Bad Road Position Causes 64,000+ Candidates to Fail the united kingdom Driving Test EACH YEAR!

Position the automobile correctly during normal driving.

Correct and safe driving is centered on dealing with a continuing group of situations, each requiring a routine which needs to be followed and usually a decision to be made. The results of the decision is inevitably the difference between pass or fail.

The situations you may well be confronted with are numerous and widely varied. They include junctions, hazards, other cars, pedestrians, crossings, road marking variations, etc. The list could continue. But there are times when there would appear to be nothing to accomplish except drive in a straight line.

When this is the case, I usually tell my pupils - "If you find nothing else to handle, cope with your speed and position". This ensures that you will always be concentrating on something, rather than nothing.

However, each year there are over 64000 cases of UK driving test failure due to bad positioning.

The driving test report states: "You need to position the automobile sensibly, normally well left. Keep clear of parked vehicles and position correctly for the direction that you intend to take. Where lanes are marked, keep to the center of the lane and avoid straddling lane markings. Do not change lanes unnecessarily."

So what could possibly be wrong together with your position that could create a serious or dangerous fault on a driving test?

I am not talking about driving on the incorrect side of the street, or mounting the pavement - for anyone who is doing this, you shouldn't be going for a driving test yet. But there are several very common examples of incorrect driving position that may cost you your test, which, with a little concentration and planning could be avoided altogether.

In my experience, there are four usual suspects when this fault has been given.

1. Driving too near to the kerb can be extremely dangerous given the wrong set of circumstances. Debris collects in the gutter that could easily damage your tyres, especially if there is broken glass or sharp stones. This debris could possibly be flicked out by your tyres and cause problems for pedestrians or property.

If it is been raining, puddles form in regions of poor drainage. It is now an offence to splash a pedestrian; you may be booked for common assault! Aside from the proven fact that the puddle could be concealing some other type of trouble; hidden debris or perhaps a pothole for example.

2. On the other extreme, driving too wide could be equally undesirable. The closer you get to the centre line, the closer you are to oncoming traffic. Actually crossing the centre line would put you directly in the path of traffic and may easily result in a head-on crash if the other driver isn't paying attention. There are needless to say times when it is necessary to straddle and even cross the line, when passing parked vehicles for instance, but when this can be a case, extra care should be taken up to ensure the manoeuvre is completed safely.

In case you are on a dual-carriageway and happen to stray too close to the dividing lane line, you're putting yourself in peril from the vehicles approaching to overtake you. The slightest tap at higher speed might lead to both you and the passing vehicle to leave the street.

The right position for normal driving is 1 metre (or 3 feet) from the kerb. This puts you in a safe position, from danger on either side. Naturally there will be  Visit the website  when you need to adjust this position, to deal with hazards, pedestrians, parked cars, etc. Nevertheless, you must always go back to this safe position after the hazard has been passed.

3. I have heard the reason of this fault given as cutting the right hand bend. This is where the road ahead curves to the proper, different from cutting a right hand corner into a side road. I've heard many of my pupils refer to this as "The racing line"... ! It could be alright in Formula 1 but not on the public road.

If the road curves to the right, the probabilities are that the view of the street ahead is blocked by the corner. If you were to take the short cut across the corner, you wouldn't see someone coming the other way until it had been too late.

Again, you should remain in position 1 metre from the kerb and drive around the outside of the curve. I ask my pupils to imagine a bus coming nearby towards them... that keeps them to the left.

And finally...

4. The most common cause of incorrect position if you ask me: Straight-lining a roundabout. This involves cutting over the roundabout instead of driving around it.

When you are dealing with a multiple lane roundabout, you should imagine where in fact the lane markings would be should they were painted completely around. Sometimes they are, but usually the markings end at the give-way line. The others is left to the imagination.

If there are two lanes approaching the roundabout, there must be two lanes on offer it. Where there are three or more lanes approaching, you can find three or more lanes going around. It is very important that you stay static in your lane position as you travel around the roundabout so as not to move across in front of another vehicle.

OK for anyone who is turning right at the roundabout, you will have to move across left side of the roundabout before exiting. But that is done carefully, with effective usage of the mirrors. Faults receive out when unplanned movements are made without due care and attention.