Perfect Practice Makes Drivers Better
tips taken from the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia
Mistakes New Drivers Make
Overall Common Errors:
Residential Driving
1 Common Errors:
2 Common Errors:
3 Common Errors:
4 Common Errors:
5 Common Errors:
Driving too close to the curb or center lane
Common Errors:
Parking Lots
1. Common Errors:
2. Common Errors:
3. Common Errors:
4. Common Errors:
Highway Environment
1. Common Errors:
2. Common Errors:
3. Common Errors:
5. Common Errors:
7. Common Errors:
8. Common Errors:
- inability to scan, identify, and react to hazards
- difficulty managing speed on different types of roads and conditions
- difficulty managing distractions, both inside and outside the car
Overall Common Errors:
- Abrupt stops and accelerations
- Turns that are too tight or wide
- Turning before looking in the direction of the turn
- Too tight of a grip on the steering wheel
- Operates the car movement smoothly with control
Residential Driving
1 Common Errors:
- Speed may fluctuate greatly at first
- New driver may fixate on the speedometer
- Maintains an appropriate and steady speed
2 Common Errors:
- Failing to scan and observe potential hazards
- Not slowing down prior to the intersections
- Not turning from or to the appropriate lane
- Shows a solid understanding of right-of-way procedures and turns into the appropriate legal lanes
3 Common Errors:
- Entering a turn too fast
- Over steering or under steering
- Being in the wrong lane or lane position, before or after a turn
- Not knowing the rules of right-of-way or crossing intersections(Please review those lessons prior to performing this activity.)
- Controls vehicle while turning and observes right-of-way procedures
4 Common Errors:
- Failing to scan and observe potential hazards
- Not slowing down prior to the intersections
- Not turning from or to the appropriate lane
- Can safely manage intersections and identify potential hazards
5 Common Errors:
Driving too close to the curb or center lane
- Swerving back and forth
- Maintains position in the lane - no tick toc in lane
Common Errors:
- Failing to recognize potential hazard
- Not being prepared to react appropriately to hazards
- Not knowing the appropriate reaction to an anticipated danger
- Recognizes and anticipates hazards well in advance and uses caution around him or her.
Parking Lots
1. Common Errors:
- Abrupt stops and accelerations
- Turns that are too tight or wide
- Turning before looking in the direction of the turn
- Too tight of a grip on the steering wheel
- Operates the car smoothly with control up and down aisles
2. Common Errors:
- Not doing a 360 degree search prior to backing up
- Failing to look back during the whole maneuver, until the car is stopped
- Driving at too high a speed
- Backs up slowly and with control, knowing what’s around the vehicle at all times
3. Common Errors:
- Forgetting to scan
- Concentrating too much on scanning and failing to look ahead
- Turns steering wheel when head moves to scan
- Develops a scanning routine and uses it consistently
4. Common Errors:
- Too tight of a grip on the steering wheel
- Fixating too much on the line and not watching up ahead
- Can easily follow a line and keep the car steady
Highway Environment
1. Common Errors:
- Not aware of cars ahead in the acceleration lane
- May stay in acceleration lane too long
- Sometimes not comfortable checking blind spots with a head check
- May signal too late when exiting
- Consistently checks traffic to evaluate whether the gap is sufficient and his or her speed has matched the traffic
- Yields right-of-way to through traffic
- Plans ahead for the exit
- Is comfortable waiting for the next exit if missed opportunity
2. Common Errors:
- Sometimes does not understand what some signs mean and becomes distracted
- Takes eyes off of road for too long
- Understands what signs mean
- Reacts appropriately to highway signs
- Does not divert attention from traffic while reading signs at high speeds
3. Common Errors:
- Thinks blind spots can be seen by only using the mirrors
- May not recognize blind spots on both sides of the car
- May not realize blind spots vary by vehicle
- Does not know a blind spot can appear in front when view is obstructed by a truck ahead
- Sometimes forgets to do head checks
- Checks mirrors every 20 to 30 seconds, or more if the highway is crowded
- Does head checks for blind spots
- Leaves extra space in front when following a truck
- May follow too closely
- May not realize he or she is tailgating
- Reponds too much to the car behind
- Uses the six second rule to maintain space cushion
- Adjusts speed according to traffic density
- Does not tailgate
5. Common Errors:
- May not realize the need to lower speed at the appropriate time
- May not realize the need to merge, or may try to race ahead of other cars
- Identifies changes in traffic and adjusts accordingly
- Is aware of how other drivers react to traffic disruptions
- May not identify or recognize aggressive drivers
- May not be watching side mirrors for fast cars
- Assumes the worst of other drivers; other drivers can act unexpectedly
- Is aware of aggressive drivers well in advance and increases space cushion
7. Common Errors:
- May automatically take foot off the gas when changing lanes
- May be nervous when passing vehicles, especially large trucks
- May hesitate to make a lane change
- Focuses too much on the cars in the lane
- Correctly judges distance necessary to pass
- Changes lanes and passes other vehicles appropriately
- Allows other vehicles to pass or change lanes safely by adjusting the space cushion
8. Common Errors:
- Follows cars too closely
- Has trouble keeping speed consistent
- May speed up if car is following too closely
- Maintains or adjusts speed as needed
- Is not intimidated by tailgaters to speed
- Makes the necessary speed adjustments to accommodate varying road conditions
