Right Turns
Watch from 2:30 to the end
When you are asked to ‘take the next road on the right’, you’ll look ahead to identify the turning.
You’re looking for clues to tell you where the junction is, like:
- Gaps in houses or hedges
- Following the shape of the kerb
- Give way lines
- Other road users who may be turning in or out of the junction
Once you have identified the junction you can start to follow the hazard routine.
You have already covered left turns and the Hazard Routine.
You’ll use the same hazard routine to turn right, but this time you need to make sure it is safe to turn right across oncoming traffic.
Mirrors
- Check your middle mirror
- Check your right door mirror. Is anyone overtaking you?
Signal
- Indicate right in good time
Position
- If it is safe to do so, move to the right of your lane, close to the centre lines. This lets other vehicles pass you on the left and it helps other road users know what you about to do
Speed (and gear)
- Reduce your speed so a speed that’s suitable
- Your gear will depend on the speed you get to – it will be 1st or 2nd gear
Look
- Look well ahead for gaps in the approaching traffic
- Watch out especially for cyclists and motorcyclists, they are smaller and harder to see
Think….What can’t I see???
- Look well ahead to check that no-one is overtaking the oncoming traffic
- Look into the new road. Is it safe to turn into? Are there any parked cars? Are pedestrians crossing?
- Just before turning check your right door mirror again to make sure no-one is overtaking you
New Road… New Mirrors
Once you are in the new road, and before you speed up, check your middle and right door mirrors. You’re checking that it’s safe to speed up, and that no-one is overtaking you.
Is It Safe To Turn?
When turning right you need to work out if it is safe to turn in front of oncoming traffic. You need to consider:
- How far away are they?
- How fast are they travelling?
- Are you going to moving away uphill or downhill?
To help with making this decision, think about walking across the road.
You have done this lots of times, so you’ll have a really good idea of when it is safe to cross.
You can use the:
The W A D A Rule
(Walk Across Drive Across)
This means:
If you would be happy to WALK across the road (this is from one kerb to the other kerb), then you will probably have time to DRIVE across the road.
This will depend on:
- Whether you are prepared to move away (gas and bite set)
- Moving off as soon as you make the decision – once you know it’s safe, GO! If you wait a couple of seconds, it might not still be safe
When turning right it is important to:
- Choose a safe time to cross and not cause other traffic to stop, slow or swerve.
- Choose a safe place to start to turn so that you do not steer too late or too early
Missed Turn
It doesn’t matter if you miss a turn and go the wrong way.
The safest thing to do is to drive past the junction.
Your driving instructor or the examiner will simply re-direct you.
It is NOT a driving fault to go the wrong way.