Test criteria IAM.

[Kimosabe]

But seriously, I could really use some help from you folks here. This mirror checking thing is perplexing me. I'm going to open a new thread on this incase anyone misses the chance to comment on it due to not reading the end of this thread. Also because it's unrelated to my IAM test criteria thread.

I'm still trying to find justification for checking my mirrors as much as I now do, as a result of IAM/RoADAR training. Is it possible to check the mirrors too much? Right now this means that i'm training myself to check my mirrors (all three of them guys! ) because i've been told that the examiner will want to see me doing it this much and not because I have found any real-world justification for it. I regularly review my car cam footage of me giving 'commentary' and I keep repeatedly saying things like "still three behind" or "still nothing behind" every time I see a junction, pass a junction, road sign, enter a new road etc... "the car behind just turned off" .... but so what?! So what if the car behind just turned off? I find no value in knowing this. It feels like complete overkill unless i'm in urban traffic but then i'd regularly check my mirrors when I felt I needed to anyway.

"Approaching an NSL, mirrors, one behind" and? I'm accelerating out of say, a 40 and upto 60 (if it's safe etc) as I pass the NSL sign and there's still a car driver behind who is probably (perhaps hopefully) wondering why the car infront suddenly shot off.... sorry, made unexpectedly good progress...

As you may have gathered, I like to do things for good reason and not just because someone says it needs to be done. Can anyone shed some light on this for me. I've got a 2nd opinion RoADAR drive coming up and I really want to nail everything before I put in for my test.

Thanks.

[martine]

Duplicate post Kimosabe...

I've replied to this one:
http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4348

[Ralge]

:lol:

But seriously, I could really use some help from you folks here. This mirror checking thing is perplexing me. I'm going to open a new thread on this incase anyone misses the chance to comment on it due to not reading the end of this thread. Also because it's unrelated to my IAM test criteria thread.

I'm still trying to find justification for checking my mirrors as much as I now do, as a result of IAM/RoADAR training. Is it possible to check the mirrors too much? Right now this means that i'm training myself to check my mirrors (all three of them guys! ) because i've been told that the examiner will want to see me doing it this much and not because I have found any real-world justification for it. I regularly review my car cam footage of me giving 'commentary' and I keep repeatedly saying things like "still three behind" or "still nothing behind" every time I see a junction, pass a junction, road sign, enter a new road etc... "the car behind just turned off" .... but so what?! So what if the car behind just turned off? I find no value in knowing this. It feels like complete overkill unless i'm in urban traffic but then i'd regularly check my mirrors when I felt I needed to anyway.

"Approaching an NSL, mirrors, one behind" and? I'm accelerating out of say, a 40 and upto 60 (if it's safe etc) as I pass the NSL sign and there's still a car driver behind who is probably (perhaps hopefully) wondering why the car infront suddenly shot off.... sorry, made unexpectedly good progress...

As you may have gathered, I like to do things for good reason and not just because someone says it needs to be done. Can anyone shed some light on this for me. I've got a 2nd opinion RoADAR drive coming up and I really want to nail everything before I put in for my test.

Thanks.

Different observers/examiners place different emphasis on mirror use, clearly.
On my last re-test, my RoSPA examiner actually complimented me for not "living in my mirrors" - clearly he was of the view that some drivers spend too much time looking there to the detriment of forward observations.
There has to be a balance and I look for it myself in my candidates on a RoAdTest. For one, I never mention the word "mirror" in my commentary, preferring instead to demonstrate that I am aware of everything around me that could cause me a problem as I plan to make my way through/past hazards (= anything that may cause me to change speed, steer or signal).
To answer one question of yours, when planning to accelerate out of one speed limit to another, I am more than interested to know that following traffic is not planning to out-accelerate me and is therefore not a threat.

[Kimosabe]

Thanks for your considered reply Ralge. Apologies for not revisiting this thread sooner.