Driving Lesson in Spalding - Overtaking by Tom of www.BigTom.org.uk/home/

On David’s driving lesson in Spalding today he was travelling along this road, the A16 from Spalding to Peterborough.

As you can see, this is at times, a very straight road and the temptation for some is just too great, so you tend to see some pretty hairy overtaking going on.

Today, despite David keeping between 55-60 mph (it is National Speed Limit, 60mph max on a single carriageway), there were cars and even lorries tailgating and also doing some horrendous overtakes.

It is on roads like this, that whilst there is an obligation to not become an additional hazard by driving too slowly, it pays to stay very alert to what is happening way in front and way behind.

Remember to use all the mirrors in order to get an accurate picture of the speed and distance of vehicles approaching from behind.  The centre mirror is flat, good for distance, the side mirrors are more suited to provide positional information as they are slightly convex.

3 hazards to be aware of include:

Vehicles overtaking from behind with other vehicles in the oncoming lane being too close.  The overtaking driver has either misjudged the distance, or the speed at which the oncoming traffic is approaching.  Stay alert, come off gas if it will assist a vehicle getting back into the correct lane (try to avoid severe braking and/or steering).

Vehicles behind tail gating.  Keep 2 seconds distance from the vehicle in front and behind (4 seconds in wet).  “Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule” takes 2 seconds to say.... use it to judge the separation gap.

Junctions.  Vehicles in minor roads, paused, waiting to emerge may mis-judge the correct time to go.  Spot these vehicles well in advance, consider what you could safely do (position/speed) if they did emerge in front of you.  Think “escape routes”.

David had a good insight on his driving lesson in Spalding today about how beneficial it is to stay alert, expect the unexpected and anticipate hazards before they actually occur.  Sudden and severe steering when travelling at higher speeds can easily result in a loss of control of the vehicle, this is not an experience anyone would want to experience, and the consequences can be fatal.

BIG TOM Driving School   Intensive Driving Course in Spalding 0800 689 4174