Taking Effective Observations
Effective Observations
Effective Observations as a subject is closely allied to Forward Planning
If you maintain effective observations throughout your driving lifetime you will benefit by having less risky situations to respond to. Through effective observations and good forward planning an emergency stop could become something that you never need to do.
Effective Observations
Observations are obviously important at all times when driving. The examiners are not just looking for frequent observations. They are looking for the correct observations for each particular circumstance.
The next pupil to tell me that their friend says that a certain examiner is obsessed with mirrors will not be the first by a long way. You can do a thousand mirror checks where they are not needed and it will get you nowhere. I cannot emphasise enough that we are looking for effective observations and checks to be made, not just frequent mirror checks.
In the general drive you are expected to check all mirrors every few seconds if there is no particular hazard that needs dealing with at the time. This is so that you will maintain at all times an 'all around' view of where you are in relation to other road users. Once a hazard has been identified then the first thing to do is the mirror checks. You will not know how close the car behind is or if you need to signal if necessary if you do not look.
Depending upon the circumstances you may be required to perform a full set of mirror checks, or mirrors in pairs may suffice.
Effective observations are about so much more than mirror checks. The Hazard Perception Test practice that you are doing/have done/will be doing gives you a good idea. You need to be vigilant about what is going on ahead of you. Do not be blind to other road users who are doing things that they should not be doing. This is more common than I would care to think about.
Blind Spots
Your blind spots are the areas that cannot be seen in either your normal sphere of vision or in the mirrors. Basically this leaves two large areas; one on either side of the vehicle over your left and right shoulders.
There are other blind spots on a vehicle but the two mentioned above are by far the largest.
You should be checking your blind spots whenever you move off from a stationary position whether you are by the kerb or in traffic, or whenever you need to change lanes in either direction.
