Skills for Learner Drivers: A Guide for Instructional Supervisors

By Colin J. Carroll

Parents surprise a number of professional driving instructors with their approach to teaching a new driver how to drive. Driving is a life & death exercise and if you go about it incorrectly it can become a family tragedy.

Instructors have debated the pro's and con's of where and when a new driver should be driving on the open road with many a parent. Some parents believe their child should drive in traffic within the first lesson, others hold back for too many hours.

This book has been written to give guidance to parents, and driving instructors, who want to play an active role in developing any new driver. The concept of this book is simple; firstly we learn about the vehicle controls, then the manoeuvring procedures, followed by the more complex on-road procedures, through to the open road and traffic speed processes.
By following this book, in page order, a new driver will develop these skills progressively and be introduced to the tougher tasks as a combination of earlier learned skills. By including drawings and basic descriptions the book can be share-read by the facilitator and the new driver to assist in the learning process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jun 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781482892529

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 Colin Carroll. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-9580-3 (sc)

978-1-4828-9252-9 (e)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

To order additional copies of this book, contact

Toll Free 800 101 2657 (Singapore)

Toll Free 1 800 81 7340 (Malaysia)

[e-mail]

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

05/05/2014

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Contents

Introduction

Safety Driving

The Safety Wheel

Controls

Driving Controls

Seat Position & Seatbelt

Mirrors

Steering Wheel

Indicator

Lights, Wiper, Washer Etc.

Peddles & Transmission Types

Manual

Automatic

Gear Selector/Lever

Automatic

Manual

Hand Brake

Driver Controls - Foot

Clutch - Manuals Only

How The Clutch Works

Foot Brake

Accelerator

Instrument Cluster

Gauges, Meters & Instruments

Dashboard Icons

Starting & Stopping The Engine

Automatic

Manual

Slow Moving Forward & Stopping

Manual

Automatic

Gear Changing

Automatic

Manual

Steering

Push Pull Technique

Hand Over Hand Technique

Vision

Central & Peripheral

Aiming High

Depth Of Focus

See The Whole Scene

Eyes On The Move

Blind Spots

Block-Outs

Road Visibility In Front & Behind Your Vehicle

Rear Window

Front Window

Safety Cushion

Stop & Give Way Signs

Regulatory Signs

Advisory Signs

Early Decisions

Voluntary Decisions

Influenced Decisions

Be Seen

Have An Escape

Moving To & From The Kerb

Moving To The Kerb

Leaving The Kerb

Intersection Safety

Decision Point

Cornering

Cornering Procedure

Roundabouts

Entering A Roundabout

Hill Starts

Up-Hill

Down-Hill Starts

Reversing

Parallel Parking

Angle Parking

U-Turns

3-Point Turns

Hills & Bends

Traffic Lights

Basic Traffic Light Operation

Stop & Turn Signals - Right Turn

Stop & Turn Signals - Left Turn

Turns At Lights

Road Lanes

Lane Changing

Pedestrian Crossings

Overtaking

Night Driving

Wet Weather Driving

Open Road & Freeway Driving

Country Or Open Roads

Country Roads

Unsurfaced Roads

Overtaking Speed & Distance Matrix

Introduction

This book has been written with the aim of providing parents, supervisors and trainers in Left Hand Drive environment as a tool that will give new drivers a positive and constructive pathway towards developing their skills to survive while driving. The intent of this document is not designed to be a self learning guide, rather, it is written as a support tool for a skilled driver to impart knowledge and skill that will assist a beginner driver become a competent driver.

All supervisors must be aware that a learner will put all of their trust in their supervisor/instructor. The role has a powerful impact on the learner and their future. If their supervisor teaches the wrong philosophy, rule, law, or concept the learner does not know this. So it is recommended that proper defensive driving techniques and rules be taught from the outset, not as an afterthought or after they get their licence.

The basic development phase of learning the skills of driving are reflected in the structure of this book. Therefore, to use this book correctly one would start at the beginning and move through the subject matter progressively. Therefore, building basic skills ahead of more complex skills rather than the haphazard development that can occur in an unstructured learning environment.

Local Laws and Road Rules will vary slightly from State to State and Country to Country. Where the skill concept in the following text varies within your immediate region use the variation as a training aid, not as a criticism,

Concurrent/overlapping of skills development must be practiced. Learning, to be effective, needs to maintain a degree of pressure through delayed overlap. Not introduced, practice to perfect, got to next subject. Introduce the subject, practice 1-3 times then next subject. as an example the following graph should represent the learner’s