Learning to drive - what speeds should I be doing?

irishworkerph

I failed my test once and I have another coming up soon. I am really struggling with what speeds I should be doing in various scenarios. e.g. if coming down a hill and I have to turn right towards the end of the hill should I be doing 40 going down the hill, slow down to 30 and then 20 before the approach of the corner? When I am slowing I am doing it too early I think and then holding up traffic.

Can I drive around at 30km/h except when on a big open road and then do 40?

Journeyman_1

You should be keeping up with the flow of traffic, or else you will be given marks for lack of progress. 30-40kph is likely too slow for any straight road. In good conditions (visibility is good, road is dry and not slippery) on a straight road, you should be doing whatever the speed limit is most likely, but don't go faster than you're comfortable. For corners you should go at a speed that is safe, this is pretty dependent on the turn, but 20 is probably too slow for anything but a very tight turn. If you're not comfortable going 50 around a city, then you should consider taking more time before you attempt the test again.

Again, you can drive around at 30, but you will fail your test.

toastedpickles

If you're asking that kind of question to be honest, I'd say you need more lessons, easy for me to say i know, but when i was doing mine I was doing 30kph into corners in second gear, anything else was at least 50kph

ProudDUB

You should use the posted speed limits as your guide.

If you are having this much trouble figuring out how fast you should be going, is is possible that you are not paying enough attention to the posted speed limits? Or perhaps you need more lessons and practice. It is difficult for people here to tell you what speed you should be going, as we don't know what the speed limits are on the roads that you will be driving on.

If you drive too slowly (eg driving at 30 kph when the posted speed limit is 50) you will get marked down for lack of progress, as you are holding up traffic and you are a danger to other road users.

If you are going down a hill and you are turning at the bottom of it, you should be driving at a speed that allows you to maintain full control of your car, as well as be able to react in time to other cars that may be coming around the corner towards you. What speed that is will vary all the time, depending on the road and the conditions.

punisher5112

Have you thought of maybe taking a few more lessons and also a pre test just to be ready.

The tester is looking for safe progress and handling.

Try and get as much practice and do your best to get up to speed on road sections which are safe to do so.

Try and get a feel for how the car sounds and drives at the right speed so your not stuck looking at the Speedo all the time.

Do you know anyone who could go out with you who is calm and may be able to offer some tips.

meathstevie

You should adapt your speed to the flow of traffic without breaking the speed limit. Cornering remember is done in such a way that your entry speed is low ( again keep in mind that you need to keep up pace with the flow of traffic ) and you accelerate through the corner as this will give your car far superior handling capabilities than just rolling through a turn hanging on the wheel.

In general the speeds you are mentioning are far too low in normal driving conditions on 80 and 100 km/h roads. You will also burn enormous quantities of fuel driving everywhere in third gear.

Del2005

irishworkerph wrote: »

I failed my test once and I have another coming up soon. I am really struggling with what speeds I should be doing in various scenarios. e.g. if coming down a hill and I have to turn right towards the end of the hill should I be doing 40 going down the hill, slow down to 30 and then 20 before the approach of the corner? When I am slowing I am doing it too early I think and then holding up traffic.

Can I drive around at 30km/h except when on a big open road and then do 40?

You should be doing at the limit for most of the driving. To gauge the speed for corners read up on the vanishing point you may really need to get lessons though.

greyc

My instructor told me to always drive like you're dead late for an important appointment, but you have a Garda car behind you the whole way. So drive as quickly as it's safe to do so while obeying speed limits and taking into account any potential hazards up ahead