{"id":7494,"date":"2012-08-03T21:08:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T20:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=7494"},"modified":"2023-08-01T12:42:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T11:42:09","slug":"independent-driving-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=7494","title":{"rendered":"Independent Driving Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a very old article, and they no longer use maps – it was the precursor to using a satnav.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get a large amount of traffic based around the above search term. It\u2019s so long since the introduction of the Independent Driving (ID) section of the test – more than a year ago \u2013 that it confuses me a little that the ID maps are still such a popular search item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am in the East Midlands, and 99.9% of those doing the searching are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most ADIs must know by now what the ID section consists of, and even if they\u2019re newly-qualified then they\u2019d have seen the maps (or samples of them)during their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

The maps used by driving examiners look roughly like the one here \u2013 and this is one of those released by the DSA as a sample some time before ID was introduced in October 2010. They\u2019re simple line drawings, not Ordnance Survey maps or anything like you\u2019d find in an atlas. And they only include two or three hazards (the one here has a left turn, a right turn, and a roundabout). They\u2019re not intended to be anything more than schematics of a simple and very short route.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The actual maps \u2013 like the actual test routes \u2013 are not published, and I\u2019d argue that any ADI who attempted to catalogue them (or even teach them specifically) is a very poor instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From what I\u2019ve seen, some instructors go to incredible lengths to make the diagrams they use on lessons look exactly<\/strong> like the ones the examiners use. They even go so far as to put on hi-vis yellow jackets and make copies of driving test marking sheets fixed to clipboards so they can conduct mock tests as if they were real examiners! Honestly, they do! Is it any wonder pupils get worried about how difficult it is to \u201cread maps\u201d for the ID section when someone is making it seem so dramatic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My approach is to treat the whole business of ID as a matter-of-fact affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start with, although I know a few of the ID routes from having sat in on a few t<\/strong>ests (plus what my other pupils have told me about the routes they went on), I don\u2019t teach those routes specifically. Even if I do happen to cover one on a lesson, I just say that the test could pass through this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

When I decide to do a session on ID using a map (and it doesn\u2019t have to be a whole lesson, either – it only takes about 10 minutes), I get the pupil to pull over somewhere, and then I sketch a simple line map like the one on the left (I drew this one just now for the purposes of this article).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It absolutely does not<\/strong> need to be an identical copy to those the examiners use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The directions would go something like \u201cwe\u2019re parked here [the dot]. I want you to drive on and turn right, third exit, at the roundabout. Then, turn left on to the main road. Follow the road to the next roundabout, then turn left, first exit\u201d. I will perhaps add \u201cand then follow the signs to\u2026\u201d at the end, because that\u2019s what the examiners can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, and especially if it\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve covered ID, I will explain that if they aren\u2019t sure which way to go, then they should ask. Then I will confirm the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I explain that that\u2019s exactly what they should do on their tests, because it isn\u2019t a test of their navigational skills or ability to remember a route. All they have to do is ask \u201cwas it left or right here\u201d and the examiner will tell them. Their<\/strong> task is to negotiate the junction or hazard correctly (mirrors, signal, etc.), because that\u2019s what they\u2019ll have to be doing the following day if they pass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The candidate could be asked just to follow road signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would appear that examiners are not routinely using the maps anymore<\/a> – though pupils can ask to see them. ( EDIT:<\/strong> I’ve sat in on two tests in late-2012 and I can assure you examiners ARE using them).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID has made the driving test much, much easier, and my only complaint is that candidates do just one manoeuvre now. The vast majority of candidates have absolutely no trouble with ID. Indeed, the latest statistics from the DSA (see the link above) would indicate that pass rates have gone up as a result of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those going to test should recognise that being nervous is not a sign that you can\u2019t drive or that ID is a bad thing. Nerves are completely natural.when no one is telling you what to do (i.e. on the ID part of the test), and it\u2019s not<\/strong> a sign that ID is difficult or unfair. Far too many people (including ADIs) think it is, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n