So following on from yesterday's introduction to the subject of commentary driving, today I am going to suggest a few practical exercises that you can try in order to start and develop a good commentary driving technique and improve your driving.
Remember that we use the AIM process in commentary driving "Alert - Inform - Manage" and as it's the first time many of you will have tried this, I need to go into a bit of detail on each of the steps this morning so you understand what you're trying to do. As a result, I find that this blog is longer than I expect the others to be as we progress through the week.
We're going to be looking at road signs and markings in these exercises.
You don't need to do any specific preparations, but some general tips will help you:
- Be as concise as possible as you speak
- Speak out loud to get the biggest benefit
- Slowing the car down a bit helps you to think
- Do it for a few minutes at a time and then rest your brain - it's hard work at first but gets easier with practice!
- Look as far ahead as you can
- Turn off the radio so you can concentrate
- If you find yourself talking about things behind you or struggling to keep up simply stop the commentary, drive normally and rest your brain for a bit and start again using road signs far ahead in the distance
- If anything happens that requires you to take action, stop the commentary and respond normally and naturally as you would have done before today
Let's go!
Step 1 - "Alert"
As the foundation of our commentary driving, this bit deserves the longest explanation:
As you drive, I want you to start by simply mentioning to yourself all of the signs and road markings that you see.
I want you to notice when you see speed limits change and when you see warning signs (triangle shaped), direction signs (notice the colour of these - each colour tells you about the road ahead of you), prohibiting signs (those in red circles), instructional signs (blue ones) and those extra, unique signs such as clearway signs (no stopping at all unless you're in a queue), deviation of route signs (the more black and white arrows there are, the sharper the bend is) and stop signs (octagonal signs used at dangerous junctions).
I also want you to notice road markings, in particular those at junctions (which define priority) and along the center of the road (which generally describe overtaking conditions by allowing, disallowing or urging caution when planning to overtake). The word "SLOW" is written in the road a lot you'll notice and rather than being an instruction to slow down, this road marking should be seen as a warning to you that there is a hazard in the road ahead.
Here are some examples (remember to be concise):
"Warning sign, junction to my left" (Alert)
"The word SLOW written in the road" (Alert)
"Overtaking disallowed in both directions" (Alert)
Whilst this is a 3 stage process, I want you to simply mention the signs to begin with as there is an important process taking place here as you do this.
As you drive, you might realise a few things and the following thoughts are normal:
- "I didn't realise there were this many signs around!"
- "Why do they bother putting signs up for that? I know there's a junction there - I drive this road every day"
- "I've been speeding down this road ever since I started driving!! I didn't realise the 30 zone started there"
- "I think I need to read the Highway Code!"
- "How does Nick expect me to keep my eye on the road whilst looking at all these signs??!! They're a distraction!!"
If you're having these thoughts then your commentary driving is already working for you!
Firstly, you can read the Highway Code for free by following the links here and it's obviously available through all good bookshops and on line for just a couple of quid - I'd urge all drivers who are serious about being seen to be good drivers by those they share the roads with to get an up to date copy of the book and read it.
With regards to the other thoughts - it's worth spending a bit of time reflecting on them in a bit fo quiet time (when you're not driving).
As you reflect, it might help to consider these specific questions:
If you're either finding those signs and road markings distracting or finding the task of taking them all in to be hard work...
- What does that tell you about your speed?
- What does it tell you about everyone else's speed?
- Are your thoughts about risk changing?
- Is there anything you can change in your driving to help you to reduce the risk in your driving?
Some of these thoughts can challenge us if we're generally proud of our driving, but spending some time thinking about them is vital if we're going to reduce road risk for ourselves and others around us. Remember that nobody's asking you to share your conclusions.
The next steps are easier to cover
Step 2 - "Inform"
Back in the driving seat now, the next stage of our commentary driving involves mentioning to yourself how the road sign or marking you've noticed affects you as a driver - not all of it will pose an actual danger, but all of it is important to you in some way.
The trick to getting the commentary right here is to avoid too much verbal detail and keep your comments concise. Here are a few examples:
"Warning sign, junction to my left" (Alert)
"Vehicles may emerge" (Inform)
"The word SLOW" (Alert)
"May be a problem over this hill" (Inform)
"Overtaking disallowed in both directions" (Alert)
"Road may be bendy ahead" (Inform)
Expressing these risks vocally like this is likely to be the first time many of us have actually appreciated many of the risks actually posed by different features in the roads we drive on daily.
It is again worth spending some time reflecting on and pondering these realisations... how can these thoughts have a positive effect your driving?
Step 3 - "Manage"
By simply noticing and vocalising the risks, you'll probably have already noticed that you're doing things naturally to reduce your road risk as you drive.
The final step in commentary driving is to put these natural actions into words.
You're not training to be a Driving Instructor, so again, you'll find it easier if you're as concise as possible and here are some examples:
"Warning sign, junction to my left" (Alert)
"Vehicles may emerge" (Inform)
"Slowing down & moving away from the kerb" (Manage)
"The word SLOW" (Alert)
"May be a problem over this hill" (Inform)
"I can easily stop at this speed if I see anything, so no change" (Manage)
"Overtaking disallowed in both directions" (Alert)
"Road may be bendy ahead" (Inform)
"Forget about overtaking and hold back from vehicle ahead" (Manage)
And that's it for today!
Notice that not everything requires an action. Sometimes you'll conclude that your current speed, gear and position choices are fine as they are and that's perfectly okay!
The important factor that is being introduced by the commentary today is simply to be aware of the amount of information presented to you as a road user and a realisation that it is all important in your assessment of risk as you drive.
Hopefully, if you've had a go at commentary driving today, you'll have seen that whilst it's hard work (it really does get easier as you practice - you'll find short bursts of a few minutes at a time is a great way to start), you'll have already started to change the way you drive through certain stretches of road.
Tomorrow, we're going to add to today's work the subjects of road surface condition and limit points and I hope you'll join me for that and carry on trying to improve your driving. I promise that the blog tomorrow won't be anywhere near as long now that you've got the basics! Feel free to message me any thoughts or questions through my social media outlets.
Nick Heath Driver Training is located in Rode Heath on the Staffordshire / Cheshire border and provides driving training services to those looking to either improve their driving or learn from scratch. In addition to media work, we conduct Taxi Driver Assessments for local authorities and offer Advanced Driver Training and Testing, Motorway Training and Fuel Efficient Driver Training alongside refresher courses and learner driving lessons. We are ORDIT registered to provide Driving Instructor Training and are listed on the DVSA's register of Fleet Trainers so we can help you with your business needs.
More details are available on our website www.nickheathdrivertraining.org.uk
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