How To Drive Like A Driving Instructor | Lane Discipline
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- Опубліковано 18 жов 2023
- An answer for all the middle lane hogging comments.
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Confession time…I used to be one of those space closers you talk about at 29:50 thinking they were queue jumping, especially if they were at lights where the right lane would turn right at the next lights.
I am so ashamed of myself for having that mentality but thankfully I stopped doing that and all of my bad driving habits have all gone since watching your videos, thank you.
I've done it too! You're not alone in a positive transformation.
Thank you for sort of settling an argument for me at 14:00 - there's absolutely no point getting over from a lane doing 70 just to then have to drop down to 55 in a minute or two then get back out into a free-flowing lane. I've had people tell me that to not do so is "lane hogging" - so presumably they expect everyone in that lane to constantly be merging in and out.....
I loved the lady with the cat at the start. Our cat follows us when we take the dog for a nightly walk to do her business and we're so used to smiles from drivers and passers by as he trots along next to the dog. He has become a bit of a local legend. 🤣
Yesterday, I was able to pass first time with 8 driver faults and I just wanted to say a massive thank you for this series. I did my test during the Storm Babet: wind and rain crashing into my car, puddles on the road, other drivers skidding and trying to avoid still water, etc. Your videos on lane discipline, bad weather driving, spacial awareness and city driving helped me tremendously. I only discovered you literally a day before my test and I consumed your content ravenously because I felt your perspective and outlook on driving and safety was so important. I hope you read this because I think finding your videos was one of the most essential resources that helped me pass - I had the skills and the hours of practice, I just needed the right mindset to make sure I was safe, and my examiner felt so too. Thank you.
Congratulations!
Hi Ashley thanks for this from a retiree, Who learned in the 70s, I've always bought the new highway codes. But your instructions help me to understand them.
So heartening to see you drive very much like I do; allowing flow, indicating when required, making allowances for others but also not apprehensive to accelerate to get safely to a different road position. My wife drives exactly the same, irrespective of traffic or road conditions; something I think most folk do.
The commentary, apart from the accent, sounded like my thought process when I'm driving. It sometimes feels like I'm getting up a lot of noses by thinking ahead, keeping distances and going for flow over personal advantage. It's gratifying to see that others drive like it too - some journeys are better than others in that respect. I think 'Share the road' will be my new thing to say as well as 'Make it a non-event'.
I can say I also do the same. It felt so good seeing Ashley explain and then realising that I’m doing just that.
Happy to see more. Cool!
Lumpy cold start is a good way of describing the ST, it’s a lovely car to drive once warmed up but it’s awful for the first 5-10 minutes. I’ve read that some modern performance cars have to run rich to warm up the catalytic converter quickly to make sure they pass emissions tests.
The golf he had ran lean. Too much fuel can cool the exhaust gas, like a sooty fire. The golf pumps extra air in to make it run hot on high idle for about two minutes. I don't have a clue what way Ford map their cold starts. Perhaps, they're running normal air, against normal fuel, which with a cold intercooler keeps exhaust temps lower for longer. That's my tuppence'orth as a guess.
Ashley I’ve been driving for almost forty years and a professional Taxi driver for thirty, I really enjoy watching these videos. Everyone can learn something or take something away from these, so thank you.
Excellent video. This should be compulsory viewing for all drivers regardless of supposed experience.
At around 23:30 good point about being ready to move to Lane 3 when there are vehicles in Lane 1 and Lane 1 is a lane drop. I'm always very aware of this every time I see those "Get in lane" signs as well as when my GPS shows such a lane configuration and tells me to keep to the right lanes.
Thank you the different cameras gave me a great view of how dash cam is not the same as our eyes see.
Please remind the lane disciplinarian that you don't move back immediately after overtaking but leave a proper stopping distance.
Greetings. Looking forward to this...and I'm actually home for a change and not the middle lane. (Which I'd only be in if I was overtaking anyway).
Hi Ashley. Just a quick comment to let you know that having been a long-term subscriber, I passed my PCV driving test today. Watching your videos has helped me to develop the mindset required to drive safely and patiently (along with enhancing my skillset), especially in a larger vehicle. Thanks for all that you do! Take care 😊
Lovely to hear! Congratulations!!
Oooh, whereabouts..? Not Birmingham, I hope..! I drove buses there for many years and it was a nightmare..! I eventually came off the road and went into the CCTV office, investigating assaults, collisions and little old ladies tripping up the step. Still a lot of hassle, but at least nobody was trying to punch me in the gob or spit at me.
Hope I'm not putting you off, it's a good job really, honest 😋
Nothing on these videos will shock you after spending a week or two behind the wheel of a bus!
@@TestGearJunkie.Not Birmingham, but Bridgwater in Somerset. The company I work for now are based in Weston-super-Mare! 🙂
@@AlexLapinski Ah, well, you should be a bit quieter around there, best of luck..!
I passed my driving test yesterday. In my area, it was very heavy rain, (I haven't seen it this bad in forever.) I occurred a lot more minors than I usually would on a mock, but I still passed. This channel helped a lot with me learning to drive (I started in May), so thank you to your content for being a very useful tool in my journey.
At around 18:53 where you put a left signal on even though that was the only way you could correctly go from that lane. Thank you for confirming what I generally do in that sort of roundabout scenerio. As you eluded to, it confirms to others around me that I am indeed going to do the correct thing and removes any doubt that I may be in the incorrect lane and might do a last second cut across lanes. I know this very point has come up for debate in some of your previous videos.
I'm confused . I thought Ashley WAS too wrapped up with not signalling when they don't have to, or is it the case he is too wrapped up with signalling when they don't have to ??
That's very much a horses for courses decision, I think. Spiral roundabouts can get many lost but it's also correct "traditional" roundabout theory and practice, "indicate left to leave the roundabout after you pass the exit previous".
That straddle position at 5:40 I use all the time near me and it is true, it communicates your intentions to those behind.
If you move fully right then quite often the driver behind will try to dive up the nearside at the earliest opportunity but straddling they will hang back and know you want the left lane as well
I use the straddle position to turn a very tight left as well (very rare these days) as it stops the overtakers blocking the turn and prevents those from undertaking
I can't follow your last paragraph?
@@chilleddriving1455 Apologies, I don’t often describe things very well
There was a left turn I used to have to take that was at 90 degree but with bollards either side so needed to be out to the right to make the turn. If I stayed left too long then others would overtake in the right turn lane, if I moved fully right then others would ignore the left signal and undertake so the straddle was the only option to keep everyone behind so the turn could be made
Dashcam distortion is huge
Great driving. I know not the specific subject of the video (though it of course helps here also) but you demonstrate by consistently maintaining good gaps from the vehicles in front, it makes driving so much easier, safer and less stressful.
Ash, I just wanted to express my deep appreciation for this series and the multiple videos you’ve made that create a safe and healthy driver mindset. I think if you were to categorise all the techniques under two headings they’d be “make it a non-event” and “work for best flow.” The application of such doesn’t create a dependency on others to fix the mistakes, we can deal with the bad decisions that poor road users make. If everyone could apply this mindset there would be zero conflict on the road. Keep up the good work pal, it’s gold dust!
I think the thing with signals and advanced driver course is very much making sure a signal makes sense. Coming off the island I wouldn't have indicated because the only option I had was left, if I made a mistake and wanted to try my luck with changing to the right lane, then I would indicate right. However I do agree that sometimes while a signal isn't strictly needed, as long as the driver has done their 'Information' phase of IPSGA, and knows what's around them, then yes, signalling even if not strictly needed is absolutely fine... but it must be done once you know WHO you are signalling too - and I think that when it comes to advanced driving courses they are trying to ensure the information phase is done correctly. Excessive indication is an indication that the drivers situation awareness may be lacking.
And a lack of signalling when it can actually benefit is also a lack of awareness. If it could help, put it on as it doesn't harm. Your points are correct, but some of the so-called advanced organisations take this too far.
Given the confusion most drivers have when using a spiral roundabout, or any roundabout in general, I think a signal is beneficial in this instance as it affirms the intention to take the next exit.
Having had many a driver not take the exit for the lane they are in, I will always take no signal to mean the driver has no idea where they are going 👍
You done what retired Met Police instructor taught me. Stay out in middle lane for truck ahead, if not impeding anyone behind
People don't all have the same perspective of what distance a truck or any vehicle ahead is.
Lane discipline on motorways is so poor these days. I went to Manchester a few weeks ago M5 & M6 at times i was in lane one doing 70 undertaking vehicles in lane 3 doing 50 to 60 with lane 4 full of vehicles trying to get past. Did any of them realise and move to lane one, absolutely not. They just sat there causing congestion and in some cases sped up to 80 to get past me again only to slow down again resulting in me undertaking again.
I do this all the time. Sometimes lane 1 feels like my own personal express lane.
Love this Ashley. Who'd have thought that half an hour of driving with a focus on lane discipline, with constantly-verbalised decisions all serving to take the drama out, would be so engaging?
Totally agree with filling in the space. If lanes 2 and 3 are busy with traffic doing around 60mph and lane 1 is empty, then I always and have always for nearlf 40 yrs driving filled in the space in lane 1.
At around 17:00 the issue I find with these so called spiral roundabouts is that you don't always know if it's going to be a spiral roundabout or just a regular large multi lane roundabout. And the difference is that with the former, the lane that you are in will take you to your intended exit if you just follow that lane whereas with the latter, you will need to move across lanes to the left. If you don't know whether or not it's a spiral roundabout, it can cause issues. A simple solution would be to have signs on each approach road that states "Spiral roundabout", either in words and / or some new road sign symbol.
Just change the name entirely from roundabout to spiral, where applicable. Accordingly, change the yellow sign from three clockwise arrows, to a spiral.
I'd consider running for office but my solutions are too practical and easily implemented. 🤣🤣🤣
That situation and commentary at 6:17 goes hand in hand with one of your recent videos regarding waiting for both lanes to be clear before emerging from a side road (the video itself I believe was more with roundabouts)
If you see the vehicle early enough and move to lane 2 you are signaling to the emerging driver it is OK from your perspective to emerge. However, different to motorways, if there are vehicles in lane 2 already behind you you _could_ be signalling to them you intend to turn right up the road so they could end up moving to lane 1 and get caught out with the emerging vehicle 👍
Love these videos and honestly I recommend to everyone i know, doesn’t matter how long they have been driving or how good they think they may be. Your videos are very helpful and 99% of the information i have used out on the road 👍 keep up the great videos
At around 4:46 re "No need to signal. It's a given you should come back in". That's very very true. The way I see it though is that other drivers don't know that you're going to do the correct and "given" thing of moving back in, or indeed when you're going to do it. Of course, if there is a side road to the left around the time you'd move back in, then yes, I wouldn't signal as there is a risk of misunderstanding. Or, I might delay my move back to the left till after the side road to the left, especially if someone is waiting to come out of it. In fact, Ashley had a video on this some time ago.
Really great video, so helpful to have a baseline of judgement to work to. Many years ago my driving instructor told me that its as important to know what's going on behind and it is in front. I believe this couldn't be more true for motorway driving. Being aware of where the traffic is around you and what their intentions are is so important and you demonstrate this really well.
Another great video. Could you do another lane discipline video on roundabouts, not just approach but also on and how do be able to keep to your lane. I think (occasionally 🤨) that a lot of drivers can’t keep to their lane is because they are driving too quickly, so can’t steer correctly to stay in lane.
It’s also object fixation, they concentrate on their exit rather than the road beneath them, ignoring anyone around too.
I love your driving style. Big influence on how i drive
I cannot express how much I love the Focus' colour.
This series of videos are so helpful!
my issue with the mentality of "it's a give way" at the ramps is that once a car has to drive onto the shoulder or brake to a speed slower than traffic, it just increases risk for everyone on the road to a degree that i just don't feel confortable with. do they think that getting on the highway is getting easier when slowing down? help everyone and yourself out.
also, i'm actually surprised how much i already do. like waiting for someone to pass to overtake after another car. i don't think i got taught that or something it just made sense to me.
anyways, great video!
brilliant video, with the two camera views, is so informative to those that are not spacial aware. The comms on the motorway were excellent as you allowed the viewers time to seek out the issues ahead and around them. I'm sitting here in the quiet sticks of The Highlands, great viewing, thank you
Capacity is the word you're looking for. Best flow creates highest capacity, best throughput.
I regulate railway traffic and this is a part of our formal training. Moving traffic gets the most people where they want to go, and with the greatest efficiency. I love practising this on the road, and I love when people read the gaps I'm leaving them. It's sad, I know.
If new to the area a spiral roundabout can be more difficult to navigate than you showed. Plus I drive a large motorhome and lane discipline coupled with traffic flow one tends to need a more gentle approach unlike that of the ST you are demonstrating in .
Thank you for sharing , very informative.
That's where I find Google maps handy for areas I don't know
Good video this.
I am of that generation who just missed out on spiral roundabouts.
In the neighbouring town they put a simple 2 lane roundabout in an old junction……then they changed it to a spiral-tho a small one.
Specific lanes going to specific locations. Had to re learn it.
There’s a fairly big one at Swindon that I use a lot….the Coate water roundabout. That’s actually quite a sensible one.
Imo the prob is that with a traditional 2 lane roundabout, it’s a fixed design wherever you are. Spirals are customised for each environment-so u never quite know what to expect.
The focus looks and sounds a bit more refined than the golf on camera.
10:05 I agree with the undertake there, especially as the hard shoulder provided an escape route if they did move left. I think you could also have used a short toot on the horn, just to let them know you were coming through, as you were slightly increasing danger there (but understandably done in order to reduce a greater danger of joining the motorway in a bunch at low speed).
I wouldn't even class it as an undertake. It's a space-create ;)
@@dmac2573 Passing another vehicle on it's left hand side is undertaking. Legal at maximum speed.
I'm glad to see him do that. I've done similar things myself but always felt guilty about the undertake, given the potential to increase risk. But this is a very clear example of how it can reduce the risk from other people's poor driving.
@@billyporter1389 undertaking has a specific definition, not just passing on the left
@@dmac2573 it's the same as overtaking but done on the opposite side. Moving from one lane to another has nothing to do with undertaking.
Good to see the demonstration of different lens angles, with a comparison between normal eyesight and that of dash cams. It’s often possible to identify certain items on review of our footage that were not noticeable in real time. Part of that is just down to the angle, but also because the whole field of each frame on a dash cam, or the other one, is sharp, whereas in our normal sight it isn’t - our angle of sharp focus is quite narrow, which we get round by scanning around, rather than “staring” at one angle, as it were. In the real world we need to see items that are far enough ahead to be able to deal with at whatever speed.
From around 5m in, your comment on no need to signal for such moves suggests that your car did not have a feature called “lane tracing assist (Toyota term)” turned on; many of us tend to use indicators just to communicate with that to avoid it’s interference with manual steering. They can be turned off, but they are useful for motorway trips and the like.
My only comment about lane discipline is that in areas with “variable speed limit indicators (VSLI)”, although the HoC is a bit mealy mouthed about it, one is permitted to pass on either side, and to avoid unnecessary lane changes, partly to reduce the risks, and also to maximise traffic flow when it’s busy. Thus it’s essential to look at both sides before changing lane, and not assume that something to the left will stay behind.
Great video and very well explained, listening to you is like listening to myself driving, right down to the things that annoy you. Two big things a lot of people miss, one you don't drive 20ft in front of your vehicle, you drive 1/2 mile or more if visible ahead and plan accordingly. Two driving isn't a solo thing, it is a team game, plan not only for your own progress but also that of other drivers. Traffic coming on at slip roads is a prime example, yes they have to give way, but traffic on the motorway also has to leave gaps big enough for them to merge into for flow to work. The same applies to traffic joining, leave a gap between you and the vehicle in front on the slip road don't try to get into the same small gap as them merge in behind the vehicle they have joined in front of. It makes life so much easier and fairer for everyone.
Currently on my Part 2, this is going to be good! Thanks Ashley! :)
Hi Ashley, thank you for yet another good one!. This time at the start you see to woman at the side of the road near that junction and instantly, automatically slow down to asses the situation, then instead of just staring at her to see what she was up to you kept both eyes open on the whole scene and therefore saw the cat. This seems to be very much typical of your driving style and I think is a good example of the sensible way you can integrate rapid response with observation and judgement, this does appear to be related to your skill and experience, but above all the confidence you have acquired from learning to avoid issues.
Watching your footage from both cameras after you re-set the 'proper' one it does make a huge difference to the apparent depth of field, however there are still two minor issues, firstly the 'real' camera even when set at 35mm lacks the same peripheral vision your eyes give you that the dash cam does and the crop sensor cameras I use suggest that 24mm is the correct adjustment for the 35 mm which is the closest to perspective on full frame, it would in fact offer a slightly wider field of view!.
What intrigues me is just how quickly one can make roughly appropriate allowances when watching dash-cam footage but I don't think I could use it while driving!.
The rest of it on that motorway reminds me of two things that I don't much like about those roads, the worst one is the constant demands on my attention in all directions on all mirrors, having to assess the relative speeds of the other vehicles and keep on making appropriate allowances for them. What concerns me most now is that one only has to miss one thing at =the wrong time and so much can go so horribly wrong so quickly!. Seeing just how easily others make mistakes just makes it worse!.
Cheers, Richard.
Thanks Richard. Your support is much appreciated as always.👍
You can tell Ashley is loving the Focus.
10:10 - As someone who used to drive around in a 59hp city car, I hated situations like that as I didn't have the power to get out of it. Now I've got a 200hp hot hatch I can do exactly what you did and blast past.
Quick cars are definitely a get out of jail fre card ar times
quick cars can also be a get _into_ jail ticket!
@@shm5547 Fair point 😆
At 10.00 when entering the motorway, you commented that the white car driver was 'very poor'. I completely agree; it was an example of a very common but potentially dangerous habit. By not accelerating enough, they put themself in danger & you in a no-win situation. I know you want to avoid passing on the left but that was far less dangerous than holding behind & keeping the traffic behind both of you at a speed well below that already on the carriageway.
The slip roads/acceleration lanes/on ramps or whatever people want to call them are there so you match your speed with vehicles already on the road in order to merge safely. I have never understood why many seem to get to 50 then stop accelerating. This is potentially dangerous. I have got into the habit of taking a quick look at my speedo when I am ready to merge. It usually reads 60-62mph, but I judge my speed by those already on the road.
When there's only been one lane merging on, I've sometimes slowed down _a lot_ to open a gap up to a car like this in front of me and then accelerated back up as I approach the give way. It might annoy any cars behind me, but is much safer than trying to join at 50mph with a car right in front of you who isn't driving well
I agree, people don't appreciate they should be aiming towards the maximum speed limit at the merge point entering a motorway. Far quicker to shave off 15mph than to try find 15mph in 5th gear of a 110hp diesel when trying to achieve a smooth merge.
Just sitting down ready to watch this video and I hope that a few drivers I saw today watch it as well (I think I have an idea what is contained in this video)
I had quite a few drivers looking at the end of their bonnet today and not looking up the road. One even moved back into lane 1 as a lorry was half way from pulling out of a layby 🤦♂️
Ashley, I so wish you'd been around when I was learning to drive..! I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. I have terrible problems on those big multi-lane roundabouts, I always seem to be in the wrong lane come exit time, and there's always someone trying to pass me on the left when I want to move over. Oh well I'll get there eventually, we never had them when I first started in the early 80's.
I don’t know if you have been on the spiral one at the junction with the A38 and A50. The lanes seem to defy all logic like having two lanes around for one exit to have only one lane physically on the exit. Or from another direction, you need to be in the right hand lane until it suddenly moves you all the way left despite having an exit before the one you want to take.
No wonder many get confused by them when they can’t build all of them consistently
@@smilerbob Doesn't ring a bell, but I've not been around that area for a few years.
@@TestGearJunkie. No worries and you are a lucky one to have avoided it 😉
@@smilerbob That's ok, there are a few around here that catch me out sometimes..!
At around 10:12 I hate when that happens: Being in the left lane of a two lane slip road and having a vehicle in the right hand lane that's slow. I would have done exactly as Ashley and accelerated past in order to get up to a decent merging speed.
10:00 A perfect example of using acceleration to get out of danger.
People who fail to use slip roads to accelerate are a menace, especially if there's traffic behind or to the side of them. There was a recent clip of a viewer who was constrained by the slower traffic in front while merging and ended up getting into some argy-bargy with another vehicle that didn't like someone pulling in front of them. It wasn't possible then to power out but when it is, and it's safe to do so, use it.
Thank you for an interesting video. It is always a decision or judgement on whether or not to pull back into the left lane. Sometimes there are people that are obsessed with keeping in the left lane as much as possible. What happens is I keep in the middle lane because I can see that I will be shortly be wanting to overtake the slower moving left lane but someone comes speeding up behind me, moves into the left lane, then undertakes me and moves out again. They do this because I aim to keep a reasonable distance between myself and the car in front, so the undertaking car sees the big gap in front of me and decides I should move over and undertakes because I don't.
I get this problem all the time as I drive on the motoway everyday and it's so frustrating. People think because you leave a gap you're not making progress.
I hate undertaking. It happened to me on the A1(M) a few months ago, I was in lane 1 doing about 50-55, not in any hurry, not much traffic, when I was aware of an artic trying to overtake. I slowed a little, but he dropped back, then the next thing I knew he roared past me on the hard shoulder 😮
No idea what got into him, it certainly shook me up for a few miles 😵💫
You could look into setting up an overlay for your cameras with lines like most backup cameras have. A simple graph that you could draw in Paint if you had to and throw over the camera feed in your editing software, would require calibration for every camera but it might be well worth it to illustrate your point further.
Right now the bottom left just looks like a cropped view to me, it doesn't really 'click', but if there was a line at 5 meters, another at 10, another at 15 and another at 20 for each camera (going from red to green the further away they are from the car) that would link together each view nicely. Same with the rear camera, which I guess is a tad less important here, but that would also make it clear how close people behind you are.
Something I've also noticed on the M57, towards Switch Island is people leaving it late to get into the correct lane........In fact, it happened again yesterday.
Great video. I've often wondered if I maybe lane change back to the inside too often but with the "real view" camera, I don't think I'm too far different after all.
However, as I'm never in a hurry as I like to plan extra time into every journey, I'm usually trying to conserve fuel (I find it a way to keep me more focussed on the traffic with very familiar trips) so aim to maintain more of a 60-62mph speed and therefore move over in more gaps to allow those driving faster to make progress beyond me (slowing further to 56 behind a HGV if I need to until the next gap comes along)
I do the same! 60 ish mph usually I find is the best speed-to-mpg ratio. If there’s too much traffic, I’ll just put my ACC on and just stay behind a lorry doing 56 mph. I also find driving at 60 more relaxing and not as stressful as going at 70 😂.
where I am, the one speed drivers typically go 40 MPH. except when there is a passing lane, and then it's off to the races.
Bottom Left 🎥 compared to the dashcam - massive difference in perspective. It just goes to show that the 📸 can lie; unwittingly of course. Having both views really was an eye opener.
As for the driving/commentary - not too shabby 😅 lol.
on the "always indicate v. only indicate when necessary" debate. I still view it that deciding nobody needs to know what I intend is poor communication. if I'm approaching an obstruction that I need to move out for, with nobody near, does not indicating put anyone in danger? no. does it tell the person a quarter mile behind me that I've moved out for a reason? yes. of course, using indicators properly is still the important thing. but deciding nobody needs to know what you intend; or deciding they should be able to figure it out on their own, is not good communication.
I've always used my indicators no matter what for that exact reason. There might not be anyone in the close vicinity but there could be someone way up the road who could in fact benefit from me using my indicators.
Always wondered when approaching roundabouts why does the inside lane become the outside lane as soon as it's enters the roundabout then back again to the inside when it exits?
At around 12:34, absolutely correct to stay in the middle lane in preparation for overtaking the lorries up ahead in lane 1. And there was an additional reason for that. Had you moved back to Lane 1, there is a good chance the white van in Lane 3 would have then moved back into Lane 2. Ordinarily that's a good thing for all round lane discipline. However in this case, it would have likely resulted in you getting boxed in to Lane 1 by the white van and having to slow down because you'd now truly caught up with the lorry. Sometimes it's best to "claim your space" in a lane early.
I think I would still have been in lane 3 at this point. Ashley's move from lane 3 to 2 seemed a little premature to me. Whilst the move was well timed with respect to the lorry in lane 1, the gap between Ashely and the 4WD behind was only about a second when he moved over, and the small difference in speed meant that the gap didn't reach 2 seconds until after the bridge.
I accept that staying in lane 3 might antagonise the van driver and risk an undertake, but at that point this would be a theoretical risk, in contrast to the actual risk of imposing a tailgating situation on the 4WD.
The return to lane 2 after overtaking the coach a minute or so later was a near identical situation.
Apart from these two points, I'd agree with Ashley's approach and commentary for the whole of this video.
Sadly, too few people appreciate the benefits of adequate planning, prediction and the taking of others' perspectives when driving. And many seem to think that motorway driving is so monotonous and requires so little attention that it's okay to drive along in a half-daze, or to divert the larger part of their attention to their phone.
@@weevilinabox Friends and family don't understand why driving can be so tiring to me. Partly through these type of videos, I've come to the realisation that they're doing considerably less thinking than me.
@@capnskiddies I think you're right. I've recently had to adjust from a 30-minute to a 90-minute commute. I was fine with one hour per day of driving, but three hours left me shattered for the first few weeks.
At around 8:00, a good example of when I wouldn't shoulder check is when I'm doing what I call a "follow through" lane change. That is, where I've observed a vehicle in the next lane coming up to overtake me and I've also observed that there is no other vehicle behind it. In such a case, when the overtaking vehicle has come past me, I know the adjacent lane is clear thereafter via my driver's side mirror.
At around 19:42 re making sure you are not catching up with the lorry ahead of you to your right and ready to swap lanes with it. Exactly what I look out for too. This situation particularly comes up when two motorways merge and you are coming in from the motorway to the left that then becomes a lane addition. In fact I have a pretty good dash cam clip of my own where I did this where the M26 and M20 merge eastbound.
Having been a motorcyclist , I always do a solid head when changing, lanes, etc when driving a car because sometimes the mirrors don’t show everything.
At around 29:00 good all round observations regarding the status of other traffic signals around you re green man etc. In a manual car this might also have a bearing as to whether to be in neutral or first gear and indeed when to ideally slip into first gear in preparation for your lights to turn green. Can minimise the time you are in first gear with the clutch down. Of course, if you are not sure and are at or near the front of the queue at the lights, then best to remain in first gear and a state of readiness.
I was making pretty much the same decisions at pretty much the same times...
Bloody hell i have have a feeling that 26:12 van driver will be on the next driving fails comp .
If it hadn't been for Ashley's videos I would have never heard of Switch Island. Come to think of it I would never have heard of BOBS & TOMS either. Blokes On BikeS & Tearaways On MotorbikeS. Oh and add "That was boss mate".
Top Drawer
@@thomaselliot2257 I remember years ago I had a work colleague whom whenever I completed a job well done would comment "Top Man". To which another coworker would comment "No, Dorothy Perkins". 😀
@@ibs5080 hope that wasn't a slur , or am I being cynical?
@@thomaselliot2257 Oh it was all done in good spirits.
I’d really like to see a video on what to do when in lane 1 surrounded by traffic behind and next to me in lane 2, approaching an entry slip road where vehicles are about to filter onto the motorway. There’s an expectation nowadays that I should let them on in front of me- but that causes confusion and can be dangerous. Sometimes I cannot let people on because there’s traffic behind me and I can’t move over because lane 2 is busy. I have been hooted and sworn at in the past when I haven’t let cars on but it has been too dangerous to do so.
after a debate on the whole thing of sliproad drivers having to give way; I looked up my state's highway code, and in the verbiage, while the person on the slip road is responsible for merging smoothly, the traffic on the road MUST ALLOW THEM TO MERGE IN. similarly, if you close a gap so a car cannot come in between you and the car ahead, by our highway code, you are following too close.
I'm liking the real view. It is much easier to see what's going on
I hope the horrid 'lane hogging' commenters see this video and learn something from it. Way too many think being in a lane for a few seconds, while catching cars on the left, is lane hogging.
It saddens me that so many think of things so poorly.
At around 13:35, giving the car a little squirt up to 72 mph on your dash. I will occasionally do that up to 75 mph on my GPS based Speedo just so that I don't linger for too long.
For me, if I see anybody in my lane I shift to right and move back as I pass them.
If somebody is in middle lane and no one is is lane 1, I go past the person in the middle lane in lane 1. I only move to the right if someone is in my way (lane I am in).
I am a new subscriber and enjoyed this video very much. It was nice to see confirmation of my similar thought processes. I've noticed on most of your videos that it looks like you indicate on auto pilot. I'm sure that this is because over the years you have developed excellent driving techniques. Also, I think a lot of people, today, have forgotten the use of indicaters. Please could you compile some videos on good and bad, where and when usage of indicatiors. Some of the worst situations seems to be in lane discipline. Thanks
Signalling on auto pilot and overuse of signalling is Ashley's bug bear. He has dropped a few videos on such a topic 🙂 THOUGH I AM confused what his attitude is regarding indicating at 18:53 🤔
Many modern cars have a gadget called “lane tracing assist”, or something similar, and they encourage the use of indicators even when not really necessary to others, because it tries to prevent you from changing lane automatically via the steering. One can override it, but it’s uncomfortable so it makes one indicate just to stop it - even though it’s too late for anyone outside the car.@@thomaselliot2257
The only problem with using road number markings on the road is that when they are covered with traffic, they become invisible, which makes life difficult in areas which are new to the driver.
10:07 good example of how and why to execute an undertake. Just be careful of the van intimidating the white car into pulling into the 1st lane.
At around 26:00 so true regarding slip roads. If you can help other drivers merge onto the motorway, either by being in Lane 2 or adjusting your speed in Lane 1, why wouldn't you? Very frustrating when you are trying to merge onto a motorway and a vehicle on the main carriageway doesn't help out even though it could easily have done so.
The give way rule at slip roads is crazy. Don't know who thought that one out.
@19:57 I do the exact same thing, trouble is my 'blind spot' warning goes off!
When you undertook that white van is one of the reasons I hate driving my wife's 1l Corsa which takes 13s 0-60, on the A1 short slip roads it's just dangerous
Just a comment on the lens setting, focal length for "standard" lens is nearer 28mm with an apsc sensor. Also is the Tarbuck roundabout named after the comedian ?
13:30 - The one bit that Ash didn't explain was that by squeezing the speed up to 72ish, he avoided going three abreast with the lorry and the coach.
The speed limit on the coach 60mph, that's less than Ashley was doing. But yes nothing wrong with doing a few miles over the 70mph on the clock. If there's nothing wrong with doing 75mph in the rest of Europe then it shouldn't be a problem doing it in UK.
Thanks for the video! Would love to see a learning point video on Spiral Roundabouts where after each exit the inside lane moves out, we have a lot in Hertfordshire and nobody seems to know how to approach and use them!
There is a spiral near me and I went out with my drone to film it so I could help my pupils. On watching the footage back, a few motorists had appallingly lane discipline. I debated about posting the video but, after discussing it with some colleagues, decided to as it’s a good learning tool to show pupils to be aware of others getting it wrong.
ua-cam.com/video/EOeBLQpUtJ0/v-deo.html try this!
@@ashley_neal thank you! Didn’t realise you’d done one a few years ago
Fantastic video Ashley, we seem to have a similar thought process when driving on dual carriageways. I do have a controversial opinion though, I need to be clear that it's not something I do but, I think that if you're at the speed limit there should be no requirement to move back to the left lane when it's "busy." The reason I think this is not to stop people from speeding - I'm not trying to police the roads neither do I want to. It's because the most hazardous thing we do on dual carriaways is a lane change, having rules that lead to continuous lane changing increases risk and overall probably reduces traffic flow from all the accidents and tail backs it leads to.
I've thought about your comment & tend to agree, although it depends on how 'busy'. If changing lanes will cause another vehicle to do anything other than as if you hadn't made the manoeuvre, then stay in your lane at the speed limit. If there is somebody behind who is desperate to get past to break the speed limit, they might well be a higher risk to you than doing a lane change & gently slowing, before returning to the outer lane after they've passed.
So you can't drive then. Thanks for letting us know
It is an interesting concept that may work in the future, but I don't think it fits in on today's roads. when we have driverless cars, lane discipline will be a thing of the past.
@@wirdy1 if someone wants to get passed then I believe you should let them pass. I'm talking about the requirement to move back to the left lane when there is no need. You will catch up with a lorry and have to change lane again, and again, and again increasing risk and giving slip roads less options. I'm not talking about staying in the middle lane at 60mph when not overtaking and it's quiet, I think this is why many people hate the idea of staying in lane. But if you're at the speed of the flow of traffic, even if you're not overtaking, if it's busy staying in lane is safer than constantly changing lane.
@@matthewv4170 I don't drive like this. What you mean is my opinion of what rules should change is incorrect.
Any views on lorries overtaking lorries from lane 1 to lane 2? It often takes lorries ages to overtake one another.. is it worth it? It slows down the flow of all vehicles behind.
Real view to normal dashcam = lots of difference.
Real view shows how much closer you are to other vehicles and other things. Should use this all the time imo.
I can imagine some novice drivers being a bit shocked.
Many thanks, excellent, if only we all drove like that and also made allowance for our mistakes.
15:15 Do you think, if this was a bit busier,
- should a driver in an oldish campervan which is really only relaxed at under 60mph stay in lane 1 untill the lane markings are about to change?
At 3:30, I definitely know this junction now, even though I've never been anywhere near there!
It seems so familiar now just like Gandalf corner 😀 . The big church is familiar as well. ⛪
One day we might see CyclingMikey there. But hopefully not Jeremy Vine!
Nice driving! 22:44 the breakdown vehicle may have influenced a decision to keep L3.
Folks, at around 19:55 I'm curious to ask: I see many HGV's with these rectangular yellow tags on their rear tailgates, flapping around in the breeze. What are those for? HGV's didn't have those in the past.
26:11 With the speed difference between you and that Aygo, I was quite surprised to see it move into lane 2 in the rear camera. Did it think it was being tailgated by a continental van driver?
Ashley you were the only one useing a turn signal.
Nice video
You know the roads you are driving, I get what you are saying, but a stranger would be a lot slower and even bewildered by all the sigs, their sat nav and the like. Thanks for all you do.
Anyone else see the Toyota behind move out for no reason at 26:18?!
Sat Nag says “In 1.8 miles, keep right onto…”
Driver thinks “I move now”
18:52 I don't think I would signal here as the road layout is pretty obvious. I'd be concerned about signalling left in case it encourages someone from the right who may be in the wrong lane to try and push in..
Also on the motorway sections, I'm a little surprised to hear you talking about signalling to come back in as you've previously advised that "coming back in after passing should be expected." But I guess not everyone is clued up to what is expected.
All in all a great video. Thanks Ash!
Thanks for your comment and your support. Signalling to come back in should be situational not routinely yes or no. 👍
Is there a clear difference on 'how to drive like a driving instructor' and 'how to drive to pass your test'? As I found I actually learnt once I passed.
At around 8:15 re timing your lane changes to best suit traffic flow. Excellent advice. Another way I've always thought of the same principle is "Change lanes when the opportunity presents itself and not necessarily when you would ideally want to". In order to abide by this principle, it may mean changing lanes earlier or indeed later than you would have ideally wanted to. It also means that for a particular manoeuvre on a set stretch of road, the best time to lane change will vary each time according to the individual traffic situation at the time.
It would have been nice if Ashley had referenced every lorry in this video as doing 56 mph (90kph). This is the key to knowing when to return to lane 1 or whether to stay in lane 2. Likewise, stay in lane 3 if a truck is in lane 2.