Spatial Awareness/ Road Position when overtaking vehicles
Discussion
Hello, long time lurker here, newbie member.
Fairly new driver (2 years) looking to improve my knowledge and skills as I have battled a lot of nerves/lack of confidence since passing. Taken pass plus and some advanced lessons, read Reg local's books.
One of my main problems is my spatial awareness (yes i am a female). I am working on it but-
I particularly struggle overtaking larger vehicles on bigger roads.
I tend to drive too far to the right - my right hand side wheels sometimes straddling the white line on the right. I want to stay central, because I know there is room- it just doesn't look it, as I approach the vehicle i am overtaking, it 'feels' like my left side is so close to it - and instinct tells me danger- move right.
Are there any tips to help overcome this? It's stopping me from wanting to drive on the motorway incase I mess up and end up too far over. i ended up driving on the cat's eyes once with an instructor as we were overtaking lorries. it was a little hairy.
I've taken further instruction and i'm still working on it. At slower speeds it's not so bad.
TIA
Fairly new driver (2 years) looking to improve my knowledge and skills as I have battled a lot of nerves/lack of confidence since passing. Taken pass plus and some advanced lessons, read Reg local's books.
One of my main problems is my spatial awareness (yes i am a female). I am working on it but-
I particularly struggle overtaking larger vehicles on bigger roads.
I tend to drive too far to the right - my right hand side wheels sometimes straddling the white line on the right. I want to stay central, because I know there is room- it just doesn't look it, as I approach the vehicle i am overtaking, it 'feels' like my left side is so close to it - and instinct tells me danger- move right.
Are there any tips to help overcome this? It's stopping me from wanting to drive on the motorway incase I mess up and end up too far over. i ended up driving on the cat's eyes once with an instructor as we were overtaking lorries. it was a little hairy.
I've taken further instruction and i'm still working on it. At slower speeds it's not so bad.
TIA
A common cause of discomfort for inexperienced drivers on motorways and dual carriageways is the proximity of large vehicles. Having a 40 ton truck thundering alongside you can be extremely unsettling & it’s natural to want to move yourself as far away from the perceived danger as possible.
Remember that HGVs are driven, on the whole, by professional drivers and (in reasonable weather conditions - I’ll come back to this), they are unlikely to deviate much within their own lane.
When you move out to pass an HGV, your attention should focus on two priority areas. Firstly, look in front of the vehicle. Is it 1. set in its lane at a steady speed? Or is it 2. closing up on a slower vehicle?
If 1. you can have confidence that it will remain central in its lane.
If 2. It is likely to want to move to the lane to it’s right, and you should either hang back and wait or move to the next lane to the right if its free.
You should also take a look at the vehicle’s right-hand door mirror. Can you see it? As you get closer, is the driver visible? If so, again, you should have a little more confidence that the driver is unlikely to change lanes with you alongside.
When overtaking on multi-carriageway roads, try to avoid making a line of 3 vehicles abreast. It’s not always possible in busy traffic, but avoiding 3 abreast means, again, there is less chance of the vehicle to your left changing lanes to its right.
Don’t spend any more time than is necessary alongside large vehicles. If you’re passing a truck, don’t do it at 1 or 2 mph faster than the trucks’s speed - this will keep you alongside it for too long. Give the gas pedal a squeeze and minimise your time alongside. If you can’t get all the way past because of vehicles in front of you, hang back and wait and keep your following position longer than the length of the truck.
In high winds, try to pass large vehicles with an extra lane to spare, because this is when they will involuntarily wander in their lanes.
Doing all of these things will bring your discomfort levels down when passing large vehicles.
To keep your car central in its lane, make your move to the overtaking lane nice and early and look well ahead - looking a long way down the road rather than at the things in your periphery will help you keep a straight course. Try to stay relaxed, keep a relatively light grip on the wheel and keep your attention in the distance whilst scanning for the things mentioned above. With some practice, you’ll soon overcome this issue.
Remember that HGVs are driven, on the whole, by professional drivers and (in reasonable weather conditions - I’ll come back to this), they are unlikely to deviate much within their own lane.
When you move out to pass an HGV, your attention should focus on two priority areas. Firstly, look in front of the vehicle. Is it 1. set in its lane at a steady speed? Or is it 2. closing up on a slower vehicle?
If 1. you can have confidence that it will remain central in its lane.
If 2. It is likely to want to move to the lane to it’s right, and you should either hang back and wait or move to the next lane to the right if its free.
You should also take a look at the vehicle’s right-hand door mirror. Can you see it? As you get closer, is the driver visible? If so, again, you should have a little more confidence that the driver is unlikely to change lanes with you alongside.
When overtaking on multi-carriageway roads, try to avoid making a line of 3 vehicles abreast. It’s not always possible in busy traffic, but avoiding 3 abreast means, again, there is less chance of the vehicle to your left changing lanes to its right.
Don’t spend any more time than is necessary alongside large vehicles. If you’re passing a truck, don’t do it at 1 or 2 mph faster than the trucks’s speed - this will keep you alongside it for too long. Give the gas pedal a squeeze and minimise your time alongside. If you can’t get all the way past because of vehicles in front of you, hang back and wait and keep your following position longer than the length of the truck.
In high winds, try to pass large vehicles with an extra lane to spare, because this is when they will involuntarily wander in their lanes.
Doing all of these things will bring your discomfort levels down when passing large vehicles.
To keep your car central in its lane, make your move to the overtaking lane nice and early and look well ahead - looking a long way down the road rather than at the things in your periphery will help you keep a straight course. Try to stay relaxed, keep a relatively light grip on the wheel and keep your attention in the distance whilst scanning for the things mentioned above. With some practice, you’ll soon overcome this issue.
Thanks for the replies.
Reg - Thank you for the detailed answer, very useful and appreciated.
Looking into the distance is a very good point, I do feel more at ease when I do this and 'train' my brain to not focus on the great big vehicle seeping into my vision. I need to do it more though!
Noted about the high winds too - I live near the m62 and this is notorious, with the volume of HGV's using it and the frequent windy conditions, i'm definitely not eager to use this motorway at the best of times!
An advanced driving instructor told me always look at my available space, and try to drive to the middle of it. I found this very useful for driving through tight gaps, but the knack evades me on these bigger roads when i'm driving at speed!
To the pp who said about checking my mirrors to see where my wheels are on the road - I also do this, a couple of quick glances on the run up to passing the vehicle,which helps me gage where I am, but it's as I am about to overtake and am looking 'ahead', that I always seem to twitch my steering wheel over to the right.
I think another issue is learning that it will look closer than it is when I pass the HGV, but it can still be done safely. I need to get used to this, I learned to drive in my early 30's and feel i'm lacking certain natural and learned skills that may have been rectified by now if i'd passed as a youngster.
I would be really interested in booking a defensive driving session with Reg.
My parents live over your way and it it is something i've thought of looking into. Cheers
Reg - Thank you for the detailed answer, very useful and appreciated.
Looking into the distance is a very good point, I do feel more at ease when I do this and 'train' my brain to not focus on the great big vehicle seeping into my vision. I need to do it more though!
Noted about the high winds too - I live near the m62 and this is notorious, with the volume of HGV's using it and the frequent windy conditions, i'm definitely not eager to use this motorway at the best of times!
An advanced driving instructor told me always look at my available space, and try to drive to the middle of it. I found this very useful for driving through tight gaps, but the knack evades me on these bigger roads when i'm driving at speed!
To the pp who said about checking my mirrors to see where my wheels are on the road - I also do this, a couple of quick glances on the run up to passing the vehicle,which helps me gage where I am, but it's as I am about to overtake and am looking 'ahead', that I always seem to twitch my steering wheel over to the right.
I think another issue is learning that it will look closer than it is when I pass the HGV, but it can still be done safely. I need to get used to this, I learned to drive in my early 30's and feel i'm lacking certain natural and learned skills that may have been rectified by now if i'd passed as a youngster.
I would be really interested in booking a defensive driving session with Reg.
My parents live over your way and it it is something i've thought of looking into. Cheers
the_pea said:
I would be really interested in booking a defensive driving session with Reg.
My parents live over your way and it it is something i've thought of looking into. Cheers
Do it - it is amazing how transformational it is to receive real driving skills (v. those designed to simply get you through the test)My parents live over your way and it it is something i've thought of looking into. Cheers
With regards to overtaking or driving alongside HGVs, first note if they are left hand drive (LHD) or right hand drive (RHD). The country code on the registration plate will indicate this. Unless GB or IRL, they will almost certainly be LHD.
Therefore, when you are behind stay visible to the driver’s side mirror (so if LHD), stay far enough back that they can see you in their left hand mirror.
When overtaking, with a RHD truck, the driver will be able to see you directly out of the corner of his/her eye when alongside. With a LHD truck the driver will not be able to see you - you will in their right cab mirror’s blind spot, and you will be too low down for them to be able to see you directly. So don’t hang about alongside a LHD truck’s right side. The same applies when alongside the left hand side of a RHD truck - the only advantage is they will probably be overtaking you, so will be aware of your presence.
If you then wish to pull back in, you may glance over your left shoulder, but I prefer to wait until I can see the full front of the vehicle in my left hand door mirror before pulling in.
As you overtake anything that looks risky, cover the horn (have your hand or thumb over it, ready to warn the driver).
As long as you are not holding people behind up, there is no issue in leaving an extra lane between you and the vehicle you overtake.
Lastly, a plea. Do return to the left-most lane (the driving lane) when clear to do so.
Therefore, when you are behind stay visible to the driver’s side mirror (so if LHD), stay far enough back that they can see you in their left hand mirror.
When overtaking, with a RHD truck, the driver will be able to see you directly out of the corner of his/her eye when alongside. With a LHD truck the driver will not be able to see you - you will in their right cab mirror’s blind spot, and you will be too low down for them to be able to see you directly. So don’t hang about alongside a LHD truck’s right side. The same applies when alongside the left hand side of a RHD truck - the only advantage is they will probably be overtaking you, so will be aware of your presence.
If you then wish to pull back in, you may glance over your left shoulder, but I prefer to wait until I can see the full front of the vehicle in my left hand door mirror before pulling in.
As you overtake anything that looks risky, cover the horn (have your hand or thumb over it, ready to warn the driver).
As long as you are not holding people behind up, there is no issue in leaving an extra lane between you and the vehicle you overtake.
Lastly, a plea. Do return to the left-most lane (the driving lane) when clear to do so.
Edited by Pica-Pica on Thursday 8th November 13:38
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