Some thoughts on using lights...

During recent foggy weather, comments made by various people on Twitter have made it clear that there is a lot of frustration among drivers with regards to the way drivers use their lights... here are my thoughts on it.

Everything you're about to read is based on one, single, simple principle and that is that...

Your lights are there primarily to help other road users to see you first and foremost, and NOT to light the road ahead of you to allow you to see where you're going in the dark

You have several sets of lights on your car...

• Dipped beam head lights and tail lights - the usual lights you'd use if it was dark
• Side lights - for use when parked in dark areas or where a speed limit greater than 40mph is in force (how many knew that was a legal requirement eh?)
• Main beam head lights - for use where it is very dark and there are no other road users in sight
• Fog lights - for use whenever visibility is less than 100mtrs (usually in fog, but not restricted to that - I'd advise using them in extreme snowfall too, but never in rain)
• Indicators - for communicating an intention to turn left and right of course
• DLR (Daylight Running Lamps) - regularly confused with "headlights are always on", these are brighter versions of front sidelights which help others to see you as you approach them in good weather conditions. They don't work at the rear of the car to avoid any confusion with brake lights
• Hazard lights - to be used when the car is causing a temporary obstruction in the road or when approaching standstill traffic on either a motorway or a national speed limited dual carriageway

And this is when we'd usually advise people learning to drive to use them....

Fantastic weather - a good, clear day with great light levels, no chance of rain and dusk is several hours away yet

These are the conditions that DLR's were designed for - all new cars sold since 2010 have them fitted and drivers of older cars should consider using dipped beam headlights to reduce their road risk

Overcast and cloudy - it might rain or go dark in the next 90 minutes

Dipped beam headlights should be on in these conditions and may need to be selected manually on those cars with automatic headlights

Raining - regardless of how heavy it is

Dipped beam headlights - some cars with automatic headlights will turn the dipped beams on when the wipers are in use, but for the avoidance of doubt, turn them on manually

Any other "bad weather" including mist, fog or snow

Dipped beam headlights - turn them on manually to avoid getting caught out

Broken down

Side lights are ideal for this in addition to the hazard lights of course. It isn't a legal use of the fog lights, but I recently read one article that suggested that using them in a breakdown situation might help to make you more visible to other drivers and reduce your risk of having the vehicle struck by another one whilst you wait for a pickup. Use your own judgement on this idea.

You'll notice that side lights are never used when driving. This is because they are dimmer than the DLR's that will often turn off when side lights are selected manually - they are parking lights and effectively useless at making you more visible to others.

You will also notice that I don't reference the legal requirement from the Highway Code that says that "dipped beam headlights MUST be used when visibility is less than 100mtrs". My reasoning for this, is that this legal specification is totally inadequate in the pursuit of reducing road risk. It effectively means that you are not breaking any laws if you drive around in fog with no lights on at all as long as the visibility is more than 100mtrs, which is absolute madness (especially if your car is dirty, or silver in colour).

Stay safe everyone!

Nick Heath Driver Training is a Driver Training company based in Rode Heath, South Cheshire. We supply driver training services to drivers at all ability levels from novices wanting to pass a driving test (Nick Heath is a DVSA ADI Grade A) through to occupational drivers (DVSA Fleet registered) through to Advanced Driver Training and Examinations including the Taxi Driving Assessment (Diamond Examiner) and Driving Instructor Training (DVSA ORDIT registered). More details can be found on our website or by calling 0800 820 20 38

Some tips to help you pass your driving theory test

Over the years, one of the most puzzling trends I've noticed in this job is in relation to the pass rates for the driving theory part of the test. Without doubt, it seems that people today find this part of the test much, much more difficult than they did 15 years ago!

It's not immediately apparent why this might be, but there have been a number of changes over the years, such as:

• The 30 second long clips used in the Hazard Perception part of the test are now CGI rather than actual filmed clips
• There are now 50 questions to answer rather than 35
• There have been a number of formatting tweaks to make the test more inclusive for those people who have problems with learning difficulties such as dyslexia

The number of questions being asked was to ensure that a wider range of questions could be asked of each client, meaning that a more through knowledge of driving theory was required, but aside from that, none of those changes were actually intended to make the test harder to pass and the number of questions shouldn't matter either if you have a strong understanding of the Highway Code - the drop in the number of people passing it really is a strange things!

Here are some tips to help you prepare for the test:

1. Get the right study materials - all of the questions are based on two books which are widely available - The Highway Code and The Official Guide To Driving, The Essential Skills. I would also recommend getting a good theory test training programme such as Driving Test Success, Theory Test Pro (you get access to this for free if you take lessons with me) or the DVSA's own Theory Test Training software.
2. Do your homework - you'll probably need to read those books several times in order to get the strong understanding of this subject that you need in order to succeed at the test, so don't skip through it the night before! Set yourself up with a study plan and stick to it!
3. Practice taking tests - a few go's at the test at home obviously help you to familiarise yourself with what will happen on the day, helping to reduce nerves. Whether you have passed or failed, take the time to review all of the answers and read the explanations as to why you got the answers right or wrong (it all helps the understanding)
4. Don't book in too early - if you take a mock test, you should be passing it with either 100% of the questions correctly answered or very, very close to that. To go into the test too soon risks not only failing it and taking expensive retests, but also the possibility of failing practical tests too as of course, the examiners on the practical test are looking for you to follow good driving practice!

Tips for the test itself:

• Make sure you know where your photocard driving licence is several days ahead of the test date - whilst it is still possible to rearrange it without losing your fee
• Have a quiet night and get a good night's sleep the night before
• Get up early enough to get ready without rushing around
• DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST!!
• Arrive in plenty of time - DVSA ask you to arrive 15 minutes before the test time to allow for ID checks
• Read the questions carefully - you don't want to give an incorrect answer to a "no brainer"
• Flag those you aren't sure of - review them at the end
• Don't over think it - if you know your subject properly, all of these questions should be easy for you to answer and yes, you could even say that they were obvious!

Nick Heath Driver Training is a Driver Training company based in Rode Heath, South Cheshire. We supply driver training services to drivers at all ability levels from novices wanting to pass a driving test (Nick Heath is a DVSA ADI Grade A) through to occupational drivers (DVSA Fleet registered) through to Advanced Driver Training and Examinations including the Taxi Driving Assessment (Diamond Examiner) and Driving Instructor Training (DVSA ORDIT registered). More details can be found on our website or by calling 0800 820 20 38

Forget about "expecting the unexpected"

It's often said in driving that we should be always be prepared for the unexpected but I don't like that phrase and never, ever use it in my training at any level!

I find the phrase almost insultingly prejudicial. There is an implication that the individual saying it is the only person ever born who knows what he is doing and that everyone else is deliberately stupid, incompetent and unworthy of holding a driving licence. It doesn't seem like a fair attitude to take towards others to me.

Can you imagine walking down the street, seeing a guy in his front garden mowing his lawn and saying "you're doing that wrong mate, I can't believe how stupid you are, you don't even deserve to be allowed out of the house if you're going to use a mower like that"? On the other hand, can you imagine being the guy cutting his lawn when that happens - how would you react? People are often very judgmental of other people's driving without any real evidence to support their view aside from the fact that they'd have maybe done something differently (which of course, doesn't make it wrong and might actually be "more right" than what the critic would have chosen to do).

When I'm driving, what I do is look at what is happening around me with an open mind towards both the level of competence of those around me and their intentions on the road. It helps me to avoid surprise, which in spite of what you read about speed, cyclists and kids is THE cause of ALL car crashes.

I don't EXPECT everyone else to get it wrong, but I DO think about ways in which it COULD go wrong and I try to make allowances in my driving for all eventualities!

For an example of this in action, imagine we are driving straight ahead at an upcoming crossroads controlled by a set of traffic lights. Our light on Green and we think that the light's been on for ages and may change to Red, so we reduce our speed from the 30mph limit to 23mph as we approach so that we could stop easier if the change happens. The light doesn't change and as we reach that point where we decide to pass through the lights, we glance to our right and left (it's best in that order if you give it some thought) and see a car approaching from the right. The car is clearly slowing for the lights that are on Red for them and the balance between speed and distance to the stop line all looks good - this car is stopping, so we proceed through the lights and carry on with our journey.

So there's no drama in that example, no death, no idiot, no mistake, nobody who "got their licence free with their Weetabix one morning" or anything like that... but it's easy to imagine what we'd do if any of it went wrong:

• If that light changed, we were able to stop easily (and stopping easily reduces the risk of a following vehicle rear ending you at the lights) - NOT UNEXPECTED!
• If that driver coming from the right was actually coming from the left, we'd have seen him in exactly the same way - NOT UNEXPECTED!
• If that driver coming from the right was unaware of the lights ahead of him and subsequently wasn't slowing down for them, we could have slowed further or stopped completely to avoid the collision - given the evidence he's presented to us, this also is NOT UNEXPECTED!

Obviously this situation could play out in millions of different ways, but the same attitude of keeping an open mind towards others and making decisions based on their behaviour alongside other information around you will protect you from being involved in any collisions.

It's time to start expecting the expected.

And as a final note, it's worth noting that I didn't bother wasting time on "why" that driver from the right might not be aware of the lights. That isn't my concern and it's totally a guess - he could be blind, distracted, drunk or anything like that, but it doesn't matter to me I'm wasting time speculating on it when I should be taking action to reduce the risk posed by this driver's actions. The question of "why" is one for the Police.

Nick Heath Driver Training is a Driver Training company based in Rode Heath, South Cheshire. We supply driver training services to drivers at all ability levels from novices wanting to pass a driving test (Nick Heath is a DVSA ADI Grade A) through to occupational drivers (DVSA Fleet registered) through to Advanced Driver Training and Examinations including the Taxi Driving Assessment (Diamond Examiner) and Driving Instructor Training (DVSA ORDIT registered). More details can be found on our website or by calling 0800 820 20 38