TEN REASONS TO FAILING A DRIVING TEST NUMBER SEVEN
POOR POSITIONING ON THE ROAD IN NORMAL DRIVING
What You Must Do
You must be able to:
· position the car correctly for your intended route
· position the car in the middle of marked lanes
· only change lanes when necessary
Where it is Marked on the Driving Test Report Form
Positioning – Normal Driving
Common Causes of this Failure
Repeatedly driving too close to the kerb or centre of the road
Throughout the test, the candidate repeatedly drives too close to either:
· the kerb, putting pedestrians at risk
· the centre of road, putting oncoming drivers at risk
Unnecessarily driving in the right-hand lane of a dual carriageway
When the candidate drove on a dual carriageway, they unnecessarily drive in the right-hand lane for a considerable length of time.
Cutting across the normal road position when you go ahead at a roundabout with no lane markings
When the candidate went ahead at a roundabout with no lane markings, they took a ‘straight-line’ the roundabout with no consideration for following vehicles. ‘Straight-lining’ means you drive in a straight line in the road, rather than following the bend of the roundabout.
Remedies
A good way t check that the car is positioned properly is that the kerb appears to be in the centre of the windscreen – so check this occasionally when driving along a straight road. If the centre lines are not there you have to imagine the centre lines along the road and position to the left of them.
Remember on a dual carriageway you should position in the left lane if you are following the road ahead.
When following the road ahead for the second exit you should follow the circumference of the roundabout and not take the shortest straight line.