Today’s lesson was very distinctly split into two, Kev allowed me to drive off from work in Hove much to the amusement of the caretakers who didn’t know that I couldn’t drive. From there Kev took me through the area between the Old Shoreham Road (A270) and the coast road (A259) drilling the MSM-PSL junction procedure I had been taught previously. I have been having trouble linking up the stopping at junctions and starting off again, basically I spent too long at a junction that in some cases I shouldn’t have to stop at.
The second part of the lesson focused on turning round in the road, as the title suggests this is the process of going down the road in one direction and ending up going in the other direction. The skills involved are the based upon the skills acquired in previous lessons with some extra checks built on top.
The basic steps are to start off on the left and steer the car towards the opposite side of the road, this should place the car at a diagonal on the opposite side of the road. In reverse the car is steered to the left back to the other side of the road, this then places the car on the left hand side of the road facing the right hand kerb. From there the car can be steered onto the correct side of the road for the desired direction. The whole procedure should be using the full range of the steering (that is full lock) and the full space of the road and as slow as possible.
The whole process is broken down into three phases, I have tried to describe these below in conjunction with the diagram above. Again this is not meant to be instructional, it may well be wrong, if you believe it is please do feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Phase 1
Before moving follow the five point checks: rear window, left door mirror, straight ahead, right door mirror, right blind spot (in moving between rear window and left door you should see anything in your left blind spot). Start moving off in first gear and turn the steering wheel full lock to the right as you approach the other side of the road straighten up.
Phase 2
Again check the five points, this time in the opposite direction: right blind spot, right door mirror, straight ahead, left door mirror and rear window. Keep looking out of the rear window and start to move off in reverse gear turning the steering wheel full lock to the left, again as you approach the kerb straighten up read for the next phase.
Phase 3
Check the five points in the original order: ear window, left door mirror, straight ahead, right door mirror, right blind spot. Move off in first gear turning the steering wheel full lock to the right this should eventually place you in the normal road position allowing you to drive off.
I found the whole thing complicated and hard to keep everything in my head, it is going to take quite a bit of practice before I can do it without holding up the traffic, and some considerable practice learning where to try it in a safe, legal and convenient manner.
Still enjoying the whole thing though, not got a lesson tomorrow as Kev has got a full day of driving arround so the next driving update will be on Wednesday.