Safe Speed Forums

hi newbie here

i have a provisional driving licence and i am due to take my test this friday.
i have been trying to get as much practice as possible with my husband apart from twice weekly lessons with my instructor

basically, i have a question about the right speed on roundabouts. when i am with my instructor, i tend to be in first gear and move into the roundabout and convert to second and pretty much stay in second till i get out of the roundabout.

yesterday when practicing with my husband, he felt that i was too slow and hesitant on roundabouts as i was going in second gear and people were trying overtake me on my left and hanging around my bumper unsure of what i was going to do. he felt that i could remedy it by driving faster.

i suspect my instructor has not been egging me to drive faster as she feels that it is important for me to have good observation and signalling.

so any comments suggestions etc welcome. for my test i think i will be sticking to how i have been doing it with my instructor

I would say you probably are going too slowly, but on the other hand as a learner driver you shouldn't allow yourself to be pressured into doing anything you don't feel comfortable with. Also you are right to follow the advice of your instructor – recommendations from friends and family may be inconsistent and even completely wrong.

There are probably very few normal roundabouts (as opposed to minis) where third gear (in a petrol car) wouldn't be appropriate for the circulatory carriageway.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

In general adopting the same speed as the rest of the traffic is the safest option

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

This is probably the best course of action for now.
I think you'll soon gain the experience needed to judge what speed you think is reasonable. The speed of surrounding traffic is usually a good guide, but don’t be pushed into doing something you feel is wrong. The hard part is defining ‘wrong’.
If you ever get the chance, do get an experienced driver to take you around a private track, so you can see what you can – and cannot – do; this will quickly give you a good appreciation of what is reasonable.

Good luck with your test

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Could the difference be that the instructors vehicle is clearly marked up as a learner driver, while an L-plate on the back of a family saloon is easily over looked by over enthusiastic drivers?

Result is that in your own car, the drivers behind are not giving you the consideration they appear to give when in the instructors car.
Try re-positioning the L-plate, or even attaching an additional one.

Other than that - as above - don't get pressured by other drivers - IF they run into the back of you it will be found as THEIR fault.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

It depends on the the round about and the volume of traffic, you are probably learning that driving isn't an exact science.

It is probably best to do what you have been doing with your instructor. My advise would be to looking to go, but be ready to stop. Don't worry too much about people passing you left or right, that is often more to do with the way the traffic is moving on the roundabout, sometimes your lane just can't move.

Your examiner will be looking at how you are reading the traffic and reacting to it.

Oh, I failed for being hesitant,

Good Luck !

thanks for the responses. it is possible that being in an instructor's car could give me more leeway with other road users.
i hope i can clear the test and continue to get more confident

Simply put - feel confident enough to do your own thing - don't be pressurised by Idiot up yer backside -oh they will - Even after 40+ years on the road ,I get one that thinks that I'm not going fast enough . ( And I'm not yer average grandad -but I've got my first No Claims Cert - it was in stone . ) ,but when I feel it's SAFE ( and that's the operative word in driving -SAFE ) I can clog on .Otherwise - don't feel ashamed to let them pass to go on to their next accident - as long as it's not with you .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Me too, called something like ‘not making due progress’ on the fail sheet as I recall.

It’s strange how they used to teach, back in my day, that you do not take your hand off the wheel to make a gear change when going around sharp bends, yet what is a roundabout if not a sharp bend? But no matter..

Without a doubt, traffic is going into and around roundabouts far too quickly most of the time these days. I put it down to the better handling and performance coupled with everyone’s urgency to get from place to place. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s more a case of them going too quickly than you going too slow.

And good luck with the test.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

thanks for all your comments. i passed my test today in the first attempt and i am ecstatic. managed roundabout without any problems by driving the way i did in my lessons. so it is better to stick with what you know.

will be reading these forums for my help and suggestions as i continue to improve my driving

Well done!









bluddy show off

minervacious
Congratulations.

Now you can take those 'basic skills' that are in your 'toolbox' and gradually add to them as the years go by.

If I could only give you one piece of advice it would be :
"to always ensure that you can stop (on your side of the road) in the distance that you know to be clear."
This means using the 2 second rule, as your 'safety space' for your, and others mistakes and incorporates 'driving to conditions'.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Yey...!

High five minervacious (We need a high five smilie mods )

Good for you girl and well done.

Now begins the real learning though....

Take good care

Luv Tone

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

.
As Tone said -now you LEARN to drive . Seem to remember, somewhere In Gear wrote up some notes from his Hendon Training ( he was a trained Police Driver, Advanced ,I think ) and posted notes on advanced driving ,which might stimulate some thoughts . Mods ,know you're bogged down with stacks of work ,on here and in your own life , but this one poster has made me think that perhaps saving the likes of these from whatever source into one read only forum for reference might be worth it ,in as much as saying that we're not only disagreeing with the road safety policy on certain grounds which have been cast adrift in the dash for cash , but here's some of the training and advice that Police Traffic units dished out that made our roads safer .

Another place to look - the forum "Near misses and crashes" - to learn from mistakes of others -helps you to look at what/how you do things and ask if you need to work on something .
As others will say - get into the habit of analysing your driving - looking for faults -be critical of your standards - and one other golden rule

"It's easier to be a live coward ,than a dead hero" - put otherwise - costs nothing to slow down or stop .,whereas not doing so might prevent a prang ,which insurers might decide is 50/50 , and damage your NCB.Pride can be swallowed - NCB takes years to accumulate .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

When I passed my test I asked the examiner if he had any observations. He commented that I did change gear a couple of times whilst corning and although he couldn't fail me for it outright (indicating he would've liked to) he did say that it was a minor fault (not in proper control of the vehicle IIRC).

So, I figure that's a recommendation that you don't change gear whilst traversing a corner whilst on your test.

Snap, my first test I failed for not pulling out of a junction when I could of, car coming, but apparently I had space to pull out.

I also see I'm a little late with my cornering and gear changing observation above!

I'm probably terrible when it comes to when I should change gear, (test style), but when you become experienced everything becomes so natural, like the circular head rubing while tummy patting, that I'm not sure it really matters. No-one really remembers or cares about gear changing,unless you're about to do an overtake or something, it's almost like a reflex action isn't it?

With powered steering, which is everything I drive these days, two hands are not that essential all the time, (as they used to tell me), but I stand to be corrected.

I've just made another association with the thread title. In this country it would always be a 'right' speed on a roundabout

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

thanks for all your tips. botach, i did a quick search for this post but could not find it. can you please have a look for me when you have some time as i think i could do with all the help i can get. thanks

thing is i am feeling more nervous driving now than i did with a L plate. i am getting a P plate (any views on this)

i havent gone out alone. i am nervous and my husband is too. think i will start by making some short journeys near my house. any tips on how to gain confidence here.

Being nervous as a new driver is quite normal, I would say. Up untill now you have had a back up in the form of whoever was sat beside you, now you have to make you own decisions.

You have completed the learning to pass your test phase, now you start learning to drive . "Get amongst it" is my brothers mantra. Basicly, have a go. Start on roads you are familiar with, preferably when you are not in a hurry, then when you get more confident and adventurous just go for a drive .

Don't be shy about a bit of Pass Plus action and further training

We are supposed to break each action down and do one bit at a time.

I await correction, but it goes something like...

adjust speed on approach to corner

Change to the appropriate gear

put some steering on

Something like that is the advanced way to do it, so you don't upset the balance of the car by braking, steering and changing gear all at once. Racing drivers do that (I think) because they are pushing the limits of grip. But my thinking is, that yes it is the best way, but in reality how often are we driving in a manner where we haven't got about 50% of our available traction in reserve on the road? Not very is my guess. Even in the snow I didn't upset my car changing gear mid corner.