Giving a Commentary
Discussion
I am in the final of a driving competition in a couple of weeks part of which will be open road driving. I know nothing about what they will be looking for but in case they require a running commentary can anyone give me any advice on the best way of doing this. I remember giving it a go years ago when I did some IAM observed drives but seem to remember not being all that good at it. Any advice on how you approach this and what to actually comment on would be helpful.
jagracer said:
I am in the final of a driving competition in a couple of weeks part of which will be open road driving. I know nothing about what they will be looking for but in case they require a running commentary can anyone give me any advice on the best way of doing this. I remember giving it a go years ago when I did some IAM observed drives but seem to remember not being all that good at it. Any advice on how you approach this and what to actually comment on would be helpful.
Firstly, google "driving commentary videos".This will provide examples of how to do it but it's hard to then become proficient oneself in such a short time.
In your described situation it might depend upon whether the commentary is required to be upon your use of the car, your appreciation of the wider environment or, as it should be, a combination of both.
For you to think about, NSL, "twisty" B road, bounded by tall hedges, you see a crossroads sign (I hope), just before an easy NSL speed righthand bend.
What do you do and say?
Edited to add, check that whoever is "judging" you has their seatbelt fastened before you drive off. If not, ask them to fasten it.
It's an old IAM examiners' trick to test observation.
Edited by WhoseGeneration on Saturday 17th July 23:08
Chris Gilbert's 'Ultimate Driving Craft' DVD would probably be your best bet.
However, if you've only got a couple of weeks that might not be enough time to get proficient at it - the danger then is that commentary will take concentration away from your driving and you'll end up making a worse impression.
I'd recommend some coaching or on-road advice, and quickly. Explain your situation and ask what aspect of your driving needs the most attention.
However, if you've only got a couple of weeks that might not be enough time to get proficient at it - the danger then is that commentary will take concentration away from your driving and you'll end up making a worse impression.
I'd recommend some coaching or on-road advice, and quickly. Explain your situation and ask what aspect of your driving needs the most attention.
I am the other side of town I am afraid, if you can get over to Berkshire I can spend a few hours with you working on a commentary.
If you are unable to get over here, then it would ceertainly be worth practicing whilst on your own in a vehicle. Dont try and start off with a full blown commentary, instead start of by saying what road signs you see. Spend a couple of sessions working on just nameing what road signs you see. The trick is, dont say them as you go past them, work on saying them as they first come into vision ie, as far up the road as you can see this will then give you time when you start building on your commentary.
Once you are comfortable with this, then build on to it, start then by nameing the road signs and what the road is doing. Can you see the road disappearing round to the right into the distance, are you looking for a limit point, as you are approaching a roundabout can you see other cars on it, have you seen a gap to fit into . Again spend a couple of sessions doing this until it becomes natural.
Thirdly, start to incorporate what is happening and your driving plan, so you have seen the road sign as it comes into sight, you have identified what the road is doing and you have now put a plan together and explained how and why you are going to react in a certain way, if you apply it to everything it will fall into place reasonably quickly. If your driving suffers at first dont be put off, keep practacing until it all comes together and when the commentary becomes fluid your driving should start to improve.
As someone else mentioned Chris Gilberts DVD is very good and well worth a look.
good luck
If you are unable to get over here, then it would ceertainly be worth practicing whilst on your own in a vehicle. Dont try and start off with a full blown commentary, instead start of by saying what road signs you see. Spend a couple of sessions working on just nameing what road signs you see. The trick is, dont say them as you go past them, work on saying them as they first come into vision ie, as far up the road as you can see this will then give you time when you start building on your commentary.
Once you are comfortable with this, then build on to it, start then by nameing the road signs and what the road is doing. Can you see the road disappearing round to the right into the distance, are you looking for a limit point, as you are approaching a roundabout can you see other cars on it, have you seen a gap to fit into . Again spend a couple of sessions doing this until it becomes natural.
Thirdly, start to incorporate what is happening and your driving plan, so you have seen the road sign as it comes into sight, you have identified what the road is doing and you have now put a plan together and explained how and why you are going to react in a certain way, if you apply it to everything it will fall into place reasonably quickly. If your driving suffers at first dont be put off, keep practacing until it all comes together and when the commentary becomes fluid your driving should start to improve.
As someone else mentioned Chris Gilberts DVD is very good and well worth a look.
good luck
jagracer said:
I am in the final of a driving competition in a couple of weeks part of which will be open road driving. I know nothing about what they will be looking for but in case they require a running commentary can anyone give me any advice on the best way of doing this. I remember giving it a go years ago when I did some IAM observed drives but seem to remember not being all that good at it. Any advice on how you approach this and what to actually comment on would be helpful.
Jagracer,I have a .PDF document written by an IAM Examiner about "Advanced Commentary". If you would like it I can email it to you. Post something up here that allows me to work out an email address and I'll do that - don't post one literally as the evil spammers will get hold of it. I note that neither of us allow emails in our profiles and probably for that reason!
Don
Keep it simple and informativeand drive the car! Assuming that you are not giving an instructional commentry then try this:-
1 - Pick something. "Ahead I can see a junction to my left with a vehicle waiting."
2 - Expalin what it means, addition additional detail as required. "The vehicle may pull out."
3 - Explain what you are going to do about it. "I am checking my mirror and poistioning towards the centreline away from danger."
You can add additional details as they appear and as you get more practiced to keep it detailed and flowing.
"Ahead I can see a junction to my left with a vehicle waiting. The vehicle is signalling to the right and inching forwards as I can see the wheels moving slightly. The driver is loking away from me and may pull out and turn accross my path. I am checking my mirror and can see that the following vehicle is at a reasonable following distance. I am poistioning my vehicle towards the centreline taking account of the lane width and oncoming traffic to make my self more visble top the driver and am positioned away from danger. I am considering a horn warming."
A couple of notes of caution. Drive the car! You will not be able to comment on everything. Drive the car! As you talk you will tend to slow down. Drive the car! When (not if) you get tongue tied, stop talking and start on something new. Drive the car! Talk slowly and calmly. Drive the car!
1 - Pick something. "Ahead I can see a junction to my left with a vehicle waiting."
2 - Expalin what it means, addition additional detail as required. "The vehicle may pull out."
3 - Explain what you are going to do about it. "I am checking my mirror and poistioning towards the centreline away from danger."
You can add additional details as they appear and as you get more practiced to keep it detailed and flowing.
"Ahead I can see a junction to my left with a vehicle waiting. The vehicle is signalling to the right and inching forwards as I can see the wheels moving slightly. The driver is loking away from me and may pull out and turn accross my path. I am checking my mirror and can see that the following vehicle is at a reasonable following distance. I am poistioning my vehicle towards the centreline taking account of the lane width and oncoming traffic to make my self more visble top the driver and am positioned away from danger. I am considering a horn warming."
A couple of notes of caution. Drive the car! You will not be able to comment on everything. Drive the car! As you talk you will tend to slow down. Drive the car! When (not if) you get tongue tied, stop talking and start on something new. Drive the car! Talk slowly and calmly. Drive the car!
Edited by Starfighter on Wednesday 21st July 14:12
jagracer said:
Thesius said:
whereabouts are you, I could spend an hour or so with you working on commentary.
South East London, NW Kent. It probably wont crop up anyway but it'd be nice to be prepared if it does.Edited by jagracer on Monday 19th July 15:42
I observe for the IAM in Bromley, and live in SE London - I'd be happy to meet for a drive if it would help. Feel free to message via my profile.
Edited by _Neal_ on Wednesday 21st July 17:05
Rather than a running commentary, you might consider just piping up if you see something significant (if you see it very early so much the better), what it might mean and what you are planning to do about it
simple e.g. if in a NSL... in the distance across these fields where this road goes, I can see the rooves of houses and a church spire. I am anticipating a speed limit change might be associated with those buildings.... knowing what's behind, watching for the sign etc.
or, one that might get you a bonus mark like it got for me: 'warning sign for horses. As its Saturday morning there might be some kiddies on a riding lesson on the road ahead... so, off the gas, reduced speed for this next corner and fully prepared to slow to a crawl or stop if necessary to avoid causing them any unnecessary problems.' Lo and behold, round the next corner are 3 horses with kids on them, one up on its back legs in the middle of the road!!
Don't feel obliged to do a running commentary, just pick out some important hazards and say how they are being incorporated into your plan and why.
simple e.g. if in a NSL... in the distance across these fields where this road goes, I can see the rooves of houses and a church spire. I am anticipating a speed limit change might be associated with those buildings.... knowing what's behind, watching for the sign etc.
or, one that might get you a bonus mark like it got for me: 'warning sign for horses. As its Saturday morning there might be some kiddies on a riding lesson on the road ahead... so, off the gas, reduced speed for this next corner and fully prepared to slow to a crawl or stop if necessary to avoid causing them any unnecessary problems.' Lo and behold, round the next corner are 3 horses with kids on them, one up on its back legs in the middle of the road!!
Don't feel obliged to do a running commentary, just pick out some important hazards and say how they are being incorporated into your plan and why.
I was thinking about this a little in the car on the way home so I dropped into commentry mode - Most people just assume that you are hands-free now so it's not as bad as it was when I started this lark. Anyway. Some places to start at the very beginning.
Day 1 - Mention every road sign with the correct name or description as soon as you see them. It shows that you are looking around and seeing stuff early. Starting "Warning sign ahead" can give you that extra few yards to actually identify it rather than just being able to see a red & white circle. This will also tend to extend observations to the limits of visibility rather than just imeidately around the car.
Day 2 - Add a comment every time you do a rearward obseration - "Mirror check, clear behind.", "Mirror check, 1 following at a safe distance" or "Shoulder check before moving off". Not all observers watch for eye movement and can miss checks done only with the eyes. Don't adjust the mirror so you have to move your heard as some examiners will mark down for that.
Day 3 - Add every cyclist, horse or other vulnerable road user seen. This shows that you are looking off the normal road lines and are aware of others.
Day 4 - Bring in junctions and other vehicles to show that you are reacting to the road layout and what others are doing. "The car ahead is signalling to turn right, possibly at the junction that was jsut signed."
Day 5 - Bring in your planning (this is the hardest bit as most good drivers do this subconsciously). "The slower driver ahead is approaching a bend so I will hold back and close to the offside to get an early view on the exit for an over take in if there is a suitable gap."
There you go 1 week's work, simples!
Day 1 - Mention every road sign with the correct name or description as soon as you see them. It shows that you are looking around and seeing stuff early. Starting "Warning sign ahead" can give you that extra few yards to actually identify it rather than just being able to see a red & white circle. This will also tend to extend observations to the limits of visibility rather than just imeidately around the car.
Day 2 - Add a comment every time you do a rearward obseration - "Mirror check, clear behind.", "Mirror check, 1 following at a safe distance" or "Shoulder check before moving off". Not all observers watch for eye movement and can miss checks done only with the eyes. Don't adjust the mirror so you have to move your heard as some examiners will mark down for that.
Day 3 - Add every cyclist, horse or other vulnerable road user seen. This shows that you are looking off the normal road lines and are aware of others.
Day 4 - Bring in junctions and other vehicles to show that you are reacting to the road layout and what others are doing. "The car ahead is signalling to turn right, possibly at the junction that was jsut signed."
Day 5 - Bring in your planning (this is the hardest bit as most good drivers do this subconsciously). "The slower driver ahead is approaching a bend so I will hold back and close to the offside to get an early view on the exit for an over take in if there is a suitable gap."
There you go 1 week's work, simples!
Another tip is to lose words which don't add anything to the commentary to give yourself more time to get out all the relevant information. Remember also you don't have to speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences and the aim is to convey to your passenger a) what you're seeing b) what you're planning to do about it and c) why!
So, for example, instead of "I'm checking the mirror and there's a car behind me" you can say "Mirror. One behind".
Chris
So, for example, instead of "I'm checking the mirror and there's a car behind me" you can say "Mirror. One behind".
Chris
Agreed. There are times to shorten the descriptions to cover more, there are time to give more detail and there are time it just needs to be padded out a little.
There is no right way to give a commentry but there are a few wrong ways. Practice but don't reherse and go with what feels best.
Oh, Drive the car!
There is no right way to give a commentry but there are a few wrong ways. Practice but don't reherse and go with what feels best.
Oh, Drive the car!
Many thanks for all the advice, I have been speaking with someone today and I will probably not have to give a commentary which will be a relief. Neal, I have emailed and thanks for the offer.
I've been practising the commentary bit while driving alone but find it can sometimes be a distraction to my driving, especially when I see a nice female arse.
Thanks again and I'll keep you all informed.
I've been practising the commentary bit while driving alone but find it can sometimes be a distraction to my driving, especially when I see a nice female arse.
Thanks again and I'll keep you all informed.
Thesius said:
Dr Jekyll said:
Have we finally found an advanced driving technique we can discuss without anyone confusing the issue by talking about what racing drivers do or don't do?
I dunno, I think the commentary Loebs co driver gives during a drive is comparable,:Timo Makinen:
Sidevays
Left foot brake a little
Sidevays other vay
Yump!!
:/Timo:
OP do NOT do this!
F i F said:
Thesius said:
Dr Jekyll said:
Have we finally found an advanced driving technique we can discuss without anyone confusing the issue by talking about what racing drivers do or don't do?
I dunno, I think the commentary Loebs co driver gives during a drive is comparable,:Timo Makinen:
Sidevays
Left foot brake a little
Sidevays other vay
Yump!!
:/Timo:
OP do NOT do this!
An Actros getting air might be fun to see.
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