Newslink December final

Towards your CPD: L-test data
Steering a path through
the TIP minefield
Understanding the ADI Driving
Test Data Report, which is
available to all ADIs by clicking
on the link at the end of this
article, forms an essential part
of our CPD, but only if what is
being recorded is understood.
Steve Garrod takes a closer look
The first thing to say on your L-test data
report is that like a lot of things in life, some
headings are easier to interpret than others.
For example, ‘Use of Mirrors’ before
‘signalling’, ‘changing direction’ and ‘changing
speed’ can be easier to understand than
‘Steering’.
It is important to point out, however, that it
is making effective observation rather than
looking at the mirrors that is marked, and
changing speed means accelerating as well
as slowing down. Changing direction is often
marked when candidates are moving back to
the left after passing a bus or a delivery van
which is about to, or in the process of, moving
off, as well as checking to the right before
passing them.
The reason for using ‘Steering’ as an
example is because it was the subject that
brought up more questions than any other
heading at a recent Standards Check
workshop. Steering can be quite difficult to
interpret unless present at an end-of-test
debrief. ‘Steering’ could mean not steering
correctly at junctions, eg understeering or
oversteering (not steering enough and
maybe entering a side road on the wrong side
of the road, or steering too much and having
problems with straightening up having
turned).
But ‘steering’ can also be mixed up with
‘Meeting Traffic’ or ‘Adequate clearance’. For
example, if a candidate leaves it late to steer
around a parked vehicle having given way to
an oncoming vehicle, then this is marked as a
steering fault. If you are conducting a mock
test, then think about how you would debrief
the fault. “You left it late to steer around the
parked vehicle, causing you to steer onto the
other side of the road due the lack of
available space to turn’. When teaching we
like to see our clients steer on a shallow angle
past a parked vehicle wherever possible to
reduce the amount of space needed on the
opposite side of the road.
Steering can also mean clipping or
mounting the kerb or pavement when
turning left or pulling up by the side of the
road. From a teaching point of view, you could
ask how to avoid this fault and the answer
would normally be to steer later, when
turning left, or straightening up earlier when
pulling up next to the kerb.
Interestingly, when pulling up, if the
pavement is mounted but the fault is
corrected and the car comes to rest with all
four wheels on the road, then this is a
steering fault, but if a wheel is left on the
kerb, then this is marked as ‘Position for
normal stops’
Steering can also be marked when
cornering – for example, if a driver is too
close to a kerb or too near the centre of the
road. It can be mistaken for road positioning,
but if the position was correct upon entering
the bend, then you need to ask yourself how
the fault could be corrected. If a solid white
line crossed or straddled, then a fault would
be recorded under ‘Road markings.’
Likewise, when turning right, if a driver
goes past their point of turn, which is often
caused by focusing on oncoming traffic and
steering late, this is marked as a steering
fault.
Sometimes it can be tricky to assess a
steering fault if a candidate approaches a
junction too quickly. If it results in entering
the side road on the wrong side of the road,
then it could be marked as ‘steering’ as the
effect of the fault was to steer onto the
wrong side of the road, even though the
cause of the fault was the speed on approach.
18 NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2023