This is a very old post, and the DT1 quotes date from that time. DT1 is no longer a downloadable document but an online resource and it is somewhat different to how it used to be.
Someone sent me this link – it’s on Yahoo! Cars . Some guy – unbelievably, an ADI of 26 years – is giving advice on how to pass your driving test.
When you are teaching people to drive, one of the most important things you have to try and do is make sure they understand why they are doing something. That way, they can apply it to other situations. A good example is the turn in the road manoeuvre (or any manoeuvre which involves reversing).
You see, most people’s brains seem to be wired to steer in the exact opposite direction to the one they should do when reversing, so the absolute worst way to teach a reversing manoeuvre is to try and get them to remember it parrot fashion (i.e. “I’ve got to steer this way, then that way, then this way again”). As soon as they are under pressure their brains take over and they default to steering the wrong way once more. It is essential that they steer in a certain direction because they know which way the car will go when they do it!
Bearing that in mind, this guy says:
Turn in the road (aka three-point turn)
“Learners don’t turn the wheel fast enough… they sit in their seat and just turn the wheel with the wrist, so I get them to lean forward a bit from the hip joint, so the shoulders come into play.
“You can really move the wheel [that way] very fast. The faster you move the wheel, the car becomes more manoeuvrable, so you’re going to get round a lot easier than just fiddling around with your wrists.”
I’m sorry, but although this might be true of someone who has never done the manoeuvre before, after a few goes with an instructor who makes them do big, fast turns – and who doesn’t confuse hand-over-hand steering with ‘crossing hands’ – the main problems they have are related to steering the wrong way, looking around, and dealing with other traffic or pedestrians. Not being able to steer at all is absolutely not a problem after they have mastered pull-push steering (or something equally effective), and to suggest it is likely to be a major issue is ridiculous. Any decent ADI could fix it in a single lesson.
I’m not saying what I do is the only way of tackling the manoeuvre, but I take exception to someone trying to suggest that what they do is. But that’s typical of many ADIs, unfortunately.
He goes on to say:
Parallel parking
“I do it in a set, ordered sequence: drive up to the [parked] car, with a two-foot gap between the mirrors. Then stop when your head is opposite the steering wheel of the other car. Start moving [backwards], then turn the wheel one and a quarter turns to the left. When your head gets to the rear wheel of the other car, take the one and a quarter turns off.
“The car is now set pretty well. If you put the one and a quarter turns on and take it off at the right time, the car will be set perfectly – right hand down and the car will just slot in.”
Again, a definitive method. Not. So you stop when your head is opposite the other car’s steering wheel, do you? What if it is a lorry or truck? Or a stretch limo? Or a Ford Ka? Or a car with any wheelbase length in between? And this part about when “[your head is at the rear wheel of the other car]”… how does that work when you’ve likely turned into the side of – or under – the flatbed you were using as a target car?
And then:
Bay parking
“Bay parking is about giving yourself enough room. If you’re going to bay park on the right, make sure that you’re giving yourself enough room on the left so you can turn the car in. Look behind and try to pick up the rear end of your car and try to put the rear end of the car into a bay.
You don’t have to be 100 percent in the bay. Just stop straight, then go forward, then come back into the bay.”
It’s worth considering what DT1 says on the matter:
Candidates should park within a bay, but examiners should not be too concerned, when making their assessment, of the final position of the car in the bay. Parking outside the bay is unacceptable . Candidates should not normally be penalised for [being on the line]… Examiners should consider whether the car could reasonably be left, in that car park in the prevailing conditions, in that position.
Bold text is emboldened by me, underlined text is underlined in DT1. I think anyone with an ounce of intelligence would realise that ON THE LINE is not actually WITHIN THE BAY , and it is worrying that ADIs should find themselves trying to treat a poorly executed bay park as acceptable in this way. Furthermore, DT1 makes it clear that you must be 100% inside the bay to avoid the examiner having to consider whether the car could be left there or not. The only definites are that you don’t have to be exactly central, but you cannot be over the line in the other bay.
It’s pretty obvious: if you’re cleanly in the bay, great. If you’re really close to the line then correct it. If you choose to leave it cock-eyed, keep your fingers crossed, because you’re playing with fire – and don’t try and advise people that being cock-eyed is OK. It isn’t. It’s just barely acceptable… and only then if you’re lucky!