Driving Tips – Chin Up!

 
This week’s driving tip is ‘Chin up’.
 
The term ‘keep your chin up’ is usually used to tell you that you should keep cheerful, even when things are not going well…
 
But keeping your chin up during a driving lesson could be the cause of some of your problems!
 
 

 
 
When learner drivers are completing tight manoeuvres that include a right turn it’s fairly common to see them straining to look over the bonnet to see the front of the car and the kerb – as they do this their heads tilt back and their chins start to rise upwards.
 
 

 
 
The turn-in-the-road (three-point-turn) is a typical example of a situation where you can see this. In the last leg of the turn, as learners steer to the right to complete the manoeuvre, they will often try to look towards the front of the car to see the kerb – obviously they don’t want to hit it.
 
But did you know that the more you try to look at the kerb, the more likely you are to hit it?
 
 

 
 
When you stare towards the front of the car and lift up your chin you are quite likely to stop steering, or at least reduce the steering effort, this has three potential consequences:
 

• You could bump into the kerb
• You will almost certainly need more space to complete your manoeuvre
• You will find it more difficult to straighten up after the manoeuvre (because you will start to straighten up late)

 
 

 
 
While this is most common when turning right, for example in the turn-in-the-road, or when turning right into or out of junctions or gateways, it can also happen when turning left in tight situations.
 
But the good news is that the fix is easy!
 
Simply focus your attention on where you want to go – not where you don’t want to go.
 
In the example of the turn-in-the-road you don’t want to hit the kerb, so don’t try to look at it! Instead focus your attention on the clear space that you wish to drive into by looking through the driver’s door window instead of the windscreen.
 
 

 
 
Exactly the same principle applies when turning right – don’t look at the end of the bonnet, look through the driver’s door window and well along the road that you are turning into – this will make your steering easier and more efficient.
 
‘Chin up’ is an example of how your vision affects your steering. If you have any steering or positioning problems try changing where you are looking by focussing on the space you want to drive into, not at the things you want to avoid.
 
Chin up… Or should that be chin down!