6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

We believe that the driving test is an archaic system that's desperately in need of an update. Here are six things that we were taught during our lessons that turned out to be completely pointless...
6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

1. 'Feeding' the wheel

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

The ‘pull-push’ method, also known as ‘feeding the wheel’, is argubly the most important ‘driving test’ technique. It’s a method that has been taught for years; even the police force use it when training Class 1 drivers. The idea behind the technique is that it allows you to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, therefore making you a ‘safer’ driver.

Unfortunately, this is nothing more than ill-advised rhetoric. Feeding the wheel is inefficient, outdated and in some circumstances, it can be dangerous. For example, imagine that you’re on a country road and you approach a blind corner. You enter what you think is a shallow bend, but as you turn in, the corner starts to decrease in radius. To avoid running wide, you need to add more steering lock quickly but smoothly; something you can’t do effectively when feeding the wheel.

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

If you attempt to ‘pull and push’ the wheel, you’ll end up making jagged inputs at a point where the car is already unstable. And if the corner continues to tighten, the push and pull technique will be too slow, and you’ll end up running wide.

Instead, if you keep both hands on the wheel and cross your arms, you maintain that vital connection with the wheel. You can feel what the front end is doing and you can add steering input progressively. There’s a reason why ARDS qualified racing instructors ask first time track drivers to keep their hands at nine and three.

2. Constantly applying the hand-brake

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

The handbrake is your best friend on the driving test. Almost every time you stop, you’re required to use it; even after the emergency stop! Thankfully, most drivers come to their senses and drop this ‘bad habit’ once they’ve passed their test.

In reality, there’s no need to handbrake every time you come to a halt. For example, if you’re in stop-start traffic, the foot brake will usually suffice. And if you need to make an emergency stop in a pile-up situation, the last thing you should do is apply the handbrake. Once stopped you should check your mirrors, put the car in gear and pull over to the side.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying that you should never use it, but you don’t need to apply it every time you stop.

3. Checking your mirrors at pre-determined intervals

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

Every time you set off you should theoretically conduct a six-point check. The process goes (in the UK): look over your left shoulder, check your left exterior mirror, check your rear-view mirror, check the road ahead, check your right mirror and then finally look over your right shoulder. On your test you need to make these checks look super obvious to avoid incurring any minor penalties.

Our problem with this technique is the fact that it turns situational ‘awareness’ into a box-ticking exercise. And as we all know, when you do something simply for the sake of it (in this case, pleasing an instructor), the process ceases to have a meaningful effect.

4. Don't flash other road users

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

The Highway Code states that you should ‘only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other messages’. As a result, you cannot flash your headlights on your driving test, and you cannot react to someone else flashing their lights at you. Now, we understand that in some circumstances this form of communication has the potential to be hazardous, but in most cases we find it to be rather helpful.

Flashing people to say thank you or to let them into a line of traffic is a daily occurrence for most of us. And whatever you might have been told, flashing your lights in the UK is not illegal.

5. Speed is the enemy (it's actually your friend)

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

Controversially, the driving test in the UK fails to incorporate any form of motorway driving. The majority of your lessons will take place in busy towns or cities where your maximum speed will be limited to 30mph. As a result, young drivers often view speed as the enemy. This isn’t a major problem on crowded streets, but it can play havoc when it comes to driving on motorways.

When merging onto a faster road, it’s vital that you accelerate to match the speed of the adjacent traffic. Unfortunately, learner drivers often get intimidated and slow down on on-ramps. Not only is this dangerous to the learner driver, but it’s also dangerous to drivers travelling at high speed on the main road. If only they knew that mashing the loud pedal is actually safer.

6. Constantly checking your speed

6 Things To Unlearn From Your Driving Test

Speeding during your driving test can result in instant failure. As a result, most learners spend the majority of their assessment staring at the speedometer. This is because the test is nothing more than a box-ticking exercise: as long as you’re under the limit, you’re deemed to be safe.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. If you’re doing the speed limit, but not focusing on the road ahead, this is equally (if not more) dangerous than speeding. Thankfully, the more you drive, the more accustomed you become to multi-tasking (checking speed, road conditions and surrounding traffic).

Finally, we want to know from you guys, what pointless things were you told during your driving lessons? Let us know in the comments below!

Sponsored Posts

Comments

Anonymous

haha i didn’t learn most of those thins for my deiving test in switzerland - that’s a bunch of bullshit! handbrake at every stop? really? and also the expert will go on the motorway/highway on the driving test - mandatory! how do you want people to drive safe on a highway?

04/26/2016 - 14:26 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

When you pass a cop hiding on the highway waiting for speeders, flash for the oncoming traffic so they know there’s a cop hiding ahead.

04/26/2016 - 15:39 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

As is live in germany, speeding is kinda part of the driving lessons. I once had to speed up to 160km/h (about 100mp/h) to match the traffic speed.
This complete list is inapplicable to germany.

#1 i was taught to hold the wheel in a way, i feel comfortable (racecar-style, because racecar!)

#2 they didn’t even teach me to pull the handbrake to park

#3 this one is applicable, had to look over the shoulder even when merching into lanes that just start there…

#4 never heard of that

#5 you learn to drive fast here, preparing for the Autobahn

#6 you can be +-7km/h and no one bats an eye

04/26/2016 - 16:03 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Applying the hand brake when doing a turn in the road when you reach the curb

04/26/2016 - 16:20 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I live in a rural area in the US and the hand brake one seems very strange to me. I never took any formal driver training so that could have an impact.

04/26/2016 - 17:03 |
2 | 0
Nikandros

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I also live in the rural US, took Driver’s Ed, and STILL never heard of applying the handbrake at every stop.

04/26/2016 - 17:07 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Im getting my license right now and i got taught to cross hands right from the beginning. “Feeding the wheel” is dangerous and whoever teaches it shouldnt teach at all.

04/26/2016 - 19:36 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Unfortunately many people add indicating to that list lol

04/26/2016 - 20:23 |
0 | 0
Eric Guo

Also not to mention, I think Canadian roads should have way more lanes. All their roads and highways have like 2 lanes for some reason and it’s always ridiculously crowded.

04/27/2016 - 08:29 |
0 | 0
Elias 3

In Finland, you must flash lights when passing someone in the dark. Nobody uses that and it probably gives a bad image to the person who is about to pass. :p

04/27/2016 - 09:27 |
0 | 0
DeLeon

My driving teafher was always like: “why you driving 98kmh its a 100kmh zone” or “chill out its a 100 zone no need to drive 102kmh” ;)
But he was a cool guy we always talked about cars and stuff and he told me that he’s searching for an old Audi S2.

04/27/2016 - 13:25 |
0 | 0