how we should all be Driving?

[rlmr]

Commentary is a training aid to get students looking where they should be and so the instructors know what the student has and hasn't seen.

Given some poetic licence, this more or less sums it up

Rennie

[AnalogueAndy]

Lovely smooth drive and excellent commentary. Am I the only one who found his commentary a bit 'fast' though?

Ok he was going fast and there was a lot to take in but we were taught not to speed up the commentary with the speed of the car..

There's often too much to mention, it's about ordering the hazards and picking out the key one's.

I remember one particular drive when we were going 'quick' and the driver ended up sounding like a commentator on the last stages of a horse race

[vonhosen]

Lovely smooth drive and excellent commentary. Am I the only one who found his commentary a bit 'fast' though?

Ok he was going fast and there was a lot to take in but we were taught not to speed up the commentary with the speed of the car..

There's often too much to mention, it's about ordering the hazards and picking out the key one's.

I remember one particular drive when we were going 'quick' and the driver ended up sounding like a commentator on the last stages of a horse race

Depends there are two main styles.

1) A machine gun delivery where you hit the observer with information in an endless stream emphasising how much you are seeing & how early you are formulating plans. (You've still got to prioritise because no matter how quick you deliver the information you can never sell everything).

2) A laid back easy delivery where with the relaxed manner of the drive you emphasise how much time you have & how easy it is. You talk about less, but still talk about the most important things in good time.

Different styles & each has their own place. People who are good can do either at will varying delivery for the audience, even doing so in the same drive.

[7db]

Commentary is a training aid to get students looking where they should be and so the instructors know what the student has and hasn't seen.

As I understand it commentary serves two purposes:-
i) To allow a coach/instructor to direct a student's vision, or to understand where his vision is.

ii) To knock 10mph off a drive when the driver is up to speed but the coach had a large lunch and his bearnaise sauce is unable to settle owing to concerns about whether the driver is upto the task of the speed his is demonstrating.


Of course the ultimate objective is to be able to deliver the commentary without knocking the speed off, although possibly only for those who have some handy wipes for the inside of the windscreen.

[martine]

...ii) To knock 10mph off a drive when the driver is up to speed but the coach had a large lunch and his bearnaise sauce is unable to settle owing to concerns about whether the driver is upto the task of the speed his is demonstrating.

Of course the ultimate objective is to be able to deliver the commentary without knocking the speed off, although possibly only for those who have some handy wipes for the inside of the windscreen.

Arrrghh...too much detail.
lol

I reckon I'm not bad at the 'machine gun' approach but not good at the more selective commentary - any tips on prioritising anyone?

[7db]

Yep - talk about only the things that make you do stuff.
Only do one thing at a time.

That should prune down the commentary.
Then move on to only talking about the stuff that you do that isn't usual.


Stage One:- "Cats eye, mirrors, line, mirrors, cats eye, mirrors, line, mirrors, cats eye, mirrors, line, mirrors, junction, mirrors, catseye, mirrors, line, mirrors, oncoming vehicle etc"

Stage Two:- "Hazard lines, turn-off sign, finger post, side road obscured, side road clear, oncoming vehicle, blah"

Stage Three:- "Junction" [car visibly eases off and positions for safety] "Clear" [warp factor ten, Mr Zulu]



Take my advice with a pinch of salt, however.

I hate commentary driving. I find that when I do it the words come out in the wrong order, and I concentrate on the task of talking, not the task of driving. I think the real reason I hate it is that I'm no good at it, so I find it a burden. I'm sure that would improve with practice, but I don't want to.

When others do it, I find it distracting and unnecessary. With most drives, I feel that I can sense when the driver has seen something and is accounting for it. The slight positioning, the variation in speed etc. If I think something is missed, dealt with differently, then I'll mention it and we can talk about it for a bit. Sustained commentary interrupts that ebb and flow and feedback loop, and you might as well be driving on your own.

Other people find it extremely useful, I should add.

[Horse]

I hate commentary driving. I find that when I do it the words come out in the wrong order, and I concentrate on the task of talking, not the task of driving. I think the real reason I hate it is that I'm no good at it, so I find it a burden.

When others do it, I find it distracting and unnecessary. With most drives, I feel that I can sense when the driver has seen something and is accounting for it. The slight positioning, the variation in speed etc.

IIRC you needn't worry about 'hating' it. There was some research done at Cranfield, prob. 15 years ago, which - again, IIRC - found that commentaries take away some 'processing power' from your brain (as someone else psted, about 'removing 10mph') . . .fairly obvious really, I suppose

Also, there are some people whose brains just won't function to 'create' a commentary - not a 'fault', just 'different' (like I can't 'do' foreign languages').

I find it's most useful for two things:
For me, as a 'Concentrate!' function
For others, as part of training, when focussed on a particular aspect

One other occasion: when the 'transmit' button on my radio stuck 'on' - and trainee got a 20 minute blow-by-blow account for free