That particular T-shirt reminds me of an 80s Arcade Game 🤪🤪🤪 And a song by The Carpenters.... Crossed with a David Bowie 🎶 All of this Inter-Planetary stuff that Major Tom witnessed...... Wakka; Wakka; Wakka. Ooohh..... now I'm getting hungry - or thinking about the Blitzballer from Final Fantasy 10 🤭😂😂😂
Video idea: how to go about driving in unfamiliar counties when you go on holiday in unfamiliar hire cars… I know it seems simple but just coming back from a holiday in France, i noticed my parents really struggling with these things along with different types of junctions and was wondering if you know any tips?
As a van driver, I only ever used the mirror check to see if I'm in the middle of the lane. The seating position is usually higher in vans, so I suspect the knee trick won't be that reliable. At a certain point you just get the feel for the width of the car, and you know exactly where your left and right wheels are, and what holes you can squeeze through. As a delivery driver in a shopping zone you have to navigate tight passes quite a lot.
I have to say that the little tid-bit from the learning point was a revelation even after 10 years of driving. I'm glad to see it expanded on. Cheers Ashley.
Interesting technique.. In my 51 years of driving I've never had a problem keeping in the middle of the lane, but I have seen a lot of people who do have a problem. I will probably try this now and end up weaving all over the road.🤣
Yeah I don't understand the issue. I think some people just cannot think about space well in their mind so they must have these techniques to help. But I would also suggest should they even be driving if that's not inherent 2nd nature, hmmm.
@@Bozebo I'm always reluctant to question a person's place on the road just because their natural skill set doesn't match mine. If these things were inherent second nature, driving instructors would have far less to teach.
Great video and explanation as always. Since I saw it on your video a short few weeks ago I have used it myself and it is great. It is also good for avoiding potholes that are in the main carriageway of the road that if you put the left knee “over” the pothole then you avoid it 👍
Thank you for this lesson. I commute by motorcycle everyday to work and ao used to be in the centre of the road. But this tip has helped me drive within the lane when taking my driving leasons🤣🤣👍👍
I passed my driving test maybe like 8 year ago? And I always remembered my driving instructor telling me this trick but she told me to imagine my left foot instead of knee , same thing but it really does work
I moved to Germany two years ago and found it tricky to judge distances from the right and know where I was in a lane. It had become second nature after 35 years of driving on the left. I’ve got used to it now but this is a great tip and I will definitely use it
That's interesting. I've driven a fair few thousand miles in mainland Europe over the last 30 or so years towing a caravan, many of them in Germany. (I'm traveling near to Bernkastel at the beginning of August) and never had an issue despite driving a fairly large car. However, on a recent trip to Madeira, I hired a small car and my wife kept reminding me how close I was to the kerb or parked cars which somewhat surprised me. I've never judged myself as a good driver but I have always been pretty good at judging distances and knowing pretty much for sure if I can get through a gap but that all got thrown out of the window when driving a left hand drive car.
I picked up a car in Houston and found it disconcerting being on the wrong side, especially as the concrete medium barriers were so close to the edge of the lane, I wanted to move further to my right to increase my distance from them.
@@paul756uk2 One thing I hate about being a passenger? How close you look to be next to the kerb or cars. And if you're the passenger in a van or truck, due to perspective, you can think you're going to hit them, but there's always plenty of space if you were to get out and look.
The little trick that Ive always used, may not be as good as your left knee trick. But works for me. I use the curb line on the left through the windscreen, it sits visibly slightly left of the center of the dashboard. Works for me in cars, vans and lorries! Will have to try your knee trick going forward
This reminds me of a senior British Airways 747 pilot who was gently reprimanded by the tower at Heathrow on landing that he was slightly to the left of the centre line, to which he replied, 'I know, and my co-pilot was slightly to the right of it.' All that notwithstanding, I will try this next time I'm out. I do have a tendency to keep a little to the left of centre-lane myself so this will be interesting - it's not enough to hit the white edge lines, but I sometimes catch cats-eyes that are inside of them. I think it's a tendency to keep away from oncoming traffic, something that has saved me a few times on a motorbike with those who get close to the vehicle in front and then stick their car out for a look, and once with an unmarked wide load of flat steel plates that were a good yard overhanging - more frightening than actually life-threatening to me but scary nonetheless. Generally, I'm looking into the distance rather than what's right in front of the car, so here goes.
Interesting observation. Thanks Ashley. I guess the left knee generally points towards the centre of the front bumper (unless we're bursting for the loo 😬), so it makes sense. Also stereo vision - which we don't get from a single camera of course - is bound to help with positioning.
Interesting point there Ashley. I occasionally drive a Van with a Trailor wider than the Van and is quite tricky to keep away from the kerbs, especially when going around narrow, windy country roads also driving abroad in a left hand drive car i find tricky to keep the car in the middle, I'm going to give this a go and see if it improves the driving👍
i have struggled with my positioning at times during lessons as a learner in the middle of the road and i do put it down to nerves, and this video will be of great help to me to help to calm me down so thank you for those tips i appreciate anything that i can take on board and help to educate me more.
As a native left hand side driver, I have had the same experience but reversed as several of the commenters below when I have driven in the UK. I am hyper aware of the right lane edge and tend to fixate on that so much I drift a bit to the left (not like in the clip though thankfully!). It doesn't help that a rental car is always unfamiliar to begin with as far as width and turning circle. I will try this trick with my right knee later, and definitely employ it next time I am in a RHD country! Thank you!!
Speed Cushion is the name of the type of traffic calming bump you're referring to. (wheels either side) Hands follow eyes was what I was always taught, If you look down the road at the centre of your lane the car will naturally follow. (works with HGV, Coaches and Motorcycles).
"Speed Cushion" - yes I'd heard they were called that. What complete and utter nonsense! I've always associated "cushions" with comfort! These are the opposite, so I call them "Speed Blisters"!!! 😆
as a lorry driver i was taught that way by my driving instructor here in the Netherlands. He said right from the start: check your right knee...... draw a line in your mind from your head through your knee to the road and you know where the middle is. So yes, it works.
In the first few of miles of driving a different vehicle I play a game where I deliberately aim the left and right wheels at drain covers, manholes and cats eyes. I then get more subtle by just trying to touch the edges. That always tunes me in to the width of the vehicle and where left and right are relative to the perceived middle. That gets you the centre line and both edges all at once. Front and back are just done by feel although I do feel a bit sorry for the cars I've parked next to . Joking😂 I'll try the left knee thing but I can't see how it helps with left and right.
Brilliant advice mate, I also have another way that might help some people, forget the left hand side of your car, just focus on the steering wheel and imagine the steering wheel is a clock, imagine the whole of your car is within the steering wheel, from your perspective your left wheels are at around 11 o’clock and your right wheels are at around 1 o’clock so for example, if you line up a pothole at 12 o’clock then the middle of your car will go over the middle of the pothole. 🙃
My driving instructor 46 years ago had all these sort of things, we had no side mirrors then, Reversing around corners he had a matchstick stuck in the rear window rubber to follow as you reversed, these things do work and are well worth learning. By the way i drive a VW Caravelle and the left knee works well with that. as well as Peugeot horizon WAV also works so good advise as usual.
My instructor taught me something similar. "Right foot is the right side of the speed bump". Only hit bumps badly now when there isn't much space on a two-way road or something. Basically when forced. As a former van driver and current truck driver...Vans is similar to cars, but you have a little more room to play with. You're a tiny bit wider. Trucks? Most of the time, so long as your right side is left of the line, you're fine.
This is a conversation I had with my son a few days ago, As he was positioning himself in the middle of the lane. I also used this method to explain it to him.
I think I remember hearing when learning to drive that where you perceive your right foot to be is where the right wheel of the car is. I think again this was to help position the car for mini speedbumps but this left knee thing seems much better and more useful for a range of things.
I use country lanes with drainage ditches either side and JUST enough room for two to pass. I have a yellow zip tie on my wiper which I use as a sight to line up my wheel on the white line. I never have to look in my mirror and take my focus away from the road.
Good advice. One thing though for those who straddle the centre-lane speed bumps without moderating their speed as they should. Not all of these speed bumps are constructed to the same dimensions or with smooth edges. An MOT tester told me some years ago, just after these had been introduced, that he was seeing increasing levels of damage to the inside walls of tyres caused by this. The problem is that unlike the outside tyre walls, the damage was not obvious and therefore the first that people knew about it was when the tyre failed.
I've been driving for 40 years now and I hadn't spotted this trick. Nice one. Well illustrated with the head cam. When going around mini roundabouts, my car has a longer wheelbase than your Golf. In all cars, the rear wheels will tend to cut the corner more than the front wheels, but that's especially so with a longer wheelbase. I therefore need to steer more to the left of the centre blob if I want to keep my wheels off that white blob. Also true when navigating the tight left turn with high kerb outside our local McDonald's: I have to steer more to the centre line of the road. Otherwise, there's a "bump" 😮
In normal "driving along the road" I tend to judge my lane position by simply looking up into the distance. My default lane position then seems to naturally follow suit. But the left knee trick will be useful.
As a learner driver this will help me a great deal as i have struggled with my positioning in the middle of the road, this will help me immensely in helping me to keep lane discipline and educate me that bit more so thank you very much.
Slightly different but on a similar vein. I learned to drive in a Mk1 Escort, along time ago. My instructor pointed out the markings on the rear window. If you lined up the kite mark on the kerb when reversing you could parallel park perfectly, every time. I still find that spot on my cars and mark it to this day.
Omg this is actually a road I've been down. It's a weird road going past Stone Henge because if I remember correctly it's a single track road. For a world reknowned attraction you would expect it to be chock'a block for miles around on a permanent basis but no. It was surpridingly clear. That was quite a relief.
...with sooooooo many potholes now I'm definitely going to try this trick... It's almost as if the council are using rough roads as a substitute for speed humps
Great tip! I'm definitely going to try this out next time I'm driving, and the next time I'm a passenger in a car and I'm suspicious of where my driver is 😂
Last year when I was having lessons and practicing in my car I struggled to stay central in my lane, a couple of times I hit the kerb and afterwards I over compensated and went too far right. My mate was told to aim to have the centre of the humps between his legs, I tried it and was too far to the left. My instructor said about the left leg and it works. Still use it now sometimes, especially when the roads are narrow
Great tip Ashley - It works brilliant I'm my LHD classic car - I would have judged it before on the hedge or nearside road edge before but this is a gamechanger - Thanks a million
As someone who doesn't drive yet, I am often slightly anxious about road positioning. Whilst playing the American Truck Simulator on my PC, I started off looking quite close to my flat nosed truck (Kenworth K100) at the road directly in front of the truck, but I soon realised that if I look a bit further up the road, I could keep my truck in the lane a lot better. I'm sure in a game on a PC that things are going to be quite a bit different, seeing as there isn't quite the same amount of depth to the view you have, but I found looking ahead a bit more to really help.
It is and it isn't that much different it really depends on the view that you have set on screen if it's the view when you can see the front of vehicle it's very unrealistic but if its view of just out the window it's not that far off . As long as you look far enough up the road and draw an imaginary line on the road you will actually be nor that far off. If you where to walk along a solid straight line and look down at the line it's very hard to keep your balance but if you hold your head and look at the lines in the distance you will be able stay on the line.
A general principle in wheeled transport is that if you look to the left you move to the left and looking to the right moves you that way. In driving a car I look into the distance and the car follows my eyes. Fun when cycling. My local cycle path takes me inland, uphill, from home so the work is all on the outward journey. The return trip is mostly downhill and apart from the intersections is mostly good for cycling no hands. There are some bollards, and some of those are located on bends which requires accurate (bum-) steering. Having come through some health issues I have lost a bit of confidence in my steering and was freaking out at the bollards for a while. I have fixed that now by not looking at them. Looking at the bollard steers the bike to the bollard. I have upped my game by fixing a point ahead in my sights, central to the bollards, and watching that point throughout. There is one steep downhill bend with bollards that I used to manage easily and I am just now gaining the confidence to navigate it again. It was a fun cycle yesterday.
I've always had problems with this, and since I started driving a left hooker car I've been finding it even harder. But I tried this tip today (using my right knee, of course) and surprise, surprise, it works..! I have no idea why it does, but it does..! Thanks, Ashley 😁
One thing to bear in mind with all this is to vary your lane position accordingly for all manner of hazards or to increase visibility, all in the name of decreasing risk. As an example, if you are on a single carriageway road with a wide lane in each direction and no oncoming traffic but a blind side road to your left: You would then want to deviate from your normal position of left knee in the middle of your lane to a position near the centre line until you pass the blind junction on your left. Many other situations where it will be highly desirable to vary from a default lane position and this includes motorways and dual carriageways.
Yep I switch on my lane keeping assistant or steering linked cruise control 😊 But seriously it's a good issue to raise. a quick glance in your side mirrors if properly positioned gives a chance to nearside and offside view of lane markings and kerb behind you and I find personally helps with lane centering,
don't forget Ashley, left knee only really works with people who are right eye dominant, if you are left eye dominant then your left knee looks to be more to the right. with lorries depending on the cab layout, like if it is 2 seats to 1 seat, but in traffic calming measures with zig zag roads, then you want to be extremely close to the line on the right due to the road being so narrow, not tried in Cat C anywhere apart from zig zag roads ie. Coychurch Road Pencoad, South Wales. bad example though of road, as the lane is so narrow that you are litterally skimming tires with the kerb both sides.
I think it also helps if you remember to be looking further up the road as appropriate, i certainly notice I make fewer and smaller corrections as well
So I have tested that in a bus at work and it seems to work. Tested in my honda crv 2005 and it didn't work. Probably because I have more leg room and keep my knees wide open. Also tried it in a van but it didn't' work. But I drove a few cars with less leg room and it works every time. Thanks for your videos, keep safe 👍
That first clip prior to the intro and re: the driver admiring the scenery. Possibly...or maybe they were distracted by something in the car, like a mobile phone? Also, I felt the cam car was closer than desirable, especially given how the car in front was being driven. I counted less than the minimum recommended 2 second gap when I repeatedly used various road markings for timing purposes. In that situation, I would have dropped back further than 2 seconds in case the car in front crashed.
I was thinking the same, maybe a camera to take a picture but I would definitely be further back. Even if no mobile phones are being used, I am finding a lot of poor lane discipline in modern cars is being caused by these Infotainment screens. No longer do we have physical knobs and dials to change heating or radio settings that we naturally know where they are without looking, but instead a multitude of screens, options and swiping to make the smallest adjustment. I don’t like them, and never will.
I am wondering whether they were suffering from fatigue and practically nodding off. I can't understand how they did not perceive they were close to the edge of the road from the large amount of debris that builds up there spraying up into their wheel arches. Perhaps they had loud music on or loud passengers 😂
I don't think that more than a 2 second gap is necessary, because you are watching for potential mistakes. Travelling LESS than 2 seconds behind is always a danger. I've been saved a few times, by NOT tailgating.
@@smilerbob That could practically have been me writing about the distraction of these modern infotainment screens. On my 2009 Ford Focus, I have traditional buttons and dials, all of which I can very easily operate without taking my eyes off the road. I very much doubt that's possible with those modern touch screens. Plus you invariably have to go deeper into various sub menus for the actual function you want. I have to say also, a moving vehicle must be the worst place for touch screen. Go over a bump and your hand will inadvertently take you into some area of the screen you didn't want. I also find it mindboggling that although distracted driving is an offence when using a mobile phone (& quite rightly so), car manufacturers are putting in these touch screen systems. The only touchscreen I use is my aftermarket sat nav, which I always set at the start of my journey and never touch enroute. The only way I interact with it whilst driving is an occasional quick glance to confirm the path ahead.
I'm reasonably confident that this works because of the geometry of the driving position. An imaginary straight line from your eyes passing through your knee would reach the road at close enough to the middle of the car and without realising it, this is the spatial translation your brain is making when you try to position your knee in the middle of the lane
One thing I do, especially with speed humps, is align my right leg with the right side of the hump. The right leg is relatively close to where the wheel is so the premise is similar to yours.
I was recently reading a New Zealand Transport Agency Facebook post in which they advised drivers to stay as far to the left of the road as they could. Not something that my motorcycle instructor would agree with. My response was to ask if NZTAs instruction was the reason so many Kiwi drivers drive on the shoulder rather than between the centreline and the fog line. But when you also see them cut across the centreline on right hand bends you realise they just can't follow simple road rules.
When learning to go over those speed cushions my dad told me the right foot, when on the throttle, lines up with inside of the front right tyre, so if you aim your right foot to the one side of the hump the car should straddle it evenly, it hasn't failed me yet.
Ok, makes sense; I was doing it without ever being taught it! I'm not dead sure whether or not it would help reduce the number of times my sis jerks the steering to re-centre the car in a lane?
I'm always careful over center of lane speed bumps, if they're too big they can damage your car. My personal nickname for them is "sump smashers" as I once saw a car pulled up at the side of the road with a trail of oil starting from the speed bump.
Thanks I used this for a while in my car and it works a treat Do you have similar guidance to help to judge if there is there is enough space between parked vehicles on the left and oncoming vehicles to pass through safely?
Surprised I wasn't suggested this video sooner! Remember you mentioning previously about left knee being middle of the road. Been using it in and out, when staying in the middle of the lane was more challenging for whatever reason (smaller lanes AVG 50, very windy, or just a little more tired than usual) and found it's a good "anchor point". And by that I mean you don't have to check multiple things to get a good grasp, as you would by checking your wing mirrors for example.
I simply position so that i am over the central tarmac between wheel tracks, where oil used to be dropped... Same works when I drive abroad in an LHD car. Also clock whether wheels go over drains or not combined with mirror checks.
I could have done with this tip when I hired a car in the USA many years ago, left hand drive car on the other side of the road, the 1st time I drove I kept drifting to the side… then correcting the position…. then again drifting to the side, [and repeat]. it look me a full day to acclimatise and settle into the correct position on the road. [anyone watching would have thought I was drunk]
I never found driving LHD on the right side of the road a problem, it took me a while to get used to LHD here in the UK though. It's second nature now after 2 months of driving a US import.
Nice concept, and looks simple to explain and implement. I use something similar with my learners, and it works great with speed cushions….. it’s where do you perceive the right foot to be. Using the right foot the perception is it’s alongside the OSF front tyre, so it helps position the OSF corner of the car. I’m definitely going to give your knee concept a go and ‘see’ how it works. Nice video, and the POV camera is good feature.
I noticed that part in the recent video and tried it on the daily drive as we have LOADS of speedbumps locally. I didn't notice it improved anything for me, but I don't think I'm usually far off where I'm aiming. However, it did reinforce for me how odd the positioning is for so many where they seem to aim the driver-side wheels over the middle of the bump. I've never understood why anyone would do that, but see so many people do it every day. I thought it was just me who aimed for the middle. Now I'm sure that's how you're supposed to take them 😂
@3.51, just after the 'cushion' speed-bump, traffic-light controlled crossroads - although you had the green you didn't check either way for light-jumpers! - - I never saw the point in this kind of bump that you can straddle - it only inconveniences two-wheel (or three) road users. assuming you can get the positoning correct. - - Your left knee trick, for car-sized mini-vans, that works fine, but for transits and up, they tend to be a bit wider than the average car, so a small adjustment is needed. Looking well down the road ahead also helps on several counts - don't just stare at the bonnet edge!
I just instinctively stay in the middle, park on the left and so on naturally. I don't know if I subliminally use reference points, but my mind definitely doesn't do it actively.
Maybe over many years of driving I have developed an intuition? Whether I am driving a mini or a 16-seater I can judge where I am in the lane. More significantly I can judge whether the gap ahead, be it restriction bollards, a narrow bridge or between parked cars and oncoming traffic. My technique is to look ahead at the space I want to pass through and judge “go or no go”. But once in the space it is extremely difficult to gauge how much wiggle room is available. Not convinced about the left knee trick!
First thing I noticed….. Nice product placement with the hanging Apple logo. I’ve never heard of this before. Will give it a go. It looks offset because of the stereo vision we humans have. Looks like judging by the footage your going more quickly than the indicated speed, optical illusion.
There is a problem with driving over these speed humps in the centre, in that it can damage the inside shoulder of your tyre. I never knew about this until I took my car in a few years back to have a front tyre changed. Whilst on the ramp, the engineer should me my back tyres were bald on the inside hard shoulder. The first thing he asked was if I had speed humps that you can straddle.
Close your eyes. Where is your left knee? Where is your right foot? You know automatically, it's called proprioception. You don't need your eyes open to know where parts of your body are. It's what makes this technique such a brilliant idea, you've spent your whole life learning not to bash bits of your body into the scenery. If you align your perception of where bits of the vehicle are with the perception of where bits of your body are you will automatically do the right thing.
Hi ash great video once again, I heard you mention the trick with the knee in a driving fail video with one of your pupils and I’ve used it and it works a treat 👍🏻 loving the POV btw could we possibly see more POV’s? Maybe a how to drive like a driving instructor POV? 😊
how to stay in the middle of the lane: step one; don't sightsee while driving. when I learned, there were ridges and corners on the bonnet, and it was fairly easy to pick out points of reference. normally, you could center your half of the bonnet on your lane and be pretty well centered. the older cars had a hughe bullseye hood ornament that you could put on the opposite lane marker. now with cars that have no lines or distinctiveness, it's harder to pick out reference points, but when first driving an unfamiliar vehicle, I like to get it as close as practical to a straight line, and look at what reference points in the windshield I can find; and to be honest, with the practice I've had swapping windshields, it's become an almost automatic thing at this point, I think trying to use my knee for a reference would throw me off balance. one thing you learn when driving vehicles that don't have much horizontal clearance is how to drive the near side where it needs to be to ensure the far side stays out of trouble. that is also why you will often see HGVs and other wide vehicles driving in the lane closest to oncoming traffic (your right, my left) when going through places with on street parking - one bad parking job can cost mirrors.
The best car I've even had for seeing the position of the front of the car relative to the road was a late 80s/early 90s vintage (3rd generation) Honda Prelude - eyeline over the bonnet to the road in front hit the road at perhaps 12 inches in front of the car, and if you were at all uncertain where the corners were you could just turn on the pop-up headlamps and that gave you highly visible markers about 4-6 inches away from the corner. I could literally parallel park that car in a space 18 inches longer than the car (9 inches spare both ends). The worst is my current BMW 3 series (F30 LCI) where eye contact with the road is easily 2-3 metres away from the front of the car and everything near the front corners curves down and away out of sight.
@@ianmason. I had an 88 acura, and it had good corners. trying to think of the worst, and it would have to be the early 40s that I've gotten to drive in parades. all swooping curves in the front.
I recently hired a car trailer which I don’t often do, and because of the extra width, found it more difficult to centre it up as there was a much smaller tolerance before it was in the gutter or on the white lines. Wished I’d seen this video before that!
Would this work for those super tight bollard restrictions which stop lorries? One mistake either side of these and an expensive paint or wheel repair job..
BTW in Czechia (with right hand traffic) you should drive close to the right edge (within reason of course, and if there are holes you certainly won't :) ). So if your lane is wider, you should definitely be in the right part of it, not in the middle. Well not that much drivers are driving like that anyway. But when you think of it it makes all the sense, as faster car catching you, or car driving behind you, can see better into the front of you. Unfortunatelly what I often see is when I catch some slower driving car with nobody else ahead of it, the driver for some reason goes more left, pretty close to the middle line, thus obstructing that view.
I find that there's a number of drivers who like to position towards the centre - if they're in front, they restrict the view, and if they're behind, they constantly look like they're hoping to overtake but never do. Mostly, I think I am more inclined to drive slightly to the edge of the road than the right but it depends very much on the quality of the road surface. As pointed out by others, the whole lane is useful on bends for gaining the best view.
hey man love your videos , May even try and get u as a instructor when I'm ready for driving lessons, just being a concerned citizen in this comment now though. i dont know what ur blurring out on ur centre console (i dont really care) i just dont know if your aware your street name is visible at some point when pulling out of your estate. if your not bothered just ignore this, just giving you a heads up (as i know the area myself) keep up the videos (including the cycling ones )
I’m aware of where I place my car, I like to think I have good spacial awareness and have my own reference points for getting through tight gaps and I live in a very narrow lane, however, I will be testing this knee theory the next time I’m out in both my modern car and my classic, which is far narrower than a modern car. I’ve been looking at changing the classic for a large LHD American car, I’ll test the theory then too. So Ash, has the “hands follow the eyes” routine for entering a new road become “the hands follow the eyes following the left knee” now?
A few people have asked about my T Shirt in the video. You can find it here! amzn.to/44ZWj2l
That particular T-shirt reminds me of an 80s Arcade Game 🤪🤪🤪
And a song by The Carpenters....
Crossed with a David Bowie 🎶
All of this Inter-Planetary stuff that Major Tom witnessed......
Wakka; Wakka; Wakka.
Ooohh..... now I'm getting hungry - or thinking about the Blitzballer from Final Fantasy 10 🤭😂😂😂
Video idea: how to go about driving in unfamiliar counties when you go on holiday in unfamiliar hire cars… I know it seems simple but just coming back from a holiday in France, i noticed my parents really struggling with these things along with different types of junctions and was wondering if you know any tips?
My wife was asking about your t-shirt 🤣
I liked your t-shirt too!
was literally about to ask. :P
As a van driver, I only ever used the mirror check to see if I'm in the middle of the lane. The seating position is usually higher in vans, so I suspect the knee trick won't be that reliable. At a certain point you just get the feel for the width of the car, and you know exactly where your left and right wheels are, and what holes you can squeeze through. As a delivery driver in a shopping zone you have to navigate tight passes quite a lot.
I have to say that the little tid-bit from the learning point was a revelation even after 10 years of driving. I'm glad to see it expanded on.
Cheers Ashley.
When I was learning I found the whole look where you want the car to be ahead and look at the space worked better for me.
John we are all looking at you as the van driver to test the theory 😉
Interesting technique.. In my 51 years of driving I've never had a problem keeping in the middle of the lane, but I have seen a lot of people who do have a problem. I will probably try this now and end up weaving all over the road.🤣
Yeah I don't understand the issue. I think some people just cannot think about space well in their mind so they must have these techniques to help. But I would also suggest should they even be driving if that's not inherent 2nd nature, hmmm.
@@Bozebo I'm always reluctant to question a person's place on the road just because their natural skill set doesn't match mine. If these things were inherent second nature, driving instructors would have far less to teach.
I tested it, and yeah, it kind of made me drive like I was fiddling with my cell pone.
Great video and explanation as always.
Since I saw it on your video a short few weeks ago I have used it myself and it is great. It is also good for avoiding potholes that are in the main carriageway of the road that if you put the left knee “over” the pothole then you avoid it 👍
Saw it a while back too as a tip. I have found it very useful this last year going over some very bad potholes on the local roads. It does work 👍
Thank you for this lesson. I commute by motorcycle everyday to work and ao used to be in the centre of the road. But this tip has helped me drive within the lane when taking my driving leasons🤣🤣👍👍
I passed my driving test maybe like 8 year ago? And I always remembered my driving instructor telling me this trick but she told me to imagine my left foot instead of knee , same thing but it really does work
I moved to Germany two years ago and found it tricky to judge distances from the right and know where I was in a lane. It had become second nature after 35 years of driving on the left. I’ve got used to it now but this is a great tip and I will definitely use it
That's interesting. I've driven a fair few thousand miles in mainland Europe over the last 30 or so years towing a caravan, many of them in Germany. (I'm traveling near to Bernkastel at the beginning of August) and never had an issue despite driving a fairly large car. However, on a recent trip to Madeira, I hired a small car and my wife kept reminding me how close I was to the kerb or parked cars which somewhat surprised me. I've never judged myself as a good driver but I have always been pretty good at judging distances and knowing pretty much for sure if I can get through a gap but that all got thrown out of the window when driving a left hand drive car.
I picked up a car in Houston and found it disconcerting being on the wrong side, especially as the concrete medium barriers were so close to the edge of the lane, I wanted to move further to my right to increase my distance from them.
@@paul756uk2 One thing I hate about being a passenger? How close you look to be next to the kerb or cars. And if you're the passenger in a van or truck, due to perspective, you can think you're going to hit them, but there's always plenty of space if you were to get out and look.
@@pelicanofpunishment6 yes, absolutely true. Not being in control I think is also part of it.
The little trick that Ive always used, may not be as good as your left knee trick. But works for me. I use the curb line on the left through the windscreen, it sits visibly slightly left of the center of the dashboard. Works for me in cars, vans and lorries!
Will have to try your knee trick going forward
This reminds me of a senior British Airways 747 pilot who was gently reprimanded by the tower at Heathrow on landing that he was slightly to the left of the centre line, to which he replied, 'I know, and my co-pilot was slightly to the right of it.'
All that notwithstanding, I will try this next time I'm out. I do have a tendency to keep a little to the left of centre-lane myself so this will be interesting - it's not enough to hit the white edge lines, but I sometimes catch cats-eyes that are inside of them. I think it's a tendency to keep away from oncoming traffic, something that has saved me a few times on a motorbike with those who get close to the vehicle in front and then stick their car out for a look, and once with an unmarked wide load of flat steel plates that were a good yard overhanging - more frightening than actually life-threatening to me but scary nonetheless. Generally, I'm looking into the distance rather than what's right in front of the car, so here goes.
Bus driver here. I was instructed to aim the vehicle so the mini-speedbumps go between my knees. Seems to work for the most part
Yes, I've been doing this since I started driving as well. You just kinda feel where you are after a while.
Interesting observation. Thanks Ashley. I guess the left knee generally points towards the centre of the front bumper (unless we're bursting for the loo 😬), so it makes sense. Also stereo vision - which we don't get from a single camera of course - is bound to help with positioning.
Interesting point there Ashley. I occasionally drive a Van with a Trailor wider than the Van and is quite tricky to keep away from the kerbs, especially when going around narrow, windy country roads also driving abroad in a left hand drive car i find tricky to keep the car in the middle, I'm going to give this a go and see if it improves the driving👍
i have struggled with my positioning at times during lessons as a learner in the middle of the road and i do put it down to nerves, and this video will be of great help to me to help to calm me down so thank you for those tips i appreciate anything that i can take on board and help to educate me more.
Cant wait to try the knee trick out in my car! I'm normally okay at centering myself, but it's always good to have extra tools!
As a native left hand side driver, I have had the same experience but reversed as several of the commenters below when I have driven in the UK. I am hyper aware of the right lane edge and tend to fixate on that so much I drift a bit to the left (not like in the clip though thankfully!). It doesn't help that a rental car is always unfamiliar to begin with as far as width and turning circle. I will try this trick with my right knee later, and definitely employ it next time I am in a RHD country! Thank you!!
Speed Cushion is the name of the type of traffic calming bump you're referring to. (wheels either side) Hands follow eyes was what I was always taught, If you look down the road at the centre of your lane the car will naturally follow. (works with HGV, Coaches and Motorcycles).
"Speed Cushion" - yes I'd heard they were called that. What complete and utter nonsense! I've always associated "cushions" with comfort! These are the opposite, so I call them "Speed Blisters"!!! 😆
@@NaturallyCuriousUK “sleeping policemen” in Brazil
@@mikeos1 oh yeah, those are the ones which go all the way across the road 🙂
@@NaturallyCuriousUK 🤣
@@mikeos1 in the uk also!
as a lorry driver i was taught that way by my driving instructor here in the Netherlands.
He said right from the start: check your right knee...... draw a line in your mind from your head through your knee to the road and you know where the middle is.
So yes, it works.
In the first few of miles of driving a different vehicle I play a game where I deliberately aim the left and right wheels at drain covers, manholes and cats eyes. I then get more subtle by just trying to touch the edges. That always tunes me in to the width of the vehicle and where left and right are relative to the perceived middle. That gets you the centre line and both edges all at once. Front and back are just done by feel although I do feel a bit sorry for the cars I've parked next to . Joking😂
I'll try the left knee thing but I can't see how it helps with left and right.
Never had an issue judging the middle before but cool idea. I will try it when I’m next out
Brilliant advice mate, I also have another way that might help some people, forget the left hand side of your car, just focus on the steering wheel and imagine the steering wheel is a clock, imagine the whole of your car is within the steering wheel, from your perspective your left wheels are at around 11 o’clock and your right wheels are at around 1 o’clock so for example, if you line up a pothole at 12 o’clock then the middle of your car will go over the middle of the pothole. 🙃
It certainly works for vans. I’ve been doing this ever since I heard you mention it briefly in an earlier video 😊
My driving instructor 46 years ago had all these sort of things, we had no side mirrors then, Reversing around corners he had a matchstick stuck in the rear window rubber to follow as you reversed, these things do work and are well worth learning. By the way i drive a VW Caravelle and the left knee works well with that. as well as Peugeot horizon WAV also works so good advise as usual.
My instructor taught me something similar. "Right foot is the right side of the speed bump". Only hit bumps badly now when there isn't much space on a two-way road or something. Basically when forced.
As a former van driver and current truck driver...Vans is similar to cars, but you have a little more room to play with. You're a tiny bit wider. Trucks? Most of the time, so long as your right side is left of the line, you're fine.
This is a conversation I had with my son a few days ago, As he was positioning himself in the middle of the lane. I also used this method to explain it to him.
Hello fellow viewers. Remaining in the middle of my seat whilst I watch
Good morning
Is it stationary ?
@@thomaselliot2257 I'd be very worried if it wasn't, given that I'm sitting in my living room chair! 😀
Good morning btw Thomas.
@@Keithbarber Ah Hello there Keith.
Happy wet Saturday everyone
I think I remember hearing when learning to drive that where you perceive your right foot to be is where the right wheel of the car is. I think again this was to help position the car for mini speedbumps but this left knee thing seems much better and more useful for a range of things.
I use country lanes with drainage ditches either side and JUST enough room for two to pass. I have a yellow zip tie on my wiper which I use as a sight to line up my wheel on the white line. I never have to look in my mirror and take my focus away from the road.
Good advice. One thing though for those who straddle the centre-lane speed bumps without moderating their speed as they should. Not all of these speed bumps are constructed to the same dimensions or with smooth edges. An MOT tester told me some years ago, just after these had been introduced, that he was seeing increasing levels of damage to the inside walls of tyres caused by this. The problem is that unlike the outside tyre walls, the damage was not obvious and therefore the first that people knew about it was when the tyre failed.
I've been driving for 40 years now and I hadn't spotted this trick. Nice one. Well illustrated with the head cam.
When going around mini roundabouts, my car has a longer wheelbase than your Golf. In all cars, the rear wheels will tend to cut the corner more than the front wheels, but that's especially so with a longer wheelbase. I therefore need to steer more to the left of the centre blob if I want to keep my wheels off that white blob. Also true when navigating the tight left turn with high kerb outside our local McDonald's: I have to steer more to the centre line of the road. Otherwise, there's a "bump" 😮
I use wing mirrors and front right corner of the bonnet as a glancing guide but mostly done out of habit now forty plus years driving 😊
In normal "driving along the road" I tend to judge my lane position by simply looking up into the distance. My default lane position then seems to naturally follow suit. But the left knee trick will be useful.
As a learner driver this will help me a great deal as i have struggled with my positioning in the middle of the road, this will help me immensely in helping me to keep lane discipline and educate me that bit more so thank you very much.
Slightly different but on a similar vein. I learned to drive in a Mk1 Escort, along time ago. My instructor pointed out the markings on the rear window. If you lined up the kite mark on the kerb when reversing you could parallel park perfectly, every time. I still find that spot on my cars and mark it to this day.
Omg this is actually a road I've been down. It's a weird road going past Stone Henge because if I remember correctly it's a single track road.
For a world reknowned attraction you would expect it to be chock'a block for miles around on a permanent basis but no. It was surpridingly clear. That was quite a relief.
the golf's sounding very good. good little trick as well, been driving some unfamiliar cars so I'll give it a go!
I usually use the lines (and/or curb) on the road. They should come into the corner or middle of the windshield.
Brilliantly explained
Very helpful advice; improved my driving here in the USA. Less tendency to list to the right now.
Glad it was helpful!
...with sooooooo many potholes now I'm definitely going to try this trick... It's almost as if the council are using rough roads as a substitute for speed humps
Great tip! I'm definitely going to try this out next time I'm driving, and the next time I'm a passenger in a car and I'm suspicious of where my driver is 😂
Last year when I was having lessons and practicing in my car I struggled to stay central in my lane, a couple of times I hit the kerb and afterwards I over compensated and went too far right. My mate was told to aim to have the centre of the humps between his legs, I tried it and was too far to the left. My instructor said about the left leg and it works. Still use it now sometimes, especially when the roads are narrow
Great tip Ashley - It works brilliant I'm my LHD classic car - I would have judged it before on the hedge or nearside road edge before but this is a gamechanger - Thanks a million
As someone who doesn't drive yet, I am often slightly anxious about road positioning. Whilst playing the American Truck Simulator on my PC, I started off looking quite close to my flat nosed truck (Kenworth K100) at the road directly in front of the truck, but I soon realised that if I look a bit further up the road, I could keep my truck in the lane a lot better. I'm sure in a game on a PC that things are going to be quite a bit different, seeing as there isn't quite the same amount of depth to the view you have, but I found looking ahead a bit more to really help.
It is and it isn't that much different it really depends on the view that you have set on screen if it's the view when you can see the front of vehicle it's very unrealistic but if its view of just out the window it's not that far off . As long as you look far enough up the road and draw an imaginary line on the road you will actually be nor that far off. If you where to walk along a solid straight line and look down at the line it's very hard to keep your balance but if you hold your head and look at the lines in the distance you will be able stay on the line.
Don't look too far though because in reality, you have to dodge potholes too.
@Asto508 . Or deciede which pot hole to hit or look for the best route through them
A general principle in wheeled transport is that if you look to the left you move to the left and looking to the right moves you that way.
In driving a car I look into the distance and the car follows my eyes.
Fun when cycling. My local cycle path takes me inland, uphill, from home so the work is all on the outward journey.
The return trip is mostly downhill and apart from the intersections is mostly good for cycling no hands.
There are some bollards, and some of those are located on bends which requires accurate (bum-) steering.
Having come through some health issues I have lost a bit of confidence in my steering and was freaking out at the bollards for a while.
I have fixed that now by not looking at them. Looking at the bollard steers the bike to the bollard. I have upped my game by fixing a point ahead in my sights, central to the bollards, and watching that point throughout.
There is one steep downhill bend with bollards that I used to manage easily and I am just now gaining the confidence to navigate it again. It was a fun cycle yesterday.
I've always had problems with this, and since I started driving a left hooker car I've been finding it even harder. But I tried this tip today (using my right knee, of course) and surprise, surprise, it works..! I have no idea why it does, but it does..! Thanks, Ashley 😁
Great to hear!
One thing to bear in mind with all this is to vary your lane position accordingly for all manner of hazards or to increase visibility, all in the name of decreasing risk. As an example, if you are on a single carriageway road with a wide lane in each direction and no oncoming traffic but a blind side road to your left: You would then want to deviate from your normal position of left knee in the middle of your lane to a position near the centre line until you pass the blind junction on your left. Many other situations where it will be highly desirable to vary from a default lane position and this includes motorways and dual carriageways.
For a video, I think it would be great to see a pov of yourself driving in the city,motorway and country lanes really enjoyed it
Yes, can't remember who said it but to imagine your left leg going down the gap, has been a major help especially for turns and smaller spaces.
That works well for A roads as well. I used to be petrified of bends and sharp curves but keeping my knee in the middle of the lane did the trick 😊
Yep I switch on my lane keeping assistant or steering linked cruise control 😊 But seriously it's a good issue to raise. a quick glance in your side mirrors if properly positioned gives a chance to nearside and offside view of lane markings and kerb behind you and I find personally helps with lane centering,
don't forget Ashley, left knee only really works with people who are right eye dominant, if you are left eye dominant then your left knee looks to be more to the right. with lorries depending on the cab layout, like if it is 2 seats to 1 seat, but in traffic calming measures with zig zag roads, then you want to be extremely close to the line on the right due to the road being so narrow, not tried in Cat C anywhere apart from zig zag roads ie. Coychurch Road Pencoad, South Wales. bad example though of road, as the lane is so narrow that you are litterally skimming tires with the kerb both sides.
What a great trick. I really struggle when I first get into a left hand drive hire car, I shall remember this next time.... right knee for that.
Works for me 🙂
Works on my Vivaro Van nice little trick for avoiding obstacles
I think it also helps if you remember to be looking further up the road as appropriate, i certainly notice I make fewer and smaller corrections as well
I spend most of my time avoiding the pot holes to be too concerned about being in the middle of the lane.
So I have tested that in a bus at work and it seems to work. Tested in my honda crv 2005 and it didn't work. Probably because I have more leg room and keep my knees wide open. Also tried it in a van but it didn't' work.
But I drove a few cars with less leg room and it works every time.
Thanks for your videos, keep safe 👍
That first clip prior to the intro and re: the driver admiring the scenery. Possibly...or maybe they were distracted by something in the car, like a mobile phone?
Also, I felt the cam car was closer than desirable, especially given how the car in front was being driven. I counted less than the minimum recommended 2 second gap when I repeatedly used various road markings for timing purposes. In that situation, I would have dropped back further than 2 seconds in case the car in front crashed.
I was thinking the same, maybe a camera to take a picture but I would definitely be further back.
Even if no mobile phones are being used, I am finding a lot of poor lane discipline in modern cars is being caused by these Infotainment screens. No longer do we have physical knobs and dials to change heating or radio settings that we naturally know where they are without looking, but instead a multitude of screens, options and swiping to make the smallest adjustment. I don’t like them, and never will.
I am wondering whether they were suffering from fatigue and practically nodding off. I can't understand how they did not perceive they were close to the edge of the road from the large amount of debris that builds up there spraying up into their wheel arches. Perhaps they had loud music on or loud passengers 😂
I don't think that more than a 2 second gap is necessary, because you are watching for potential mistakes. Travelling LESS than 2 seconds behind is always a danger. I've been saved a few times, by NOT tailgating.
@@smilerbob That could practically have been me writing about the distraction of these modern infotainment screens. On my 2009 Ford Focus, I have traditional buttons and dials, all of which I can very easily operate without taking my eyes off the road. I very much doubt that's possible with those modern touch screens. Plus you invariably have to go deeper into various sub menus for the actual function you want. I have to say also, a moving vehicle must be the worst place for touch screen. Go over a bump and your hand will inadvertently take you into some area of the screen you didn't want. I also find it mindboggling that although distracted driving is an offence when using a mobile phone (& quite rightly so), car manufacturers are putting in these touch screen systems.
The only touchscreen I use is my aftermarket sat nav, which I always set at the start of my journey and never touch enroute. The only way I interact with it whilst driving is an occasional quick glance to confirm the path ahead.
"widen the gap when you expect the person in front to crash" is certainly wise advice.
I'm reasonably confident that this works because of the geometry of the driving position. An imaginary straight line from your eyes passing through your knee would reach the road at close enough to the middle of the car and without realising it, this is the spatial translation your brain is making when you try to position your knee in the middle of the lane
One thing I do, especially with speed humps, is align my right leg with the right side of the hump. The right leg is relatively close to where the wheel is so the premise is similar to yours.
I was recently reading a New Zealand Transport Agency Facebook post in which they advised drivers to stay as far to the left of the road as they could. Not something that my motorcycle instructor would agree with.
My response was to ask if NZTAs instruction was the reason so many Kiwi drivers drive on the shoulder rather than between the centreline and the fog line. But when you also see them cut across the centreline on right hand bends you realise they just can't follow simple road rules.
To find the centre of your lane my driving instructor told me to use the Pythagoras theorem, and divide by two. It works except on roundabouts.
When learning to go over those speed cushions my dad told me the right foot, when on the throttle, lines up with inside of the front right tyre, so if you aim your right foot to the one side of the hump the car should straddle it evenly, it hasn't failed me yet.
Ok, makes sense; I was doing it without ever being taught it! I'm not dead sure whether or not it would help reduce the number of times my sis jerks the steering to re-centre the car in a lane?
I'm always careful over center of lane speed bumps, if they're too big they can damage your car. My personal nickname for them is "sump smashers" as I once saw a car pulled up at the side of the road with a trail of oil starting from the speed bump.
Thanks I used this for a while in my car and it works a treat Do you have similar guidance to help to judge if there is there is enough space between parked vehicles on the left and oncoming vehicles to pass through safely?
Surprised I wasn't suggested this video sooner! Remember you mentioning previously about left knee being middle of the road.
Been using it in and out, when staying in the middle of the lane was more challenging for whatever reason (smaller lanes AVG 50, very windy, or just a little more tired than usual) and found it's a good "anchor point". And by that I mean you don't have to check multiple things to get a good grasp, as you would by checking your wing mirrors for example.
I simply position so that i am over the central tarmac between wheel tracks, where oil used to be dropped... Same works when I drive abroad in an LHD car. Also clock whether wheels go over drains or not combined with mirror checks.
Hello, i'm going to try this out and i'll let you know if works for me or not. 👍
I just use spacial awareness to judge it, I think we underestimate how much that is relevant in judging where our position is.
Great video. Also, where did you get that awesome solar system t-shirt?
In order to put this useful trick into practice, I will remember you as Ashley McNee (as in McKnee)...or even Ashley Kneel. 😊
I could have done with this tip when I hired a car in the USA many years ago, left hand drive car on the other side of the road, the 1st time I drove I kept drifting to the side… then correcting the position…. then again drifting to the side, [and repeat]. it look me a full day to acclimatise and settle into the correct position on the road. [anyone watching would have thought I was drunk]
I never found driving LHD on the right side of the road a problem, it took me a while to get used to LHD here in the UK though. It's second nature now after 2 months of driving a US import.
Nice concept, and looks simple to explain and implement. I use something similar with my learners, and it works great with speed cushions….. it’s where do you perceive the right foot to be. Using the right foot the perception is it’s alongside the OSF front tyre, so it helps position the OSF corner of the car. I’m definitely going to give your knee concept a go and ‘see’ how it works. Nice video, and the POV camera is good feature.
I do exactly that and agree, it works brilliantly.
I noticed that part in the recent video and tried it on the daily drive as we have LOADS of speedbumps locally. I didn't notice it improved anything for me, but I don't think I'm usually far off where I'm aiming.
However, it did reinforce for me how odd the positioning is for so many where they seem to aim the driver-side wheels over the middle of the bump. I've never understood why anyone would do that, but see so many people do it every day. I thought it was just me who aimed for the middle. Now I'm sure that's how you're supposed to take them 😂
it works in my vauxhall vivaro. Nice.
@3.51, just after the 'cushion' speed-bump, traffic-light controlled crossroads - although you had the green you didn't check either way for light-jumpers! - - I never saw the point in this kind of bump that you can straddle - it only inconveniences two-wheel (or three) road users. assuming you can get the positoning correct. - - Your left knee trick, for car-sized mini-vans, that works fine, but for transits and up, they tend to be a bit wider than the average car, so a small adjustment is needed. Looking well down the road ahead also helps on several counts - don't just stare at the bonnet edge!
I just instinctively stay in the middle, park on the left and so on naturally. I don't know if I subliminally use reference points, but my mind definitely doesn't do it actively.
Maybe over many years of driving I have developed an intuition? Whether I am driving a mini or a 16-seater I can judge where I am in the lane. More significantly I can judge whether the gap ahead, be it restriction bollards, a narrow bridge or between parked cars and oncoming traffic. My technique is to look ahead at the space I want to pass through and judge “go or no go”. But once in the space it is extremely difficult to gauge how much wiggle room is available. Not convinced about the left knee trick!
In a lorry, it works I suppose as I use the direct control unit (gears) which are just 3 buttons RND horizontal on my dash as my guide
First thing I noticed…..
Nice product placement with the hanging Apple logo.
I’ve never heard of this before. Will give it a go.
It looks offset because of the stereo vision we humans have.
Looks like judging by the footage your going more quickly than the indicated speed, optical illusion.
Proprioception
If you extended a line from between your eyes, through your knee, where would it intersect the centreline of your car?
There is a problem with driving over these speed humps in the centre, in that it can damage the inside shoulder of your tyre. I never knew about this until I took my car in a few years back to have a front tyre changed. Whilst on the ramp, the engineer should me my back tyres were bald on the inside hard shoulder. The first thing he asked was if I had speed humps that you can straddle.
Close your eyes. Where is your left knee? Where is your right foot? You know automatically, it's called proprioception. You don't need your eyes open to know where parts of your body are. It's what makes this technique such a brilliant idea, you've spent your whole life learning not to bash bits of your body into the scenery. If you align your perception of where bits of the vehicle are with the perception of where bits of your body are you will automatically do the right thing.
Just wanna say, yes, these techiques work, but, cool T-Shirt! 😎 I recognise ithe design from having looked through a few online retailers. 👍
That is brilliant, and so simple!
Hi ash great video once again, I heard you mention the trick with the knee in a driving fail video with one of your pupils and I’ve used it and it works a treat 👍🏻 loving the POV btw could we possibly see more POV’s? Maybe a how to drive like a driving instructor POV? 😊
how to stay in the middle of the lane: step one; don't sightsee while driving.
when I learned, there were ridges and corners on the bonnet, and it was fairly easy to pick out points of reference. normally, you could center your half of the bonnet on your lane and be pretty well centered. the older cars had a hughe bullseye hood ornament that you could put on the opposite lane marker. now with cars that have no lines or distinctiveness, it's harder to pick out reference points, but when first driving an unfamiliar vehicle, I like to get it as close as practical to a straight line, and look at what reference points in the windshield I can find; and to be honest, with the practice I've had swapping windshields, it's become an almost automatic thing at this point, I think trying to use my knee for a reference would throw me off balance.
one thing you learn when driving vehicles that don't have much horizontal clearance is how to drive the near side where it needs to be to ensure the far side stays out of trouble. that is also why you will often see HGVs and other wide vehicles driving in the lane closest to oncoming traffic (your right, my left) when going through places with on street parking - one bad parking job can cost mirrors.
The best car I've even had for seeing the position of the front of the car relative to the road was a late 80s/early 90s vintage (3rd generation) Honda Prelude - eyeline over the bonnet to the road in front hit the road at perhaps 12 inches in front of the car, and if you were at all uncertain where the corners were you could just turn on the pop-up headlamps and that gave you highly visible markers about 4-6 inches away from the corner. I could literally parallel park that car in a space 18 inches longer than the car (9 inches spare both ends). The worst is my current BMW 3 series (F30 LCI) where eye contact with the road is easily 2-3 metres away from the front of the car and everything near the front corners curves down and away out of sight.
@@ianmason. I had an 88 acura, and it had good corners. trying to think of the worst, and it would have to be the early 40s that I've gotten to drive in parades. all swooping curves in the front.
I recently hired a car trailer which I don’t often do, and because of the extra width, found it more difficult to centre it up as there was a much smaller tolerance before it was in the gutter or on the white lines. Wished I’d seen this video before that!
Yep in an arctic 👍🏻
Would this work for those super tight bollard restrictions which stop lorries? One mistake either side of these and an expensive paint or wheel repair job..
What are your thoughts on the arrows on speed bumps, are they helpful or not?
BTW in Czechia (with right hand traffic) you should drive close to the right edge (within reason of course, and if there are holes you certainly won't :) ). So if your lane is wider, you should definitely be in the right part of it, not in the middle. Well not that much drivers are driving like that anyway. But when you think of it it makes all the sense, as faster car catching you, or car driving behind you, can see better into the front of you. Unfortunatelly what I often see is when I catch some slower driving car with nobody else ahead of it, the driver for some reason goes more left, pretty close to the middle line, thus obstructing that view.
I find that there's a number of drivers who like to position towards the centre - if they're in front, they restrict the view, and if they're behind, they constantly look like they're hoping to overtake but never do. Mostly, I think I am more inclined to drive slightly to the edge of the road than the right but it depends very much on the quality of the road surface. As pointed out by others, the whole lane is useful on bends for gaining the best view.
loving the pacman milky way t-shirt!
hey man love your videos , May even try and get u as a instructor when I'm ready for driving lessons, just being a concerned citizen in this comment now though. i dont know what ur blurring out on ur centre console (i dont really care) i just dont know if your aware your street name is visible at some point when pulling out of your estate. if your not bothered just ignore this, just giving you a heads up (as i know the area myself) keep up the videos (including the cycling ones )
Left drift is a common problem with non-UK drivers, and UK drivers tend to drift right when abroad.
Nice video
I’m aware of where I place my car, I like to think I have good spacial awareness and have my own reference points for getting through tight gaps and I live in a very narrow lane, however, I will be testing this knee theory the next time I’m out in both my modern car and my classic, which is far narrower than a modern car. I’ve been looking at changing the classic for a large LHD American car, I’ll test the theory then too.
So Ash, has the “hands follow the eyes” routine for entering a new road become “the hands follow the eyes following the left knee” now?