor.

Any time I make a mistake he absolutely looses it at me and tells me how awful my driving is. I'm talking fully raised voice screaming at me.

"SECOND GEAR FOR F**KS SAKE!!!" ect all the time.

I'm only on the road a year, which isn't a very long time.

I think it makes me nervous and more likely to make mistakes.

I think I'll let a few more lessons in with an instructor before my test.

But he's probably right to an extent, just wondering if there is such a thing as over reacting to a hazard?

I guess slowing down too much may equal lack of progress.

You can get marks in the test for over reacting to hazards and lack of progress.
His experience may be of benefit but try rationalise his excesses.

maybe when you're out of the car tell him you appreciate he's helping but the shouting makes you nervous and throws you off, and you're only learning so these things don't come as quick to you
i had to do the same when i was learning and a family member was accompanying
i think they forget these things don't come as easy to you yet and get impatient