Position on the road

xzanti

Looking for some clarification on this one.

I had an instructor tell before that I should drive as close to the left as possible.. in fact she was a stickler for this particular rule!!! failed that time around on a few different issues but can't remember if position was one of them.

This time around my instructor has told me to take up position in the centre of my side of the road.

So which is correct?

Thanks

jimgoose

On a decent road with good, wide lanes, you'll want to be about a meter away from the nearside hard-shoulder/kerb/butt of the ditch. On narrower roads where that would put you too close to the centreline, in the centre of your lane is good.

xzanti

Thanks for that

**Timbuk2**

A very rough rule of thumb I like to think of is put the drivers seat over the centre of the lane. So the car will actually be a bit to the left of centre.

Obviously this depends on the width of the road etc., but it's useful as a rough guide until you get used to it. jimgoose's post is good advice if that's an easier way for you to think of it!

caldew

If you follow timbuk2's advice you will be marked for position on the straight. Assuming there are no obstacles/traffic the correct position is halfway between the centre of the road and the kerb.

MascotDec85

caldew wrote: »

If you follow timbuk2's advice you will be marked for position on the straight. Assuming there are no obstacles/traffic the correct position is halfway between the centre of the road and the kerb.

No you won't

gbob

I've passed four driving tests plus an advanced test and the rule has always been to position your vehicle in the centre of your lane in normal conditions, obviously certain road conditions will dictate otherwise.

xzanti

I PASSED cheers for the help guys

J_R

Hi,
From:-
S.I. No. 182/1997 - Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997

9. Save where otherwise required by these Regulations, a vehicle shall be driven on the left hand side of the roadway in such a manner so as to allow, without danger or inconvenience to traffic or pedestrians, approaching traffic to pass on the right and overtaking traffic to overtake on the right.

and from the Rules of the Road

Your position on the road

Make sure you drive your vehicle far enough to the left to allow traffic to safely pass or overtake on the right but not so far to the left that you are driving on a cycle lane or blocking or endangering cyclists or pedestrians.

Now, anybody post a link to an authoritative source where it states that you should drive in the center of the road. ????

Granted, the correct position maybe the center of the road, but that position is found by the above method, that is judging a safe position from the left and not by using the white line and the side of the road as a guide.

A Link ?

jimgoose

gbob wrote: »

I've passed four driving tests plus an advanced test and the rule has always been to position your vehicle in the centre of your lane in normal conditions, obviously certain road conditions will dictate otherwise.

That is the standard, dead-ahead position for motorbikes, because to do otherwise would encourage various have-a-go-heroes to overtake at various ridiculous times. For cars and trucks, see posts 2 and, more formally, 9.

gbob

Congrats on passing OP.


http://www.drivingschoolireland.com/position.html

http://www.m.driving-test-success.com/carroadpositioning.html

https://www.learnerdriving.com/driving-test/marking/positioning.htm

http://www.theorytestadvice.co.uk/driving-test/marking/positioning.htm

http://www.drivingschoolireland.com/good-driving.html#2

MascotDec85

gbob wrote: »

Congrats on passing OP.


http://www.drivingschoolireland.com/position.html

http://www.m.driving-test-success.com/carroadpositioning.html

https://www.learnerdriving.com/driving-test/marking/positioning.htm

http://www.theorytestadvice.co.uk/driving-test/marking/positioning.htm

http://www.drivingschoolireland.com/good-driving.html#2

The 300 people I've gotten through the test by keeping themselves, personally, in the centre of the lane must have fluked it then.

challengemaster

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

A very rough rule of thumb I like to think of is put the drivers seat over the centre of the lane. So the car will actually be a bit to the left of centre.

Same thing, apart from I was told steering wheel. Easier visual reference point than the drivers seat

gbob

MascotDec85 wrote: »

The 300 people I've gotten through the test by keeping themselves, personally, in the centre of the lane must have fluked it then.

And the 2.5 million km I've driven and five tests I've passed whilst keeping in the centre of the lane have all been wrong ?

Look, I think to advise keeping a metre from the kerb/yellow line gives learners an unnecessary fixation when the safest place to be is generally centre lane. On an average Rd to keep approx 1 metre out would result in the vehicle being in the centre of the lane, but on a narrow rd that 1 metre gap would leave the offside of the vehicle over the centre line but Mr/ms learner believes they're correctly positioned because they were told to keep a metre out. The correct terminology may be as you currently advise, but in my experiences the directions given were to find the centre line of your bonnet and aim to keep that in the centre of the lane.

J_R

Hi,

There is no "Feet and Inches" set distance. In the test you could "Shave" a few parked cars, few minutes later you could drive just off the white line and not get marked for either.

You simply travel a safe distance from the left. (As per the law). Advanced drivers call this your "Safety Line" and varies as conditions change.
Conditions such as your speed, road and weather conditions, visibility, type of obstructions etc etc. For urban driving this position is Normally a meter or door width from the left. Which on the vast majority of the roads you are likely to encounter in your test, just happens to be the center of the road.

My problem is that driving instructors teach their pupils to "drive in the middle" and for the remainder of their lives those ex pupils blindly drive in the center of the road irregardless of the conditions and quite possibly oblivious to the convoy of trucks and cars behind.

Instead instructors should explain how and why to find their safe position on the road, not just a simple "one size fits all".

NipNip

Since you've passed your test, now we can talk logic

In a town, it is wise to be a car door's width away from parked cars. One never knows when a numpty will pop out ninja style and frighten the bejaysus out of ya.

In general, you should be about 2 foot away from inside line. This will leave you positioned to the left on a wide road and possibly in the centre on a narrower road.

Night-time driving on narrow unmarked roads, it is wise to drive in the middle of the road lol. Ah no, definitely give space for unmarked ninjas to appear out of the dark blue yonder while getting their daily constitutional.

Basically, you want to be avoiding hitting anything on the left, while at the same time not being an asshole and blocking peoples' view on your right if they wish to overtake, and not risking weaving accidentally into oncoming traffic by positioning yourself too far to the right. Also, if you're in the centre of a narrow road and you're approaching a bend, and a massive lorry en route to get the last ferry is coming around the bend opposite you, prepare to be annihilated as it veers over onto your side of the road..........

spurious

Sigh.
The driver's seat being in the middle of the lane (what Timbuk2 suggested) is not the same as the car being in the middle of the lane.

MascotDec85

gbob wrote: »

And the 2.5 million km I've driven and five tests I've passed whilst keeping in the centre of the lane have all been wrong ?

Look, I think to advise keeping a metre from the kerb/yellow line gives learners an unnecessary fixation when the safest place to be is generally centre lane. On an average Rd to keep approx 1 metre out would result in the vehicle being in the centre of the lane, but on a narrow rd that 1 metre gap would leave the offside of the vehicle over the centre line but Mr/ms learner believes they're correctly positioned because they were told to keep a metre out. The correct terminology may be as you currently advise, but in my experiences the directions given were to find the centre line of your bonnet and aim to keep that in the centre of the lane.

You're the only one getting the tape measure out.
A sensible position should be adopted but there's also a general position to be taken up during normal circumstances.

gbob

MascotDec85 wrote: »

You're the only one getting the tape measure out.
A sensible position should be adopted but there's also a general position to be taken up during normal circumstances.

Really, that's it? OK you win I give up.

jimgoose

gbob wrote: »

And the 2.5 million km I've driven and five tests I've passed whilst keeping in the centre of the lane have all been wrong ?...

You win. I've only passed four.

J_R

Hi,

Was not going to bother answering this but yesterday evening I was driving at the legal 100 Kms on a nice wide road. That is until I caught up to a convoy of cars travelling at between sixty and seventy Kms. All out in the middle of the road travelling nose to tail. Pack of effen sheep.

Because of the length of the convoy and on-coming traffic could not overtake. There was nine cars originally in the queue and I allowed a further three to overtake and join the cavalcade.

As I plodded along at sixty was thinking more than likely the driver of the lead car must have taken lessons with an instructor who did not teach them to travel a safe but not excessive distance from the left and also that they must SHARE the road.

spurious wrote: »

Sigh.
The driver's seat being in the middle of the lane (what Timbuk2 suggested) is not the same as the car being in the middle of the lane.

I assume that is in reply to my post. That was my deliberate mistake. I have noted that every time someone posts on here advocating driving in the middle of a road, (sorry their seat and/or the steering wheel in the middle) they always wrongly use the word "Lane". As you can be overtaken/undertaken on either side in a lane the safest correct position is to be equidistance from the bordering white lines.

To have "Lanes" there must be two or more going in the same direction, if only one it is called a road and "road rules" apply. Travel from the left.

Telling a learner driver to position their car using the white line and the edge of the road as a guide is completely superflous and could lead to problems. If the road is wide in the test they will be marked for giving excessive distance, if narrow too close. Or if very narrow hit the kerb, lamp post, whatever.

And for example if your learner goes from driving a Corsa to say a Series 7 he/she will be five/six inches closer to the left.

Teaching a completely novice pupil, on their 2nd lesson I taught them how to judge where exactly the left side of their car was on the road. When they were happy with that, I then taught them how to judge a meter from that position. I explained that in town this was the normal position and why this was the correct line to take, but that it was not a static fixed distance but varied due to numerous different conditions. And gave them a few examples.

I have had well over 3,000 pupils pass the driving test. I taught them to judge distances and drive "a safe but not excessive distance" from the left. If they followed my instructions in the test they did not get marked for "position".

I never ever mentioned steering wheels or seats when advising how to calculate their position on the road. In fact never heard of such an instruction until read about it on here.

Finally see the latest "unsuccessful" the candidate got marked for "Driving too close to parked cars" not position of the wheel/seat.

The ONLY position that matters is the distance from the left, unless of course turning right. Completely unnecessary adding any other instruction. Can only confuse.