Is it important to 'know the routes'?

cantdecide

A general question. There has always been a great emphasis on knowing 'the routes' but is there really any benefit? I can see the benefit of knowing the general lie of the land in an area and being familiar with funny roundabouts and the like but I've always believed that too much emphasis is put on finding instructors that know the routes. I've always believed it just becomes a pointless metric on judging instructors.

When I took my motorbike test, I took my training in Cork but took the test in Dungarvan without any instruction from anyone down there. Once I spent some time down there meandering around and becoming familiar with the topography, it didn't even occur to me to find out about routes.

TL;DR, wouldn't be more useful to answer the question of routes with 'don't worry about that- just familiarise yourself with the general area'.

dennyk

It's certainly helpful to practice and become familiar with the test routes and the roads in that area in general. If nothing else, it means you can spend less time worrying about exactly where to make the next turn, and you know about any tricky bits in advance so you don't get caught out. It's not really essential, though, assuming you've had a decent amount of practice in general and are a confident enough driver that you don't get stressed out driving in unfamiliar places, and it's definitely not the primary criteria I'd consider when selecting an instructor; it's far more useful to have one you work well with.

Alanstrainor

When I learned there was never any mention of any defined routes, it was all about my driving and closer to the test it was about getting to know the general area of the test centre. I never understood wanting to learn the specific routes. I'm quite certain that my route did not follow a predetermined route, as it over way too quickly and there was no hill start done. But it may have followed it partially.

The best advice is to get familiar with the area with your instructor and perhaps ask to do the reverse around the corner at known spots, and the same for hill starts and turn abouts. But the main thing is to learn how to be a competent driver anywhere.

Dravokivich

The last series of Pre-Tests / Lessons I did before my last test. I specifically asked my instructor to take me through somewhere we hadn't gone before. The last thing I wanted was complacancy, or getting to used to seeing the same places as needing to do X at Y. I wanted to focus on what I needed to do while driving and I felt nothing shows that more than reading/adapting where I hadn't been before.

cantdecide

Dravokivich wrote: »

The last series of Pre-Tests / Lessons I did before my last test. I specifically asked my instructor to take me through somewhere we hadn't gone before. The last thing I wanted was complacancy, or getting to used to seeing the same places as needing to do X at Y. I wanted to focus on what I needed to do while driving and I felt nothing shows that more than reading/adapting where I hadn't been before.

Fair enough and obviously there's no right or wrong to this question but I suppose I'm just wondering if people are putting themselves under pressure if they find themselves unable to cover routes for whatever reason. I wonder are people facing tests thinking their buggered because they're not familiar with certain routes. I mean you took a turn you weren't expecting (ie a route you hadn't covered) then that would be very disconcerting?

I mean when I took the car test years ago, I was buggered by mandatory overtime at work and could only take a handful of lessons before the test date so didn't have time to cover any routes at all, just the basics. I remember people sucking through their teeth when I told them I hadn't covered any routes but I didn't feel disadvantaged at all in the test. I just followed the tester's instructions and found it fine.

steve_r

I took a test in Rathgar where the examiner deliberately took me to a hard junction with oncoming traffic both ways. I knew the general area but wasn't familiar with that specific area and failed based on how I drove through that section.

Apparently some of the examiners there are known for using specific routes and specific examples so when the examiners do that, it means the instructors are more likely to try and use the same routes.

I sat a repeat test in Portlaoise, the examiner had no "fixed" route and therefore I ended up driving in areas I'd never driven before and I passed that day. The three point turn and reverse round the corner seemed to be in completely random locations which was fine with me.

I think it would be better for everyone if there was reduced focus on specific routes - however it's up to the examiners to make sure they don't keep bringing people to the same places.