Judging width of a car

hmmm

I've never been good at judging the width of my car - most of the time that's not a big problem, but driving around narrow country lanes I tend to be over cautious at times. Any tips or is it something you find just comes "naturally"?

thesteve

Practise I'm afraid, one good method I used was when driving on a road with lines, glance in the wing mirrors from time to time and see how far the side of the car is away from the line, then look at the line out the front window. It is something you'll just get used to, even changing cars to a wider or smaller car takes an experienced driver some time to get used to...

Balfa

Everybody starts out imagining their cars are 2 metres wide. Then they just grow in confidence and get a better feel for the true width. If they're men, that is ;D

Seriously though, I find it good practice to constantly remind yourself that the corner of the bonnet is vertically above the corner of the car, so if something (like a painted line) disappears out of sight beneath the corner of the bonnet, it's still got some way to go before it gets to the actual corner of the car on the ground. I dunno if I can explain that well, but it works for me.

You could always wait until you're on a nice empty road then as safely as you can drive with two wheels on the dashed line between lanes (with cats eyes, so you can feel when the wheels are on the line) then make a mental note of where on the bonnet the lines are disappearing out of view.

As for reversing, for most cars, you should look over your shoulder out the rear window and the kerb or line or whatever you're reversing alongside should disappear out of sight beneath the very center of the rear window. It's easy if you have a third brake light at the back, you can just make sure the kerb disappears behind the brake light housing.
Most cars you can safely get a lot closer to the kerb than this, but this should keep you within the 40cm legal distance when parked.

BrianD3

I once heard from a driving instructor that learners tend to concentrate *too* much on road positioning. They sit too far forward at the wheel with their noses pressed up against the windscreen and they focus on the piece of road 2 feet in front of the car and on the ditch. According to this guy, sitting back a little further from the windscreen and looking a bit into the distance helps with judging width and gaining confidence. Not sure how true this is I as I didn't have much difficulty with judging width when learning.

hmmm

BrianD3 wrote:

I once heard from a driving instructor that learners tend to concentrate *too* much on road positioning.

I think there's something in that. When I'm zipping along or driving normally, width and positioning isn't an issue. The problems start when driving slowly and concentrating hard, like passing an oncoming car on a narrow road, suddenly I'm driving a bus.

AMurphy

Hmmmmmm..... Dunno, it's a special coordination thing, like playing billiards, golf, darts, football, etc.
Practice.

Here is a practice you could do while driving on quiet highways, 2 lane roads.

Practice driving with one or other whell running along the cats eyes and hold it there, round turns etc.

Remember a long time ago watching a lady having trouble passing between two closely parked cars, even though she had about 12" on each side. or as I mutter to myself, "Get on with it, it's not the QEII your parking"

Con9903

I came up with a solution for this and it works for me.It's easy to keep a car on the road on your own side if it has lines. Ok narrow country roads don't have line... actually they do, just not official ones. If you look down the country road you will see a worn mark down the centre of the road from years of wear from cars tyre. Just keep to the left of that line. And if an exceptionally large vehicle travels down like a lorry or tractor, just go slowly.

NUTLEY BOY

hmmm wrote:

I've never been good at judging the width of my car - most of the time that's not a big problem, but driving around narrow country lanes I tend to be over cautious at times. Any tips or is it something you find just comes "naturally"?

If you need to sharpen up your spatial skills try parking in underground car parks !! You will feel better when you see how badly others park in these enclosed environments. This is where I come across my pet parking hate - 4WDs thrown across two parking spaces *********

Most of the problem you mention is cured by experience. Remember that everything outside your vehicle - either stationary or moving - is a visual cue to tell you where you are relatively speaking. This will come naturally just like judging speed and distances.

Thank your stars you are not in the Red Arrows. Their main visual cue is the other guy's wingtip !!!!!!

ando

thesteve wrote:

even changing cars to a wider or smaller car takes an experienced driver some time to get used to...

tell me about it, a few yrs ago I got out of my skinny renault van and got straight into my wider Focus. I needed to overtake a bus which had stopped for passengers and I completely misjudged it and promptly hit the side of the bus, which took my wingmirror!

Capt'n Midnight

Take a note of how far in you left wheel is.
Then when driving on an an N road you can note when you hit cat's eyes or rumble strips.