To think what the driving instructor has told Dd is wrong?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

Apparently you never do a shoulder check unless you’re stopped. So if you’re changing lanes on a motorway or coming down a slip road you just use your mirrors and don’t do a quick shoulder check. I know it’s a long time since I took my test but I was told you must because of blind spots.

Second thing is apparently when stopped at traffic lights, etc you don’t need to put your hand brake on. Again I was told you must so if someone rear ends you hopefully you don’t crash forward into the person in front. She’s driving an automatic if that makes a difference.

So last week when driving with me she was stopped at lights with quite a hill start and hadnt got the hand brake on. It’s a good job she is in an automatic or she’d have rolled backwards when she took her foot of the brake to move forward!

She has her test in less than two weeks! 😱

I failed my driving test for not checking over my shoulder. Had done nothing else wrong. I'd get a second opinion!

If your can has an electronic handbrake then it will come on automatically if you have set the handbrake assist to come on if you have come to a stop.
Not true for all cars.

I have had 3 cars with electronic handbrakes where there was no way to have it apply itself automatically.

You should be checking your rear and wing mirrors often enough to know exactly what vehicles are behind and beside you at all times
This makes no sense to me!

Flicking regularly your mirrors mean at a minimum going from looking in front, looking at rear mirror, than side mirror, meaning that at least 2 seconds go from one to the last.

2 seconds is more than enough for the car behind you to suddenly be accelerating besides you, so last time you checked your mirrors, either the car was still behind or next to you in your blind spot.

I am lucky to have a car with signal on my mirror to let me know as soon as a car is coming next to me. It does show how often cars find themselves in my blind spot. Despite this warning, I do find it hard not to look over my shoulder.

Well dontdisturbmenow if you've checked all your mirrors and noted there was a car behind on your right, then you signal and check your right side mirror again just before making your manoeuvre of changing lane, and the car isn't there then you can assume it's in any blindspot your car has, so don't do the manoeuvre.

You could pass your test 25 years ago without looking over your shoulder. I did (I can't turn my head that far).

If you're in a van, you don't have the windows to look through - you have to rely on mirrors.

If you have a modern car that has blind spot & blind spot warnings for overtaking cars then you don't need to do a shoulder check

Goodness it must be marvellous to drive a car that can never have a sensor failure.

Ceding control of the car to sensors or computers is begging to have an accident. My car has LIDAR control and it's a great feature, but I have to retain supervision, the number of times it's attempted to drive me into the central reservation...if you merge lanes, you must check your blind spot, otherwise you might kill yourself or others.

www.safedrivingforlife.info/blog/more-top-tips-how-deal-blind-spots

DVSA associated website above claims that what the driving instructor has said is correct. Apologies if this has already been posted.

@hiddenmnetter

We are far more reliant on technology in a host of other ways too in vehicles than we were before. That's the nature of it. Cars have become much safer than they used to be, so maybe the technology is working?

@SlipperyLizard

I always check my blind spot, in 20 years of driving there had never been anything there (because I also use my mirrors). A few weeks ago I checked it and there was a car there! Gave me the fright of my life. Please check it folks, even if you think you don’t need to because you use your mirrors. The consequences of changing lane when there’s already someone there make it a risk that’s not worth taking.

On the handbrake, no one in real life puts it on when stopped (especially so in an automatic, where even hill starts are not an issue), but I was taught to do so. As far as I know it was mostly to help prevent you rear ending the person in front if someone went into the back of you.

It’s also better for the person behind you at night not to have dazzling brake lights in their eyes. Cars seem to have over-bright bulbs now.

@CounsellorTroi , who said it was a problem?!, I don't think the word 'problem' was mentioned in my original post!

Cars seem to have over-bright bulbs now.

God yes. I suffer with migraines and a lot of the new bulbs cause me issues. those auto dipping headlights that don’t seem to auto dip are annoying as well

@Hopoindown31 I absolutely agree. Our cars have much more control over themselves than they ever used to- the number of sensors that measure exhaust output and fuel input for example often means that your fuel mixture is basically entirely managed for you (I can't remember the last time I flooded an engine). But I'm not talking about driving aids- blindspot warnings are great (and I use them) but I would be foolish to rely on them rather than check the blindspot before merging.

I nearly always know what is behind me when driving. I had the same lesson from my driving instructor as @babdoc ; he would cover my mirror and ask what was behind so I've always had it drilled in to me to check mirrors constantly. However, when joining from a slip road, you simply don't know what's coming up on the road you are joining and he always, always insisted that I also check my blind spot over my shoulder when joining traffic from a slip road. I learnt to drive 6 years ago.

I saw an accident not so long ago caused by undertaking in a blind spot. A car was overtaking a truck. The truck was in the middle lane having just slowly passed another truck on the inside lane, the overtaking car was in the outside lane. The car moved to go to the inside lane post manoeuvre and was hit by an undertaking car in the inside lane. The undertaking car had pushed through at such speed and with such recklessness that the other driver had no way of spotting them using mirrors alone due to the position of the truck. A blind spot check might not have helped but equally, it might have done. I still check my blind spot every single time and that horrible accident only confirmed the need for it.

I learned to drive 5 years ago and my instructor said the use of the handbrake was optional unless parking up. Recommended if you're likely to be stationary for a while but not mandatory. So you judge at lights if you need it or not. I was advised to check my blind spot and having nearly had an accident (if I hadn't checked I would have hit a cyclist, obviously not a motorway though) I always do.

Thanks for the Mumsplain @Hiddenmnetter but the effect is the same non? No need to put your handbrake on.

@dontdisturbmenow

You should be checking your rear and wing mirrors often enough to know exactly what vehicles are behind and beside you at all times This makes no sense to me!

Flicking regularly your mirrors mean at a minimum going from looking in front, looking at rear mirror, than side mirror, meaning that at least 2 seconds go from one to the last.

2 seconds is more than enough for the car behind you to suddenly be accelerating besides you, so last time you checked your mirrors, either the car was still behind or next to you in your blind spot.

I am lucky to have a car with signal on my mirror to let me know as soon as a car is coming next to me. It does show how often cars find themselves in my blind spot. Despite this warning, I do find it hard not to look over my shoulder.

It doesn’t take two seconds. It’s a quick flick of the eyes.

@Hopoindown31

www.safedrivingforlife.info/blog/more-top-tips-how-deal-blind-spots

DVSA associated website above claims that what the driving instructor has said is correct. Apologies if this has already been posted.

Surely this link says the opposite of what the driving instructor in the OP claims (see the bits I've put in bold):

On the move

Blind spots on the move are on either side of your vehicle. Don’t look around to check for them – you’ll take your focus away from the road in front of you, with potentially dangerous consequences.
Regular and sensible use of your mirrors will keep you up to date with what’s happening behind. But you’ll still need to check your blind spots to gather as much information as possible before you make certain manoeuvres. You should take a quick sideways glance before you

o change lanes

o join a motorway or dual carriageway from a slip road; or

o when traffic is merging from the left or the right.

I was taught to never use the handbrake unless for parking unless you have to stop on a steep hill.

we were taught to look over the shoulder (and not doing this would make you fail the practical test) and also the dutch reach (which also could be a fail if you forgot during the test.

My instructor wasn’t fond of the handbrake either. I used to have real bother with hill starts as I had to keep one foot brake on so we didn’t roll back, one foot on the clutch and also one foot on the accelerator. I only have the two feet...
Life got better when my dad took me out and imparted the dark secrets of the handbrake.

@Hopoindown31

www.safedrivingforlife.info/blog/more-top-tips-how-deal-blind-spots

DVSA associated website above claims that what the driving instructor has said is correct. Apologies if this has already been posted.

I don't think it's actually inconsistent with what we are saying on here - it says a quick sideways glance. Ok you don't swivel right round to look back, but I don't do that anyway. A slightly backwards glance, yes.

we were taught to look over the shoulder (and not doing this would make you fail the practical test) and also the dutch reach (which also could be a fail if you forgot during the test

I'd not heard of the Dutch reach until fairly recently, so I assume you did your test overseas? People should absolutely do it, though.

@Takeitonthechin

Yes I shoulder check... can I ask why your daughter is learning to drive in an automatic car?, is she intending to only drive automatic cars for the rest of her life?

I imagine she is, since all electric and hybrid cars are automatics and petrol/diesel cars won't be with us much longer.

I have to do a shoulder check in my Fiesta. The blind spot is rubbish, as I almost learned to my cost when I first got it.

This just made me think of the other day on the motorway I wanted to change lanes and overtake, I did a quick shoulder check and sure enough in my blind spot was a car. Couldn't see it in my mirrors. Imagine if I hadn't checked. You are right about the handbrake aswel.

Yes I shoulder check... can I ask why your daughter is learning to drive in an automatic car?, is she intending to only drive automatic cars for the rest of her life?

Because she has multiple illnesses such as fibromyalgia, EDS, POTS, which mean she’s in quite a lot of pain and dislocates and subluxates joints quite a bit. Anything which reduces ankle movement, knee movement, hand and finger movement will reduce the chance of that. We’re hoping her blue badge arrives in time for her passing her test.

Have to say I’ve gone from a manual to an automatic due to injury and even if I was cured I’d never go back to a manual. Really don’t know why anyone would choose one, the automatic is much more pleasant to drive.