LTrent Driving School, Author at LTrent

The Three Tests on Test Day

Did you know that there are three different tests on the day you attempt to get your P’s?
Most people focus on the driving component but there are two other tests before you leave the kerb.
The first part of your test will see your logbook scrutinised.

To be able to sit the driving test you need to have 120 hours of logged driving with a minimum of 20 hours logged at night.
The examiner will look thoroughly through your logbook to ensure that all the pages add properly together, there actually is 120 hours and the night hours were logged after sunset or before sunrise.
A logbook entry from 6:00pm – 7:00pm in early December is not night driving.
The testing officer will check to see that the front section of the logbook has been signed off by your supervising driver and the declaration on the last page is signed.
Finally, they will ensure that any bonus hours from the Safer Drivers Course or the 3 for 1 Program are correctly entered by a registered driving school.

If the logbook passes the test, then it is out to the car.

Before you drive, the testing officer will ensure that the car you use for the test is roadworthy.
They will want to see that there is plenty of tread on the tyres, all lights and indicators are working, that there is no significant damage and the car is registered.
If the car passes the test, then you will start the driving component of test day.

In order to get your P’s you will need:

An accurate and complete logbook
A suitable and roadworthy car
To drive to test standard

To find more information on the driving component of the driving test, check out this link: https://www.ltrent.com.au/blog/whats-in-a-driving-test/
If you would like to take advantage of the Trent Test Day Concierge service and use one of our modern cars, book via this link: https://www.ltrent.com.au/lesson-packages-and-vouchers/driving-test-success

November 16, 2016 LTrent Driving School Uncategorized Comments Off

Do I really have to indicate out of a roundabout?

Yes…if practicable

The road rules state:
You must indicate for long enough to give sufficient warning to other drivers and pedestrians before entering a roundabout when turning left or right. You must also indicate, if practicable, on exit when going straight ahead. That way, people around you know exactly where you’re headed.
Doesn’t really offer much help does it?

So, when is practicable?

If you’re a learner driver and thinking about passing a driving test, then it’s practicable at every single roundabout.

There are two reasons for this:

The driving test

Firstly, you will be sitting a test where the examiner decides if you should have used an indicator to exit a roundabout. You don’t want to find that out that you got it wrong after the test. If you indicate on every roundabout you won’t be failed for signal errors.
If you find it difficult to signal out of a roundabout, particularly small ones, then it could be a technical issue. Turning right at a roundabout with too much speed or having an incorrect steering technique can make it difficult to use an exit indicator.

The power of habit

Driving is a practical skill and to be good at it, you need to build habits. When you are learning and practicing roundabouts, build a habit out of signalling out of every roundabout. This way you don’t have to decide when is practicable.
This rule about exiting roundabouts isn’t new, however, you won’t see many drivers applying it!

Check out our video below to see how it’s done:
Exit Straight

November 4, 2016 LTrent Driving School Education Comments Off

Top 6 Driving Fails

Here are our top 6 driving fails:

1. Not keeping an appropriate gap
The most common type of accident in NSW is a rear-end collision. Rear end accidents account for 28% of all reported accidents making this our number 1 driving fail! The most common cause of rear-end accidents is not keeping an appropriate gap.
2. Distractions
A rapidly rising cause of accidents is distraction, with smart phones taking priority over what is happening on the road. You might get away with it once, but soon enough your number will come up.
3. Driving in the right-hand lane
We refer to the right-hand lane as the ‘head-on collision lane’. It only takes a tiny error by an oncoming driver for a head-on collision to occur. Head-on collisions account for 30% of fatalities on NSW roads.
4. Late decisions
The late decision maker likes to keep us all guessing as to their next move. They brake late and try to squeeze into turning lanes that they did not realise were coming up. Late decision makers do not have the time to consider other traffic when they make moves and are difficult to predict .
5. Not indicating
There are some drivers out there that think that indicators are there to be used because the road rules say so. The reality is that indicators are there to communicate with other road users. Nothing more frustrating than the driver that gives their indicator half a flash just after they have changed lanes.
6. Trusting a green light
Green means go right? Well did you know that 16% of crashes happen at controlled intersections? Just because we have the right of way does not mean everyone else will give way. Make sure you are safe before entering an intersection or you are committing one of our top 6 driving fails.

Are you looking for logbook hours? Complete the Safer Drivers Course and get 20 logbook hours. Book today

July 22, 2016 LTrent Driving School Education Comments Off

Are you being seen by other drivers?

At most crashes one of the drivers will get out of their car and say, “He came from nowhere” or “I didn’t see her”.
If you aim to be seen you will reduce your likelihood of being involved in an accident.

(more…)

June 24, 2016 LTrent Driving School Education Comments Off

Making Early Decisions

Early decisions are a key to safe driving.
If you think about the last time you were on the road, you would certainly have seen someone making a late decision like finding themselves in the wrong lane or making an erratic move to park.
Modern technology like GPS and mobile phones have created distractions causing more drivers to fail to keep track of road signs and changes and then make late decisions.

What decisions are made on the road?
There are two types of decisions influenced and voluntary.
Influenced decisions are made because another driver has invaded your safety cushion, often because they have broken a road rule or done something unpredictable on the road.
Voluntary decisions are the choices you make on the road. Early decisions are voluntary.
You cannot make early decisions without good vision habits and maintaining your safety cushion.
Late decisions are caused by vision breakdowns.

What does an early decision do for me?
By making an early decision you are being predictable on the road.
Examples include starting to brake early or indicating well in advance. By giving other road users plenty of notice as to what you are doing, they will be less likely to crash into you!

How do I know that I am doing well?
At a top level of driving you will be planning lane choices well in advance. Local knowledge helps with this, reading road signs will give a lot of clues too.
As you see a difficult situation coming up, start to look for options like checking where all the other cars are around you, plan lane changes and assess possible escapes.

Read more on Road Safety: Safety Bubble

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The Safer Drivers Course is designed for learner drivers wanting to learn more about becoming a safe driver. The course will help you gain a deeper understanding about what it takes to be a safe solo driver.
Through both in-class activities and on-road coaching, the Safer Drivers Course will help you to be safe long after the driving test. The course is fun, engaging and informative.

June 17, 2016 LTrent Driving School Uncategorized Comments Off

The Safety Cushion

(and the three-second gap)

Have you ever considered why so many people crash into each other?
The majority of crashes happen because the driver does not have enough space around them.
The space around the car is what Trent driver trainers call the Safety Cushion.
By maintaining space around your car you will allow time to react, manoeuvre and stop if required. You need to guard this space!

How do you know if you have enough space around your car?
Ideally, you need 2 metres between you and parked cars and about 1 metre between an oncoming vehicle.
On narrow roads, this might be difficult to maintain so you need to slow down. The basic rule is: Space reduced = Speed reduced
As space increases, you can speed up again.
Early learner drivers naturally slow down because they feel the need to ‘suck in’ when they go through narrow spaces. As drivers get more experienced and are more comfortable around other vehicles, they start to go faster. The problem is that every time you double your speed, your stopping distance is multiplied by 4.
Be aware of driving in the blind spots of other road users and avoid having cars right next to you. In multi-lane traffic, you need to be conscious of your safety cushion to oncoming vehicles. The right-hand lane is the head-on collision lane and should only be used when overtaking or turning right. It only takes a moment distraction by someone coming the other way for a head on collision. Don’t be there!
As safe drivers we should be thinking “Is there a person about to step out behind that van?” or “Is someone about to pull out from the kerb in front of me?”

How do I protect my Safety Cushion?

At higher speeds, you need to think about the space between you and the vehicles in front, behind and to the sides. This is where the 3-SECOND GAP applies.

Drivers should always maintain a 3-second gap to the vehicle in front.

To calculate a 3-second gap, watch as the car in front goes past a stationary object and start counting: 1001, 1002, 1003. If you pass the object before saying 1003, you are too close.

Often the vehicle behind will not maintain a 3-second gap to your vehicle (if they are really aggressive, just get out of their way).

The 3-second gap works at all speeds

How do I know if I am good at applying the safety cushion?
When you have mastered the safety cushion you will:

Find yourself adjusting your position inside your lane to maximise your safety cushion where ever required.
Always have a 3-second gap or greater.
You will actively avoid driving next to other vehicles and get out of the way of aggressive drivers.
You will feel uncomfortable in the head on collision lane.

If this is you then great work! You are much more likely to be safe on our roads.

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The Safer Drivers Course is designed for learner drivers wanting to learn more about becoming a safe driver. The course will help you gain a better understanding about what it takes to be a safe solo driver. Through both in-class activities and on-road coaching, the Safer Drivers Course will help you to be safe long after the driving test. The course is fun, engaging and informative.

June 10, 2016 LTrent Driving School Uncategorized Comments Off

Road Safety: Vision

June is road safety month at Trent Driving School and over the next few weeks we will be examining some of the key ways to be safe out on the roads.
Everything we do at Trent is to help learners stay safe on our roads and it fills us with pride when we receive feedback from our students saying that our training saved them.
Core to our safety is our safety wheel, if you follow these simple rules then you cannot have a crash. We will be discussing these rules during June.

Vision
I have trained learners that are missing arms or legs. I have trained deaf learners but I have never trained a blind person.
Vision is critical to staying safe on the roads. During most crashes, one of the drivers gets out of the car and says ‘I didn’t see you’. While this is probably true there are things we can do to make sure that we see everything out there on the roads.
How do our eyes work?
Our eyes are hemispherical, we can see 180º in front of us. Our vision is broken down into central vision and peripheral vision. Our central vision is what we read with, it is a tiny area of focus. All the blurry vision outside of your central vision is called peripheral vision. Peripheral vision has a much faster response time than central and is our attention getter for our central vision. If we see something move in our peripheral vision we instantly shift our central vision to focus on it. This is a danger response that is built into our physiology.
Where should we be looking?
When we are walking we look about 40-50m ahead, this is fine while we are going ~6kph. When we are driving we will be going 10 times the speed. We need to be looking 400-500m ahead at 60kph and if we are getting out on the freeway at 110kph we need to be looking about 1km down the road.
In addition to looking all the way down the road we need to keep an eye on everything on and off the road in front of us and behind.
A good driver will be checking the mirrors every 10 seconds or more and be fully aware of all traffic sharing the road and also any potential danger around the road. Their eyes will always be on the move.
One of the things that learners, and many experienced drivers, forget to look at are road signs. As a learner most of your focus will be on the controls and keeping an eye out for other road users, in my experience it takes a learner 80-90 hours of experience before they are able to include road signs into their driving. Before a learner can be safe on the road they need to be able to see and follow all road signs.
In the modern day of GPS navigation many drivers are going ‘blind’ when it comes to road signs. I don’t want anyone reading this to be the person that drives into a lake ‘because the navigation said to”.
What do we do when we see something?
As we gain experience on the road and develop our vision habits we will be able to identify many hazards on the road. In most situations we will need to slow down and maintain a safety cushion (tune in next week for details!)
Read More: FAILING THE DRIVING TEST: MAIN CAUSE

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The Safer Drivers Course is designed for learner drivers wanting to learn more about becoming a safe driver. The course will help you gain a deeper understanding about what it takes to be a safe solo driver.
Through both in-class activities and on-road coaching, the Safer Drivers Course will help you to be safe long after the driving test. The course is fun, engaging and informative.

June 3, 2016 LTrent Driving School Uncategorized Comments Off

How to make your testing officer feel comfortable

The Aim of the Test
Learner drivers usually hear stories from their friends on what the driving test is going to be like and advice about what to do. Some of this is true, most is not.
During the driving test, the learner driver’s aim is to make the testing officer feel comfortable, that is, they feel safe in the car with you.
Setting off in a controlled manner and driving confidently right from the outset will make the testing officer more relaxed.
Generally, if the testing officer is chatting with the learner driver, this is a sign that they feel confident. If they are using the grab handles then they might not be feeling so comfortable!

Appearance Counts

The test starts before the learner driver gets into the car. The learner driver wants to make a good first impression to the testing officer.
Follow these points:

Don’t be late
Be neat and tidy
Smile
Have all paperwork sorted out and neat (look after your logbook)
Have a clean car parked in the correct location
Know how to operate the indicators and brake lights without the engine running

How to drive during the test

We have heard from some students that they have been advised to drive 15 km/h below the speed limit. This is not a good idea, it will make the testing officer question the learner driver’s ability. It is best to drive with the flow traffic up to the speed limit unless there is reduced space or vision, then slow down as required.
You may hear stories that everyone fails for head checks or blind spots. While this is often true, the solution is not to look like a laughing clown at Luna Park while driving. You need to understand what you are looking at, then you can check the appropriate blind spot, the traffic and do observation checks for the situations presented. Testing officers are onto people who are looking just for show and will be really picky about observation errors for these applicants.
Learner drivers need to make safe decisions. We have all been in the situation of waiting to do a right-hand turn onto a busy road waiting for a gap (high risk of accident). This will be on the test too. You cannot be swayed by the aggressive driver four cars back honking the horn. If there isn’t an appropriate gap, then wait till one comes along. The testing officer would prefer the driver to wait for a safe gap than have a go at a gap that is not big enough. Remaining calm in this situation will show the testing officer maturity in your driving.
Sometimes things go wrong on the driving test. The car might be stalled or your reverse parking may be botched. Remember these two things – the testing officer is human, they might not have noticed the mistake and it is OK to make a couple of errors, often they are not marked as harshly as you might think.
It is most important the learner driver does not give up after the first mistake. Just take a deep breath, relax the grip on the wheel and carry on.

Getting Results
Thanking the testing officer regardless of the result will put them in a better mood for the next applicant!
If you are not successful on their first attempt, don’t argue with the testing officer about the result. There is every chance that you will end up with the same testing officer in the next attempt. That will make for a very quiet drive…

April 28, 2016 LTrent Driving School Education Comments Off

Driving Test Intricacies: The Test Car

There are many components to the driving test. Many of these driving test intricacies can put positive or negative impressions in the mind of the testing officer. In this post, we explore the details of the test car.

What car can be used for the driving test?

Service NSW does not provide a test car for learner drivers on the test day. However, the learner can take the driving test in any registered vehicle matching the licence class they are being tested for. This must be a vehicle that weighs up to a maximum of 4.5 tonne Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) and seats no more than 12 people. We, of course, do not recommend taking a moving truck to the test.

What will the testing officer be looking for?

The testing officer will check that all the brake and signal lights are working correctly, and have no cracked or broken lenses. This is to ensure the safety of the driver, the passengers and the other drivers on the road. A learner driver needs to be able to communicate properly on the road with correct signals during the driving test.

Other safety essentials include a clean and crack-free windscreen without chip damage, tyres that are not worn out and rims without any sharp edges from crash damage. Inside the car, the testing officer will check to make sure the seat belts are functioning properly.

How can the testing officer be helped to feel comfortable and safe in the car?

Having a half-eaten Happy Meal, the dogs breakfast (we mean that literally) and school textbooks that can fill a library in the back seat of the testing car is not the ideal way of impressing your testing officer. Yes, impressions do count. Make sure the car is clean and free of debris that may become a hazard in an accident. We recommend that it doesn’t smell like month old unwashed laundry either. Let’s make the testing officer feel comfortable when they enter the car.

Although a BMW for example may excite some testing officers, more often than not they will fear the learner may go over the speed limit. BMWs tend to do that to drivers… We recommend using a car that is less aggressive and places an emphasis on safety first.

What is the Trent Concierge?

The Trent Concierge is a driving test concierge service. Trent Driving School ensures that all the other variables are eliminated and the learner driver only concentrates on the task at hand: the driving test.

The Trent driver trainer will pick up the learner on the test day from home, school or work. The driver trainer will also warm up the learner during the drive to the testing location, and present them to the testing officer. At the end of the test the student will be driven back to their original location.

The Trent Concierge car won’t have rubbish floating around on the floor, or McDonald’s ready for the testing officer on the backseat – although we may want some to fill our stomachs before the test. Nor will the car have any safety concerns such as broken tail lights.

Most importantly, testing officers feel more at ease in our dual-control fitted cars, as they have a braking pedal on their side of the footwell.

April 21, 2016 LTrent Driving School Education Comments Off

Mobile Phones

Research shows that being distracted when driving, such as by a mobile phone, increases the risk of a crash. Simply taking your eyes off the road for longer than two seconds, doubles the risk of a crash. A short lapse of concentration can have lifelong consequences.
See how far you travel when you take your eyes off the road for just two seconds:
Travel speed Metres travelled in 2 seconds
40 km/h 22.22
50 km/h 27.78
60 km/h 33.33
80 km/h 44.44
100 km/h 55.56
Dangerous problem
Crash data from 2010 to 2014 showed there were 236 crashes where hand-held mobile phone use by drivers was identified as a contributing factor. This included seven fatal crashes and 116 injury crashes. These crash numbers are considered to be under-reported suggesting the size of the problem could be much greater.
From July 2014 to June 2015, more than 35,300 fines were issued to drivers in NSW for using hand-held mobile phones, showing the problem is still prevalent.
Research shows that males and females aged 17-39 years have the highest rate of use of hand-held mobile phones while driving, and the greatest involvement in crashes where hand-held mobile phone use is a factor.

November 20, 2015 LTrent Driving School Uncategorized Comments Off

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The Three Tests on Test Day