Martin Hall Driver Training

Speed limits aren't necessarily there because it's 'challenging' to drive along a particular stretch of road - sometimes they're there to give time for other road users to see to cross or pull out of junctions safely ........ sometimes they mean there's time to react when someone else approaches a bit too quickly ;) .
I HAD 'clocked' the van roof approaching the junction but somewhat naively thought they'd be as heavy on the brakes as they were on the gas.
As an aside, I THINK I've finally got to the bottom of why some of my clips have been lacking GPS information (Yes, I WAS sticking to the 40 limit :) ).
Be careful out there.

I'm pretty sure we all drive with at least an element of anticipation as to what the driver ahead is about to do, and we then act accordingly.
Once the silver car had turned right, I could see no reason for the driver of the VW Passat estate not to simply drive away, following the road ahead ........ until they didn't :/ - perhaps they aspire to BMW ownership ;) .
Be careful out there - and don't follow the vehicle ahead too closely, you can NEVER be sure what their next move will be 🤔.

Almost like being back in the good old days :) .

Since the Double & Variable Standards Agency kicked the B+E trailer test 'into touch', I can almost count the number of trailer training sessions I do each year on the fingers of one hand. Yesterday was one of those days. Theory, pre-use checks, coupling & uncoupling, reversing (with me sneakily narrowing the bay into which the trailer was reversed ;) and the driver totally un-phased :) ) and finishing off with an on-road session with a combination, which though relatively straightforward to reverse, was more of a challenge when it came to negotiating junctions and parked cars.

However, I'm a little out of practice with the camera work ;) .

At best, an 'amber gambler' (although they did look a bit sheepish and backed up without any fuss).
Be careful out there :) .

Most of my posts and clips are geared towards actual driving and interaction with other road users, but this one's a bit different.
On a relatively regular basis, work takes me through Swaffham and a month or three ago, I noticed the 20 limit in the town centre had been extended along London Street and onto Brandon Road. However, all I could see was 20 repeaters (the smaller round speed limit signs to remind you that the speed limit is something other than 30 in a built up area). On two or three occasions, I was asking myself "how come I keep missing the 'full sized' ones where the speed limit changes?" 🤔
Answer ..... There aren't any! 😡
At the point where a speed limit changes, there should be 'full sized' signs - for comparison, they SHOULD be the same size as the other circular signs at the mini roundabout (particularly difficult to see if you're turning INTO White Cross Road), NOT 'half-sized' repeaters.
In the unlikely event that anyone gets prosecuted for driving at between 20 and 30mph, it would be 'interesting' to see how the case went.
I'm all for sticking to appropriate speed limits BUT they need to be adequately signed.
Be careful (and attentive to inadequate road signs) out there.
As an aside, an odd coincidence that Planet Rock was playing Queen both times I drove along this stretch of road 🎹🎤🎸🥁🎸.

I don't pretend my driving's faultless but I do my best and try to work with a 'margin for error' - and not just everyone else's.
With all the 'work' and resulting diversions taking place on our road network, there seem to be yellow Diversion signs pretty much everywhere. Sometimes their positioning is a hazard in itself.
When viewing this clip, bear in mind that my dash cam is located to the left of my interior mirror and therefore has a slightly different 'view' when compared with mine (from the driver's seat). The timing of the last car's approach to the roundabout was such that it was completely obscured by the Diversion sign until I crossed the Give Way line. My speed was such that this wasn't an issue and apart from a little bad language ;) , no harm done.
Be careful out there.

HGVs: the clue's in the "H" - heavy takes a lot of stopping. It's a shame the driver of this taxi failed to acknowledge this and wait for a safer opportunity.
(best viewed with the sound up)

Another minute of your life that you won't get back but also an example of why despite being all for making progress (within the speed limit, of course), I believe multi-lane roundabouts are NOT a place to overtake, unless you're ABSOLUTELY sure everyone around you knows what they're doing (or are at least aware you're there).
No drama but thanks to the wonders of wide angled lenses on dash cams, this was closer than it looks.

It's a little over 21 months since I stopped training learner drivers; which with all the muppetry that's out there every day, it's something of a relief that I don't have to get in and out of Bury St Edmunds, Norwich or Ipswich several times a day (sometimes HAVING to be bang on time, for tests or picking up/dropping off pupils).
Work still takes me all over East Anglia and every day I see posts on the Norfolk and Suffolk traffic and travel Facebook groups, reporting mishaps on what are supposed to be our safest roads - the dual carriageways.
I'm convinced the biggest single issue is failing to leave sufficient space behind the vehicle ahead. Although it's something of a 'chicken and egg' situation and right/centre lane hogging definitely leads to tailgating, the distance some drivers leave in the overtaking lane makes it nigh on impossible for other to join the overtaking lane from the left lane, so they're reluctant to relinquish their position because they'll have to wait 'ages' for another chance to get back out to overtake slower traffic.
The wide angle lens of my rear dash cam makes 'white van man' appear further away than he was, so as soon as possible I got out of his way - only for him to accelerate towards the next Skoda Fabia. I decided to just 'sit back' and stay out of trouble because something told me it was only a matter of time before he'd undertake ............

There's a saying that "a picture paints a a thousand words", so in these days of video, just imagine what can be done with a moving image.
Although I'm no longer teaching learners to drive, I'm still specialising in trailer and theory training.
Rule 173 of the Highway Code states that "When crossing or turning right, first assess whether the central reservation is deep enough to protect the full length of your vehicle.
If it is, then you should treat each half of the carriageway as a separate road. Wait in the central reservation until there is a safe gap in the traffic on the second half of the road. If the central reservation is too shallow for the length of your vehicle, wait until you can cross both carriageways in one go." - accompanied by a picture.
In over 18 years of driver training and most of the last decade 'caught' on dash cam, I've not witnessed a good example of this ........ until yesterday.
Returning from two weeks in Yorkshire, qualifying as an AITT Instructor, I encountered this TWICE in under a minute!
As is so often the case in my videos, no real drama or excitement but this 70mph section of the A1 was NOT the place for a large van and then a van and trailer to put Rule 173 to the test.

According to the DVSA, the number one reason for failing the driving test is observation at junctions, which covers a 'multitude of sins'. In my experience, the most common of these is not failing to look or see but misjudgement of either the speed or intentions of a vehicle approaching from the right and thinking it's safe to enter the roundabout when that might not be the case. Usually this is down to inexperience but it can be down to misleading signals from the vehicle approaching from the right.
This is a bit long winded but stay with me......
My father (who learnt to drive in the mid '50s) was adamant that unless you were turning left, you signalled right on approach and kept the signal on until you passed the exit before the one you intended to take and then signalled left. The trouble with this is that someone who learnt more recently, expects a vehicle approaching from the right and signalling right to take an exit to the right and in doing so, remain close enough to a large(ish) roundabout that they're tempted to take the first exit (turning left), because the believe they can do so without getting in the way of the vehicle which in fact has priority.
It looks as though the driver of the black car learnt the same procedure as my father (see the slow motion footage), leading to my pupil thinking they'd missed an opportunity to go.........
In these situations, unless you are SURE there's sufficient time or that the vehicle approaching from your right is taking an exit BEFORE your entrance to the roundabout, it's always better to wait.

Year in, year out, the DVSA lists observation at junctions as the number one reason for failing driving tests. This is especially important when vehicles parked near the junction mean you have to take an 'unorthodox' line when emerging. At least the driver waved in acknowledgement of his mistake :) .