How to Pass an advanced Driving Test - Steering

Here's my video on steering if you want to pass an advanced driving test. The outcome you're looking to achieve, the techniques you need to learn to achieve that outcome, the mistakes to avoid and the levels required to pass different advanced driving tests.
My video on how to achieve the best driving position is here: • 5 Tips for the Best Se...
My previous video on steering is here: • 08 Steering
For more info on advanced & performance driving & riding, visit my website www.reglocal.com & give me a follow on Twitter @RegLocal

[@tallandhairy]

I know this isn't a particularly recent video, but I just want to let you and any potential viewers know that not only is this whole video great, but the advice given from around 10.30 in is absolute gold dust. I can't tell you how much this simple lesson in technique has helped to improve my overall driving. I enjoy all of your videos and really appreciate how much they are helping me as I approach my own test with the IAM, thank you.

[@RegLocal]

Thanks Dan - much appreciated!

[@kaiserswaghelmii9361]

A safe and considerate BMW driver. Jesus, you are a dark horse sir!

[@owen_003]

Very helpful video, even for those who are already advanced drivers. Loving the series so far!

[@richard1953ish]

Hi Reg I'm ex job. I was taught my police driving at Devises 1975. Your video on steering is very good and a welcome refresher, thank you,😊

[@DavidGilmour3]

Hi Reg, Re thumb position: I was involved in a 70mph collision in Nov, hitting an out of control M6 which came off an M8 slip road approach loop at high speed over the hard shoulder. I was using ten to two position, with left thumb hooked round the wheel. ( IAM, 1984). On impact, the steering wheel stopped, my upper body was restrained by the belt and airbag, but my left arm kept going. That led not only to a broken thumb, but also a broken elbow. Thanks to NHS and some titanium it's fixed now, but both sons, one ROSPA, told me they had been trained to use steering wheel thumb pads, and avoid hooking for this reason. Needless to say, I have changed! Really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to make these videos and write the books as I work towards retest. So sorry to read about Jane. She would be proud of you.

[@Sukikev]

I hope your injury didn't have a long-term effect on your guitar playing!. I like a quarter-to-three hand position, rather than ten-to-two as I find it more relaxing. I also hook my thumbs around the wheel, but accept there is a risk if I'm involved in a collision I could receive a worse thumb injury, but I think the benefit of grip and comfort outweighs this small risk. In other words, having thumbs around the wheel is a tolerable risk, but it's up to the individual if they decide not to.

[@richardnicholson3912]

Went out today reg and tried this. It really did feel like an instant difference in steering smoothness and I’m sure I’ve got loads of room for improvement with it. Great explanation and demonstration of it. Thanks.

[@jameskingston4009]

He makes this look so easy.

[@maxtorque2277]

The issue (and it's not really an issue, just an observation from someone who does a lot of limit handling and in-extremis work) i have with any of the "shuffle" type techniques is that once your hands move on the handwheel, you have lost the instinctive knowledge of the "centrepoint" of the steering system. Modern cars are incredibly stiff laterally, especially anything with any performance bent, and they have very high ratio steering racks. Next time you change lanes on a motorway at speed, notice how much angle you have to put into the handwheel to make that change. Chances are, it's tiny. Mostly, loosing the centre point matters not one little bit, because you are driving in the linear range of input, where you just steer more to tighten the turn, and steer less to open the turn. The problem comes in extremis, at the limit, when non-linearity comes in, basically either oversteer or understeer. Now of course, we wouldn't dream of driving in this manner on the public road, but to err is human, and the "Unexpected" is, well, often, er, unexpected. Being able to rapidly, accurately and without error, centre the handwheel is critical to avoid driver induced oscilations (over correction, fishtailing etc) and these days, thanks to near universal fitment of DSC, the cars very guidance systems are using handwheel angle to try to decide where you want to go. Being as little as 15 deg handwheel angle out, let alone half a turn out, is, in a modern car, a recipe for simply driving right(or left) off the road, and the DSC will even help you make that turn to nowhere! As modern cars increasingly have less and less true feedback and feel, and lower and lower loading per lateral g (a modern car will pull about 1g laterally at a handwheel torque of about 6Nm) it is in conjunction with high turnign ratio's, incredibly easy to make this sort of error (and most especially in extremis where gross tyre slip further masks the tyres loading and the cars yaw performance from the driver) Does any of that matter in the frame of reference of an advanced driving test, probably not, but it certainly can matter, and when it matters most, getting it wrong may carry the highest possible penatly.

[@darrennoles9056]

Would you have people hold onto the steering wheel past the 12 o'clock position or do you have another alternative to pull-push technique when large steering input is needed in-extremis? Btw I have seen some racing drivers seemingly using a sort of 50 pence method of steering so would you ever advocate that too? (Micro adjustments of wheel through corner rather than a pure pendulum method).

[@maxtorque2277]

@@darrennoles9056 I use the "remove trailing hand, invert, and regrab wheel technique, where you are always holding the wheel at qrtr to 3 no matter where the wheel is in it's range

[@darrennoles9056]

@@maxtorque2277 Sounds clever, I'll try to learn this way

[@Richard_Barnes]

Thx for the ‘thumb’ clarification as even now, 34 years later, I still remember being taught NOT to put my thumbs through the wheel, however in my S3 I place them like you do. I have some practising to get done for ‘pull, push’ now. I’ve already been working on my approach all roundabouts as ‘planning to stop’ since your last video 👍🏻🙂 Thanks.

[@bradleysteeves7891]

Excellent video. As a ppkice driving instructor in Canada.. we have been doing it WRONG we teach Push Pull ! It will take alot of convincing for them to them to change. You gave convinced me.

[@andrewlee5237]

Welcome back Reg 👍🍺.Hope you’ve been well over the last few months. Looking forward to your future videos. See you in October. 🤞

[@ASA_1347]

Thank you for sharing this. As a young driver trying to learn advanced driving techniques, this was very helpful.

[@artemkatelnytskyi]

Makes complete sense. Thank you for the video!

[@davidmacdonald4296]

Much appreciated as always Reg. Just signed up for an advanced course with the IAM although for obvious reasons observed drives aren't operating just now - so your videos help me work on things in the interim. Always useful to hear what the common mistakes are also 👍

[@mikeroberts]

Nice one Reg. I found it very good explanation and liked the acknowledgement that our own footage/driving/riding is never 100% text book, although we try. The bit about thumbs will get some to bite, but that quarter to three position has thumb places on most cars these days.

[@tiergartenmusic]

Another excellent video, thank you. Although I’ve only been driving solo for two and a half years I’ve clearly already picked up some habits. I tend to hold the wheel at ten to three and am a definite wheel pusher rather than a puller. I tried this technique on a drive earlier and found it really difficult! I think it’s partly because steering is one of those things that when you think consciously about how you’re doing it, you almost lose the knack. I’m also a bit unsure of where to put my hands when winding lock off. I’ll keep watching and practising.

[@thefenlanddefencesystem5080]

Not to be glib, but: getting the lock off with Pull-Push is just a matter of 'rewinding the tape' on what you did to get the lock on in the first place. Bear in mind that with Pull-Push, there are two main control axes for each hand: (1) where it is on the wheel; and (2) how much grip it has. Each hand stays on its half of the wheel, and aside from the initial pull where the pulling hand rises higher, they mirror each other. While the wheel is being turned, the active hand has grip but the other slides (maintaining contact with the wheel) to oppose it. When the hands meet, if more turn is needed then the grip is transferred to the other hand for the following push or pull. Crucial to this is building up that *smooth rhythm* between pulls/pushes and flipping the grip between hands, while turning the wheel. This makes it sound much more complicated that it really is -- fundamentally, you're just trying to smoothly rotate a circular object. The idea is with Pull-Push your hands should always be positioned with suitable grip to do exactly this *in either direction at any degree of steering*. So when the steering is to be undone, it's just a matter of reversing the prior steering actions (e.g., the last push becomes a pull on the same hand). One thing to be aware of is when returning to straight, on that last *push* you want the sliding hand to return to its normal/Fixed Input position (rather than continue to mirror the gripping hand). It can then take grip while the other, 'higher' hand is slid back to its normal driving position. I hope this helps. Reg's 'figure-of-8' suggestion at 18:40 is something I do myself with associates and it's a very good means of developing that Pull-Push rhythm, especially with respect to the change in direction.

[@tiergartenmusic]

@@thefenlanddefencesystem5080 Thank you!

[@johncoppock3823]

Great video many thanks. For the pull push one other advantage is the first transition between the hands will then be at the bottom of the wheel where it will be smoother (reasons as you explained). For horrible sliding of the wheel that invariably means the driver then starts backing off on the accelerator etc. in order to adjust the steering path, what a mix up. Funny the steering requirements of the advanced test (because I didn't understand them) put me off the test for years. Learning properly was one of the most satisfying bits of the advanced test so I would recommend it, if only for the satisfaction of the more relaxing (and accurate) steering. Big thanks again and look forward to the next one.

[@lambofGod886]

Thanks for this Reg. I know I grip the wheel too tightly, and end up with aching wrists! :)

[@jacquik6231]

Another great video

[@iainwelsh9372]

I'm so old I can remember when 50 pence steering was called threepenny bit steering!

[@mtilford7978]

Me too. Only it was describing someone riding a motorcycle!

[@johncoppock3823]

Thanks for the comment on the thumbs, interesting what other police accident inspectors have experienced. Perhaps it dates from the days of unmetaled roads (off road as you say) when people also used to crash more often and gearing of steering would be much higher so bigger amplitude kick back?

[@davidcullen4908]

What a brilliant video, I am just starting my IAM course and have found the three video's viewed to date very helpful. Will you have some guidance for EV driving at some stage as I will be taking the course and exam in my EV.

[@richardpiper4828]

Just wondering your opinion on how a driver is expected to indicate coming off a roundabout in a Tesla Model 3 with no stalks but just buttons on the left hand of the steering wheel. If you are following a pull push technique your hands are going to be no where near the buttons which are placed vertically on the horizontal arm - not even on different sides of the wheel.

[@richardnicholson3912]

I know I definitely do the 50 pence steering sometimes. Not all the time or not most of the time by any means. I suppose if a corner maybe tightens up more than I thought or if I’ve misjudged a corner. How do I correct that does that bring us back to limit point videos?

[@freelegal]

Round about 12:38 we get shown the pull/push technique, but it's being used to negotiate bends that could be managed with the hands in the standard position because the steering input doesn't take either hand past the 12 0'clock position. Is it wrong then to 'mirror' the hands if the steering input is small? I hope that's just done to shown the principle, rather than when it should be applied.

[@PKWeaver74]

That's wheel shuffling as I was taught it, would have been interested to know what the difference is.

[@markwright3161]

I presume how you avoid '50 pence steering' through a long bend that tightens or opens is by slowing the inputs to avoid stopping then adding more when you reach a tighter point, or the opposite if it opens up before the exit. Separately, if a long curve remains consistent, does adjusting the steering to keep the car balanced when powering through it come under '50 pence steering'? There's a very open long curve on a main road I regularly use that has a a couple of drains on the inside that the tarmac slopes towards specifically around them, and it's not a particularly smooth road either despite that, so the car wants to move around. I drive a FWD, so it's not correcting for being on the edge of power induced oversteer, at least not in the same way you would in a RWD.

[@thefenlanddefencesystem5080]

For 9&3 or 10&2 hand position, I also consider keeping control stalks within fingertip reach (while heading straight), as well as the thumb controls. 10:11 I remember that. Then again, it's been a while since Top Gear was actually about driving or cars.

[@rabp419]

Hi hope you can clear up a bit of an argument between me and my daughter . She is currently undergoing driving lessons and her instructor has been telling her it's ok to cross your hands . As a IAM advanced driver and hgv class 1 driving assessor I've told her this is not best way to control a vehicle

[@adiladnan2730]

How you put the bar for the rear camera?

[@cjk32cam]

On a left hander, I will position to the right to improve my view. However, I often have to come back in when oncoming traffic cuts the corner. Is this considered fifty-pending? Should I be less far out to allow for slight corner cut of oncoming traffic?

[@williamhodgson6250]

Hi John would this be the same principle when parking? One observer stated it didn’t really matter. What’s your thoughts? Thanks.

[@RegLocal]

Yes. Same principle when parking. Keep it smooth & avoid “palming” the wheel.

[@terrymckeown907]

Just done the IAM Mature Driver Review, whilst there were no issues with my driving the examiner did say that my quarter to three was the position was not ideal and that I would not pass the Advanced Test doing it. I am not intending to do the test but just wondered if this was the case.

[@tallandhairy]

I would have thought that quarter to three would be OK, but its not ideal. Bear in mind the fantastic advice about the additional control that using the fine motor pulling muscles gives, with this in mind ten to two is better general starting position to rest your hands in as not only is it easy to keep a steady course ahead but it offers you a greater degree of travel to pull down with either to the left or right hand for any curves ahead of you.

[@terrymckeown907]

Thanks for the reply Dan, based on your comments and a week spent practising 10 to 2 on the empty roads of Norfolk I am now motivated to go for the Advanced. After 56 driving over 1 million miles it is hard to shake some habits without a bit of effort.

[@patrickflashman9473]

Does it matter if you push or pull the steering back to neutral?

[@RegLocal]

Pulling is likely to be smoother.

[@erniehogan2404]

Many thanks for another very informative video, Reg! I passed IAM in 1996 and became a Qualified Observer a year later. Two points that were made strongly to me were 'hand flat; thumbs up' in the 10 to 2 or quarter to 3 position similar to what you described to prevent getting hurt. The other was 'see-sawing' through gradual corners was a definite no-no; this latter tequnique, which, if I've got it right, you seemed to advocate. So I guess the current IAM advice of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' applies to the latter? My problem with see-sawing is that it can deteriorate easily into a rough push-pull technique.

[@darrennoles9056]

Interesting point! Is seesaw where you keep both hands on the wheel in less-tight cornering?

[@erniehogan2404]

Yes, both hands on the wheel moving side to side was very much frowned upon in our group as it tended to make steering rough.

[@ilonaganova8589]

I feel personally attacked, wheel shuffler here,desperately trying to fix this 😅😂 Oh no, guilty of the 50 pence steering as well 😭

[@stub1116]

This video needs to be re-examined.