Safe, legal and convenient
The information below is the same advice that we give to learner drivers on the DriverActive web site.
As with many aspects of driving, the advice offered to learners is very similar to that offered to 'advanced drivers', however, as an advanced driver you will be expected to do everything to a higher standard.
A basic criteria far any manoeuvre that you intend to perform is that the location must be Safe, Legal and Convenient.
Lets face it, finding a safe place is fairly basic... But not everyone applies basic commonsense after they pass their tests.
The photo on the right shows a New Zealand police car taken in 2007 - the driver was doing a 'three point turn' on a bend.
This driver was a 33 year old licenced police officer but he still made a basic error.
When we talk about safety, safe locations, safe speed and stuff lake that at DriverActive we are not talking about stuff to do for the driving test - we are talking about stuff you do to stay alive and to keep your future pupils alive!
Safe
You must not endanger yourself or others.
Hopefully this is fairly obvious! However, there are times when experienced drivers think that it is safe to take a chance 'just this once'...
Safe means that you must choose a location where you have a good clear view and where others can see you easily.
Examples of unsafe locations include:
- Bends
- The brow of a hill
- Close to junctions
- Near schools
- Areas with a lot of pedestrians
- Busy streets
- You should ideally choose a place where there are no obstructions on the edge of the road; lamp-posts or bollards on the kerb can cause a lot of damage if you drive into them!
Legal
Legal means that you must not infringe any laws or drive in a careless or dangerous manner. For example it would be illegal to turn around in a one-way road. If you do not give your full attention to driving (at any time) and use the utmost care and attention you could be prosecuted.
Convenient
Convenient means that you must not cause undue inconvenience to others - remember, you are the 'odd one out' when manoeuvring, because of this you must always be prepared to give way to others.
If you have chosen a safe and legal location you will probably not cause inconvenience, however it's important to recognise the rights and reasonable expectations of others. For example, while you are learning to drive it is a good idea to use different roads to practise the turn-in-the-road to avoid upsetting residents of any particular street.
Next: Move on to step 4 for information about Observation, Control and Accuracy.