Newslink April marketing special

Towards your CPD
Talking of driving safely...
Steve Garrod offers some advice on how to conduct a commentary
drive, and how it can help enhance your harzard perception skills
Over the last month I have been asked to help
some ADIs looking to improve their
commentary driving, so I thought it might be
an opportunity to share some thoughts on
this topic, which is also one of the lesson
themes in the Standards Check.
A good commentary drive promotes
forward planning and is an essential part of an
advanced driver’s, or trainer’s, toolbox. In
general terms, a commentary is used to
inform a student, trainer or assessor of the
thought processes of the driver or to help
enhance and develop hazard perception skills.
Developing good commentary skill is about
practice so that the quality of the drive will be
enhanced rather than degraded. In the early
stages of learning commentary driving the
driving performance often dips. The
commentary should emphasise the action
that is to be taken in order to deal with each
potential hazard.
The contents of the commentary should
be current and future and not historical. I
always think of it in terms of casting out a
fishing line; you start from behind your head
(mirrors) then cast it to the furthest point
before reeling it back in and casting it out
once more from behind your head. As you reel
it in you scan from side to side from the far
ground, middle ground and near and rear
ground.
Throughout the drive it is important to use
a clear, distinct voice and avoid talking too
quickly. A good tip to remember is ABC -
Accurate, Brief and Concise. Also, imagine
you are taking to somebody sitting in the
back of the car to ensure your voice is loud
enough to be heard.
It may be appropriate at some stage to
define a hazard that contains an element of
actual or potential danger and anything which
may cause a driver to change course or
speed. Actual danger is where the law or the
rule of the road places the responsibility on
the driver to ensure that it is safe before
continuing. Such circumstances may require
a delayed gear change such as at give way or
coming to rest at a stop sign or obstructions
on the nearside.
Potential danger is where common sense
or road sense suggests that safety
precautions should be taken before entering
the danger area.
Such action as an early gear change for
example on the approach to a bend, a narrow
section, a hump backed bridge or
obstructions on the offside causing
oncoming drivers to cross the centre of the
carriageway or when pedestrians are
approaching a crossing or a junction
(remember the ‘hierarchy’ laws that were
introduced a couple of years ago).
Roadcraft view
Roadcraft explains there are three main
types of hazard:
a) Fixed physical features such as road
junctions, bends or crests of hills
b) Risks arising from the position or
movement of other road users
c) Problems arising from variations in road
surface, weather conditions or visibility
A driver is constantly making driving plans
to deal with immediate circumstances and is
designed to ensure that the vehicle is always:
n At the correct speed
n In the correct position
n In the correct gear
The driving plan will take into account:
n What can be seen
n What cannot be seen
n What a driver may reasonably expect to
see
n Which hazards present the greatest
threat
n What to do if a situation develops
differently from expected
It is often the hazards that can’t be seen
catch drivers out. Many will pride themselves
on being observant, but few think of the
‘what if’ scenario. This is an area that should
be emphasised during all driver training
sessions, regardless of the driver’s
experience.
Such examples include a second car
emerging from a side road, a hidden car
behind an approaching van in a meeting
situation or the second emergency vehicle at
a set of traffic lights.
Observation
Means using sight, hearing, feel and even
smell (think of cut grass or diesel/petrol) to
gain as much information as possible about
what lies ahead. It is the result of this
34 NEWSLINK n APRIL 2024