Driving test changes - 4th December

JP1978

Has anyone else noticed over the last ten years the amount of drivers who seem to leave it until the last minute to move lanes when exiting a motorway or similar?

Its as if they are not looking at the sat nav to give an idea when they are to come off, but are just waiting for it to spout up "in 100 yards take the exit" and then its brake, move, indicate, brake some more, panic and then swerve off to the slip.

I know one of my older satnavs had the option to warn of an impending exit / manoeuvre about a mile away and then a reminder pretty much as you were at the junction but the advance warning was off by default.

So, im not sure it should be how to follow a satnav per-se, it should be on how to set up and learn how to use it fully for the best advantage.

Which reminds me, before I had a sat nav, in the industry I work in, we were driving to unfamiliar places every day and finding sites was a nightmare. Often found ourselves printing off maps at the weekend before etc and then trying to follow them while driving. Or, the other option was laptop on passenger seat with MS Autoroute open! If you weren't stopping at traffic lights to adjust the cursor, had to pull over or try and do it while driving! Yes, highly dangerous I know and in hindsight shouldn't have been doing it, although to be fair, was easier to text from your mobile back then as it had physical keys so could do it blind if needed :-)

JP1978

Car_54 wrote: »

.The examiner will provide the sat nav and set it up. You won’t need to set the route - the examiner will do this for you. So, it doesn’t matter what make or model of sat nav you practise with

The above is from the DVSA link.... so if the examiner is providing the satnav, it will probably be a race for Garmin and TomTom to give the test centres devices for free - knowing that instructors and learners will probably buy the same brand and possibly type as they are familiar with them!

Nasqueron

JP1978 wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed over the last ten years the amount of drivers who seem to leave it until the last minute to move lanes when exiting a motorway or similar?

Its as if they are not looking at the sat nav to give an idea when they are to come off, but are just waiting for it to spout up "in 100 yards take the exit" and then its brake, move, indicate, brake some more, panic and then swerve off to the slip.

I know one of my older satnavs had the option to warn of an impending exit / manoeuvre about a mile away and then a reminder pretty much as you were at the junction but the advance warning was off by default.

That's just idiot impatient drivers who won't slow down to do 50-60 for a minute sitting in behind the traffic in lane 1, they know full well what the exit they need is in most cases, they just choose to try and pass as much traffic as possible then cut in (inevitably to then have to wait at a red light off the roundabout)

Joe_Horner

chrisw wrote: »

Does being a disabled driver mean lacking in sense of direction???

No but, conversely, needing a satnav to find where you're going is a definite disability when it comes to driving

jimjames

With my son just having passed his test recently I think changes to the test process/learning are definitely needed. He is a reasonable driver considering his inexperience and passed with only 1 minor. However he still has very limited overall experience and no motorway driving although the main A road near us is 4 lanes so wider than many motorways! I think some form of secondary test/probationary period might well be useful to help build driving skills and experience.

Norman_Castle

I irregularly use a sat nav. They are both useful and a distraction.

I think the driving test should be renamed, The Basic Driving Test because thats what it is.

Strider590

It should be reversing into a parking space, reversing out of them is a dangerous habit and drivers should be discouraged from doing so.

RichardD1970

Joe_Horner wrote: »

No but, conversely, needing a satnav to find where you're going is a definite disability when it comes to driving

I regularly use my satnav for longer journeys, even ones I know very well.

A couple of years ago we were on the way to South Cornwall, a route I know very well having travelled it 2 or 3 times a year for the past decade.

Having the satnav meant I didn't get stuck in a 3 hours of stationary traffic on the M5 due to it re-routing me through Bristol City Centre to avoid a bad accident on the motorway, unlike my brother-in-law who was 10mins behind me with his young family.

I arrived 15mins later than the original estimate still in time for breakfast. He had a journey from hell, arriving stressed and harassed 4 hours late.

ecgirl07

This manoeuvre seems strange, given you are not meant to park facing on coming traffic?


pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for 2 car lengths and rejoin the traffic

Herzlos

Strider590 wrote: »

It should be reversing into a parking space, reversing out of them is a dangerous habit and drivers should be discouraged from doing so.

Sometimes you have to go nose-in, like if you want to get access to the boot (shopping, prams, etc). So it makes sense that you are asked to prove that you can do either.

Highway code still recommends going tail-in where possible, but there's a time and a place and all that.