WARNING: This is an old post which my no longer contain accurate information about the Part 3 test. It is still relevant, but some details may no longer be correct.
I’ve been watching a forum thread regarding the Part 3 test and dealing with crossing the path of other traffic. It’s amazing how something so simple can be made so complicated when so many people get involved and then refuse to budge an inch on whatever it was they said in the first place.
Take a look at the Part 3 PST Sheets, which I have made available on this site. Then note the relevant tick box labels, as follows:
- PST 1 – Phase 2 – Crossroads – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 2 – Phase 2 – Meet, Cross, Overtake – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 3 – Phase 2 – Approaching junctions – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 4 – Phase 2 – Junctions emerging – crossing NOT MENTIONED
- PST 7 – Phase 1 – Approaching junctions – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 8 – Phase 2 – Meet, Cross, Overtake – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 9 – Phase 1 – Crossroads – “Cross approaching traffic”
- PST 10 – Phase 1 – Meet, Cross, Overtake – “Cross other traffic”
So each of these PSTs has a tick box where “crossing” is marked. Now, the Part 3 test is hard enough – and complex enough – without examiners mixing and matching from all the PSTs as the whim takes them on the day. So much so that they don’t mix and match on a whim – it’s just that some trainers argue that they do, and this gets blown out of all proportion.
In theory, a candidate can only be marked against what is on the PST marking sheet. Furthermore, they only have about half an hour to cover each phase – barely enough to cover the essentials, let alone some made-up stuff inserted by the examiner.
Let’s take a look at the ADI 1 document – Guidance for driving examiners carrying out instructor tests. DVSA sometimes doesn’t do itself any favours (it’s aimed at examiners anyway), but what it boils down to is not just PST numbers, but exercise numbers which make up each PST.
Take PST 1. It contains exercise 1B for phase 1 and 10T for phase 2. Exercise 1B is “Safety Precautions on Entering the Car and Explanation of Controls” and the “B” means it is a beginner you’re dealing with (ADI 1 explains this on page 48 as of mid-July 2016). Exercise 10T is covered on page 51, and refers to “Dealing with Crossroads “ for a trained (“T”) driver. This is the important part:
This is a one-part exercise in which the PDI would be expected to deal with the points listed on the relevant ADI 26/PT. Time and conditions permitting the exercise should cover going ahead, turning right and left at all types of crossroads e.g. major to minor, minor to major etc..
You will note once more that the PST marking sheet has a tick box for “cross approaching traffic” on phase 2, and ADI 1 says that if time permits then all aspects of crossroads – including minor to major (i.e. emerging) – should be covered. So “crossing traffic” applies to emerging as well as turning major to minor at crossroads as far as exercise 10T is concerned.
For PST 2, exercise 11T is the one we want. The subject is “meeting, crossing the path of, and overtaking other vehicles”, and although ADI 1 doesn’t explicitly state it, the implication is that you are “crossing” the path of traffic that you’re “meeting” – or in other words, turning right from a major to a minor road. Remember this one, though, as I will discuss it further later.
For PST 3, it is exercise 7T – “approaching and turning corners”. The examiner is directed to use the following wording:
I would like you to instruct me in approaching corners, concentrating particularly on turning right and left into side roads, that is major to minor, assuming that I am at the ‘partly trained’ / ‘trained’ stage’.
The examiner doesn’t explicitly say not to deal with emerging – just to concentrate on left and right turns. Remember this one, too.
For PST 4, exercise 9T does not mention crossing traffic on the PST marking sheet for emerging from T-junctions. ADI 1 says much the same as it does for exercise 10T:
This is a one-part exercise in which the PDI should be encouraged to deal specifically with emerging at T-junctions emerging as distinct from turning right and left into a side road (which is dealt with in exercise 7). They would be expected to cover the main points mentioned on the relevant ADI 26/PT and, time and conditions permitting, emerging should be applied as many times as possible to the left and to the right at both open and closed ‘T’ junctions.
For PST 7, it is exercise 7P (“P” is for partly trained) – “approaching junctions to turn left or right” – which carries the same description as for 7T on PST 3.
For PST 8, exercise 11T – “meet, cross, overtake” – is used again (as in PST 2).
For PST 9, exercise 10P – “crossroads” – carries the same description as for 10T on PST 1.
For PST 10, exercise 11P – “meet, cross, overtake” – carries the same description as for 11T on PSTs 2 and 8.
What is clear from this is that not all exercises are equal. Some are, of course, but some most definitely aren’t – “crossroads” appears in two PSTs and specifically lumps entering and emerging in with the subject of crossing the path of other traffic; and both occurrences of “approaching junctions” hint that crossing when emerging may be an issue even if it shouldn’t be the main focus of the PSTs which feature it. Only one exercise – paradoxically, the one that’s actually to do with emerging from T-junctions – specifically implies that crossing traffic is not an issue which needs to be covered on the PST (although in real life it would be – and is – absolutely critical, since T-junctions are closely related to crossroads). It’s also worth noting that the section of ADI 1 which deals with the testing of LGV trainers, and which uses different PST exercises, directly refers to crossing other traffic when emerging, thus emphasising the importance of the subject.
The image I’ve used at the top of this article comes from a news item from 2010. A motorcyclist was knocked off his bike when a Porsche emerged from a side road into his path. The police are quoted as saying:
It appears the bike has been on the main road, the car came out from the side road, and they collided.
Over the years there have been numerous safety campaigns aimed at this precise scenario. It’s still part of the current THINK! campaign. There is no way in hell that emerging from a side road does not involve “crossing the path of other traffic”, and although it might not feature as the subject of someone’s Part 3, anyone who doesn’t cover it at T-junctions when they’re teaching real pupils ought to hand their green badge back.
However, getting back to the main subject, when someone takes their Part 3 test, the PST they have to deal with may contain an exercise which involves “crossing other traffic”. If it does, then that exercise will involve crossing the path of other traffic when emerging if it’s the crossroads one. It may involve an exercise where crossing other traffic while emerging might need to be dealt with if it is the “approaching corners” one (depending on the circumstances). If the PST is the one dealing with T-junctions then crossing the path of other traffic is not involved in the marking at all.
To be completely honest, I don’t think all PDIs are aware of these differences, and they assume that “crossing” is the same whichever PST it appears in. Going further, I don’t think all ADIs who provide Part 3 training realise it either, and I think that’s why some will claim that examiners are throwing in faults that they shouldn’t be, when all they’re doing is exactly what is required by the PST involved – and the circumstances at the time.
But here’s the rub – and remember how I said I’d refer to certain PSTs later. Anyone who is doing their Part 3 test is potentially less than an hour away from being let loose on real pupils. It is reasonable to suppose that they should be able to handle anything which comes up on the test since they’re going to have to do it if they have a green badge. Unfortunately, too many PDIs are completely wound up in scripts and set pieces which collapse completely if the examiner does something out of sequence. So if something fairly mundane – but not specifically part of the PST involved, like crossing the path of a car which is heading towards them as they emerge at a T-junction – comes up on the test, the PDI should be able to handle it. If they make a complete hash of it as a result of it not being a part of the predefined script they’re following, should they still pass their Part 3?
I would say no.