Mirrors... what again?!
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:01 pm
I could use a little help with this.
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? I'm not finding any relevant information from checking my mirrors as much as I now do and it's bugging me. It's bugging me because I will soon apply for my RoADAR test and this is about the only thing my current RoADAR observer can find to regularly criticise about my driving. Sometimes i'm doing it but not saying it too...
To be clear, it's not that i'm not checking my mirrors when I feel it's relevant or that I never used to look in my mirrors prior to beginning AD, just that i'm now checking them all even when I feel it's irrelevant and ... what I find is that the information i'm gaining is irrelevant to me. What is it that i'm supposed to be looking out for that I haven't already seen? I'm not saying that checking mirrors is irrelevant, i'm questioning the rate at which I check mine and i'd like to know what you do.
Right now this means that i'm still 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 and that seems pretty barmy to me. I regularly review my car cam footage of me giving 'commentary' while out on my daily practice drives 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? So what if there's now five behind and not three? I find no value in knowing this. It feels like complete overkill to do this as much as I do, 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... and? What do I now know that is of any importance?
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. Your help would be gratefully received.
If anyone fancies coming out to pick holes in my driving, i'm very willing to do this. PM me if you are.
There. I think I said that enough times Thanks folks.
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? I'm not finding any relevant information from checking my mirrors as much as I now do and it's bugging me. It's bugging me because I will soon apply for my RoADAR test and this is about the only thing my current RoADAR observer can find to regularly criticise about my driving. Sometimes i'm doing it but not saying it too...
To be clear, it's not that i'm not checking my mirrors when I feel it's relevant or that I never used to look in my mirrors prior to beginning AD, just that i'm now checking them all even when I feel it's irrelevant and ... what I find is that the information i'm gaining is irrelevant to me. What is it that i'm supposed to be looking out for that I haven't already seen? I'm not saying that checking mirrors is irrelevant, i'm questioning the rate at which I check mine and i'd like to know what you do.
Right now this means that i'm still 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 and that seems pretty barmy to me. I regularly review my car cam footage of me giving 'commentary' while out on my daily practice drives 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? So what if there's now five behind and not three? I find no value in knowing this. It feels like complete overkill to do this as much as I do, 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... and? What do I now know that is of any importance?
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. Your help would be gratefully received.
If anyone fancies coming out to pick holes in my driving, i'm very willing to do this. PM me if you are.
There. I think I said that enough times Thanks folks.