Ashley's Analysis | Lessons Without an Instructor 

When my son was learning to drive I asked his instructor about taking him out in my car for extra practice, He said that would be fine as long as I did not try to teach him anything and just let him practice what the instructor was teaching him. If I had an opinion about something I was to ask the instructor about it and not tell my son " that wasn't right" as teaching methods had changed since I passed my test. My son passed the first time doing this, I believe it helped his confidence. In the clip, I will praise the learner's physical reaction but her language and attitude leaves a lot to be desired. An aggressive driver in training.

Since I started watching your videos it’s calmed my driving down considerably. Thank you! I used to beep at someone doing the slightest thing incorrectly and usually causes more problems than there needed to be. Now if something happens I’ll be calm and give them plenty of space and end up being calm myself.

I wouldn’t say the driver is exhibiting road rage type anger. I’d say the swearing is a result of adrenaline caused by shock at something happening which was clearly visible had either party been looking for it. As a new driver she’s only just getting to grips with her own input. Other hazards are freaking her out because she’s not being made aware of their likelihood or being given the tools to deal with them

It seems like she sees red mist too easily, i have a few times in my driving life but thanks to this channel over the past year my stress has reduced. When i'm calm i actually observe better.

This is heading to the A500 from Newcastle Under Lyme, pulling out and near misses are a constant threat there as it’s extremely hard to get gaps in the traffic and you can be waiting for ages. You cannot drive down that road with that attitude, everyone needs to look out for each other and stay alert.

I was taught by a professional driving instructor but also went out at the weekend with my dad, it might have helped that he was in the police and was a traffic officer, definitely learnt a lot from both

The attitude on this learner! You just know she's going to be causing mayhem on the roads if she passes 🤪

There seemed to be no reduction in speed as they approached the bus. The grey Renault could have taken a chance and tried to force their way past, someone could have stepped out from behind the bus or between the stationery cars but there didn't seem to be anything in their driving which showed they were aware of these dangers. Then the junction comes and they are still carrying on like the road is empty and there is nothing around them. They often say the difference between having an accident and avoiding one is down to luck.

With all of mine, I’ve always had then pull over in a safe & legal place, a) to calm down, & b) debrief, following such things. My debrief is always calm, fair & frank. I try to get them thinking how things could have been done better by them-self, and if they felt they contributed. Working it out for yourself rather than being told is a much better lesson.

Excellent analysis. *No one* else would have said all of this or had this level of critique, let alone a nuanced one at all. Guaranteed *everyone* else would just be pointing fingers and end the "discussion." Therefore, you are correct. Even I (and *everyone* else for sure) sided with just the learner, purely out of emotions, instead of looking at the bigger picture like you did. Thank you for opening my eyes yet again.

This person is a learner driver being taught by a family member/friend in this clip but the thing is the black car pulling out is fully in the wrong. You don’t pull out when someone leaves a gap for you in the traffic without checking if anything is coming the other way. Always crawl first then If it’s clear, you can go. To many people think when someone is letting them out they can just go which causes accidents. Not need for the rage and swearing at the end though.

Thank you for this latest video, as always very informative and helpful. I know you didn't say to use just driving instructors, but I honestly believe that this is the best way too learn. When you are taught by someone who is not a driving instructor, it's so easy to pick up their bad habits... I am always looking out for potential hazards and trying to anticipate someones actions before they happen. There will always be occasions where the unpredictable will and has happened, but we can at least try to avoid these scenarios by anticipating. One of the best things my driving instructor ever taught me was to do a running commentary on a driving lesson. I had to say exactly what I was doing, what other people we're doing and what I anticipated they might do? I still do this today, it helps keep you aware of your surroundings. Thank you for the channel and videos, they are massively appreciated.

I became tense the moment I saw the stopped bus; I was expecting someone to step out from behind it (good job nobody did - I suspect that these two were oblivious!).

When I was doing driving lessons with a qualified instructor, three years ago, my driving ability went down the tube when he was either telling me something or I was talking to him. I spent more of my lessons saying nothing or being limited because of that. This lady never stopped talking. Even now, unless on very long motorways I won't have the radio on, as I feel the need to concentrate on what's happening. Even though I have passed my test, I am not yet at a level where I can think about a conversation and talk without it affecting my ability to take everything in. I wouldn't put dual controls on that car, I would put gaffer tape over her mouth.

I am currently helping my daughter with her driving and I have found that my IAM training has helped enormously as I am routinely looking well ahead of the car anyway. My daughter thinks I am some sort of psychic but it is definitely hard work maintaining the necessary concentration from the passenger seat and I have nothing but respect for Driving Instructors who do this all day. It is definitely more tiring than just driving myself. Not sure what partial self-driving will start to do to accident rates if it becomes widespread given how hard it is to maintain concentration when you are not actually driving! Thanks for the videos Ashley, your attitude with students has been the template I have tried to adopt with my daughter and it is so far working well.

Hello Ashley, I found this one especially interesting as I've recently been teaching my son to drive. I'd always wanted to sit in and supervise him and expected to arrange official lessons also. I enjoy the 'art' of driving and really try to do a good job of it. I have had what I feel, is the benefit through my work as a police traffic officer, of a lot of additional training to get to the advanced category I operate at now. Some people think police training to this highest level is all about speed, but in fact it's about observation, anticipation and awareness. That in turn leads to you being able to make progress when needed in the safest way, managing the risk. While I haven't tried to turn my lad in to a wanna be cop, I've utilised these skills to help him develop his own. I did a lot of research on the lead up to starting with him to brush up myself that I was doing the best I could in teaching him to not only pass a test, but be world ready as I put it. The combination of my own experience and I have to say, your excellent channel have been invaluable. Thank you so much for making this information available. It's definitely helped and continues to. I've seen a few comments of the negative flavour about police driver's and it's true that not every officer can be that perfect driver but I honestly do try to 'professionalise' my driving at all times and really believe I should be an ambassador for good driving behaviour, so it depresses me when I see poor actions by colleagues. Apologies for the length of the message, but it's my first comment to your channel and wanted to get involved this time. Thanks again for your brilliant help and I'm sure you'd be glad to know the boy passed his test earlier this month with flying colours.

For me, the discussion about the other section of roads made me cringe the most. I learnt recently with my uncle and took lessons all in a car without dual controls no issues, but we would never talk about anything that wasn’t to do with events unfolding in the present because it takes your attention away from potentially dangerous situations just like this! Thanks for the great content, I passed in November 2021 but these videos continue to help me work towards being a better driver.

The whole clip bought chills to my spine . I apologise if I offend anyone but always professionals should be used . Have seem way too many incidents with what I call mum , dad and co instructing . Yes no dual controls, but look how many bad habits get spread and collected around . And then someone else has this as a bad habit .. I keep well away from them , So many things wrong there I’m not going to even try . Hope this stops some accidents though .👍

Shortly after I started being an instructor 40 years ago one of my pupils had A similar situation on a driving test. She swore at the other driver. The Examiner gave her a bit of advice and I used it myself and pass it on today. He told her you never know what’s going on in the other persons mind or their life when they make a mistake and swearing only makes it worse because you can’t let it go. he told her if she was going to get angry and swear, do it with humour. What he said was say you so-and-so but with a quiet jokey voice and the anger goes quickly and you don’t hang onto it and lose concentration. I used it and the frustration was gone within a few seconds. How many times has someone cut you up in the morning and you’ve gone off on one and you still moaning about it to yourself and then to your partner when you get home at night. Only this last week I was driving through a housing estate and I saw a lady and a gaggle of kids walking on the path. I already had in my head certain things that could happen even though it looks very calm. I noted that the lady was pushing an empty pushchair. From behind her a child walked out into the road around two years of age. I pointed to the child as I approached and the lady turned around in shock to see your daughter in the road. I stopped by the lady never said a single word and just gave her a nice smile, she thanked me and I carried on. The scariest part of this was as I went on down the road in the next 30 seconds a car came racing up the road over the speed limit and the realisation of what could’ve happened. Hopefully that lady will not let her little daughter out of her sight again.

When I watch your videos you say things just as I'm thinking them, you're by far one of if not the best driving tutor/analysis people on here

I’ve found that your children pick up on driving habits at a very young age, because that’s the only frame of reference they have till they start with a professional driving instructor, who sometimes has to right that behaviour first. So absolutely this was the ‘experienced’ passengers fault, who’s attitude seem to be they where out for a nice little drive, but what he actually was doing, was letting the female learner control the situational dynamic. She was in effect, driving solo, with him along for company in my opinion.

When I taught my sons to drive, we hired the dual control car from Arnold Clarke. They were good to have, but never had to use them. Both passed first time, I spoke to the examiner for my first son, and he told me to consider becoming a driving instructor, which I thought was nice.

As someone who did the vast majority of my learning with a parent, and only had about 6 or 7 hours of professional instruction close to my test date, I absolutely would say that professional instruction is the way to go. Lots of little niggles were picked up in my driving, for one, and dual controls saved a nasty situation from occurring also. It's also really good for your confidence prior to your test, knowing that you've covered all the required areas with an instructor, like manoeuvres and all the tricky junctions around the test routes. Great video, as always, Ash - your work has made me a much better driver, and I'm super thankful for it! :)

6:00 It's been my experience in life that, more often than not, people mistake incompetence for malice.

Thank you, Ashley, I have two sons with provisional licences. They both have learner insurance to drive my car. I'm not a professional instructor, and I have found your videos (not just this one) very helpful in modelling how to talk to the learner driver. I have tried to drum into them the value of hanging back, giving themselves an extra second or so, so that they have time to respond to unexpected events. I'm not sure that I would have spotted this specific hazard, but I would have encouraged easing off the accelerator when approaching the queue behind the bus on the other side of the road, because who knows what could emerge from between a pair of stationary cars - maybe a pedestrian or a dog? I have also found my own driving style evolving for the better. Again, many thanks to you.

I think it's worth adding that there are professional instructors that don't teach their students how to plan ahead. I have certainly learned more from watching Ashley's videos for this last year than I did from a year oof actual instruction 18 years ago.

Only used driving instructors myself as I didn’t want to pick up any driving habits of friends or family. After passing my test last November I’m now into my second week of driving in my first car, but still find these videos very helpful. I had to drive from Burnley to M22 on the motorway with no motorway learning and in heavy rain. The key was to stay focused and have my wits about me. I decided to take a break and came off at Ashton-Under-Lyne which helped me stay focused. Ashley’s videos have been an absolute godsend and I like to think I’ve learned a lot from them

The worst person to learn from is someone who's fairly incompetent and distracted themselves, definitely don't want to learn someone else's bad habits. This person needs stump up the money and pay a proper instructor

Hi Ashley. I agree with your comments about getting training from a professional driving instructor and not a family member. I am talking from experience having spent a period trying to teach my mum to drive with little success but I was young and inexperienced. I had since become an IAM advanced qualified car driver and was a Police Officer and car and motorcycle qualified response driver so I have had a lot of training since then but as this was 15 years ago. I think no matter how good a driver we might think we are, we can all benefit from further instruction and assessment, particularly with changes to legislation and watching videos such as those you produce is very educational. Thank you all for your videos and gaining a new subscriber. Stay safe on the road.

I once went for a lesson with my Dad just to practice manoeuvres. Never did it again as he had no patience.

Hmmm ... 'back in the day'. When I was a teenager, my friend had a Bedford CA van. He was about the same age as me. We used to work the van, I helped with the lifting and carrying, etc. I had 'learned to drive', (the mechanics of it) by watching what my Dad did when he was driving. Therefore I only had to get over the 'kangaroo' actual experience of using the clutch, that didn't take long. Yes, my friend allowed me to practice driving in his van. I very quickly became adept, being a cyclist I was very road aware, with the dangers of other road users at the forefront of my mind. After about 6 months of this practice I was reminded that I would have to 'know' the Highway Code for a driving test as they ask questions from it as well as observing one's actual driving. So I learned the Highway Code. The day before my driving test we were sitting around in my flat and talking about it, when I realised the Driving Examiner would have to sit in the 'passenger seat'. Uh, Oh, it was a Van and had no passenger seat - we used to just sit on the floor. I looked around my kitchen, where we were sitting, had an idea, and asked my friend if he would mind if I drilled a couple of holes in the floor of the van. He didn't mind. I ran up to the Ironmongers and bought a couple of those 'L' shaped little steel brackets and bolted one of my dining chairs on the passenger side ... ! Things were very different back then LOL, seat belts were not fitted as they were not a requirement! Anyway, you may well not be pleased to hear, despite the look on the face of the Driving Examiner when I rolled the door back for him to sit in his chair, that I passed my test first time 'chuckle' ... Back to the point in this video, I didn't mention that I had done the Cycling Proficiency Course and also was a provisional moped rider ... becoming a motorcyclist a few years later ... which is when 'live or die' one learns to predict what the 10 vehicles behind and in front may be doing within one's thinking and stopping/steering to the escape route one has to always have planned ... Before I found your channel it seemed like I was 'the only one on the road' looking so far ahead ... yes, still motorcycling at 69 years old ... thanks for your videos, keep up the great work. Never too old to learn eh! I still get some little gems from you, from time to time. Thumbs Up

Great channel I enjoying all your videos, and I will hopefully be taking a test soon😅

I've just driven down this road for the first time, 20 minutes ago, then it pops up on my feed! What are the odds? Anyway, great analysis of the situation and it's a excellent point about instructors knowing when to strike up conversation and when not to. My instructor would always talk about football, cricket, F1 and cycling but then he'd suddenly go quiet when I was approaching roundabouts or he'd seen something ahead. I never actually realised at the time until you mentioned it.

Can I suggest another way to help in situations like this? When you are in traffic queue like this leave a car length free on the other side of the junction as well - then there’s much more visibility for everyone. I’ve been doing that for decades and it really helps. It helps me see what is coming from ahead and gives a way better view for any vehicle emerging from the junction. I’ve never had anything larger than a motorbike overtake me to fill that gap in case you were wondering. My wife and I both went out with our oldest daughter when she was learning and we all hated it.

I am currently helping my partner learn to drive in between lessons with an instructor, this video is really helpful - would appreciate more on the best practices for teaching a friend or family member as a “layman”.

Great video, I’m always looking for gaps in the traffic that cars could potentially emerge from. It’s a lot easier to sort out sooner rather than later

I tried teaching someone once, never again. respect to those that do pass the exam and become driving instructors

Right before the danger emerges, I would have already been more cautious. My instructor beat into me how many times people just walk out from behind a bus… Before the clip got to the car, I fully expected exactly that to happen. I’m happy nobody was hurt. It takes quite some time to grow a thick enough skin to handle such a scare better. Or, as you very well point out Ash, a good instructor. I feel fortunate to have had had one.

Just one thing to mention, dashcams are usually mounted at the top of the windscreen looking down. It's entirely possible that they didn't see the black car in that gap since they sat far lower than the cam and couldn't see over the bonnet of the next car in the queue

I think the proud comment was RE the emergency stop not the response after

I think 27 mph was a little fast for approaching that junction

A very good video and I could comment a fair bit but keep re watching the early part to get another glimpse of the ‘32 Ford coupe hot rod 😎

I think there is definitely a place for learning with family members alongside an instructor. For example family members might be willing to supervise a longer journey to see relatives, which can get you used to junctions and types of road you don't have locally. I only did that after checking that my instructor was happy with my standard of driving first though!

I live near this area, that road is an absolute nightmare to drive down, it always has been, but I've always had lessons down there when I was learning and it was a great point for it

I had a great instructor, but also went out with my father who was a natural teacher and also great at anticipation and planning in driving. I could almost hear him asking questions as I watched that clip. As soon as he saw the queue behind the bus he would have been saying things like “now what should be watching out for with that bus” etc. I have always tried to be a planner because both instructor and parent taught me that way. I have no ability to articulate it while driving (at least not consistently ) so I left it to the professionals when my own children learned to drive. Not always an option for everyone, but it is important to know your limitations.

Good information as always. Lack of observation by the " instructor" ? What an attitude, Proud of your sell !! ??

Thank you! ☺

I remember having a pretty major argument with my late fiancée after a very near miss she avoided well, in saying she’d done nothing wrong herself, but could have done things better. She got it after a few days, but she felt I was blaming her, (she had been a repeat abuse victim prior to meeting me and had issues with any criticism).

I can't emphasise enough how the first sentence in the video is important. My dad taught me how to drive slow, he taught me how to drive fast, he taught me everything in between, and in all weather conditions. To this day, I still apply his best tips on the road. Losing your temper is a no no, red mist will impair your judgment.

When my wife was learning to drive, she reached a point where she was actually very competent. So we drove from Hull to the Yorkshire Dales - with L plates - with no issues at all until the _very_ last turn into the car park at our destination, when she pulled across a car approaching at about 60mph. Couldn’t do a thing about it - no dual controls - and I have no idea how we didn’t get hit. So I get _exactly_ what you’re saying!

Any time I'm in a situation where the road is clear in my direction but a long queue of oncoming traffic as shown in Ash's video, I am on VERY high alert for this sort of thing, including also pedestrians dashing out in between vehicles. Keeping speed well down and perhaps also dropping down a gear, together with strategic obeservation between gaps whilst the opportunity briefly presents itself are all methods I employ. Especially even more so approaching the back end of an oncoming queuing bus, where I might also consider a brief horn warning and covering the brake pedal, in addition to seeing if tell-tale feet are visible from under the bus. One challenge with keeping your speed down in this sort of situation is the driver behind not understanding why you are being "slow" when the road in front of you is clear. Obviously they are not aware of the risks and all the more reason to slow even further. I do hope the pupil in this video matures and adopts a more proactive approach to being a defensive driver. Yes the Honda was at fault for the way it pulled out but the pupil should have been keeping their speed down in this type of "oncoming queue" situation as well as spotted the hazard earlier.

I've had a few people out for driving practice, and there will always be times where you would have done things differently from them. a thing which stuck out to me, other than what Ashley mentioned is that they seemed to be practicing to the test rather than learning to drive. a big part of my own driving education was that when I went somewhere with my parents, I drove. that way I wasn't just memorizing a route - I was getting practice in navigating and in handling things that weren't always done in the same order. of course, it was done in a manner that didn't place me outside my skill level. in fact, the only thing that was taught to the exam was that on the exam route, there was a point where the driver would be pointed at an intersection where they could only turn south and told to get going northbound. - the success would be determined by whether the learner knew to zigzag before they reached the intersection.

I think the learner reacted well apart from the slight rage at the end. This needs addressing... Yes the Hyundai driver was in the wrong but her anger was also wrong. I know we all do it in the heat of the moment. In the end we all make mistakes and all have to accept them.

The black car should of emerged more carefully in my opinion and not just assumed that there road was clear. The learner did fantastic at stopping but there is no need for the reaction which carried on further than it should. Take a deep breath and carry on, swearing and shouting at them ain't going to change what's just happened.

I was once a reactor from time to time when fuel was less than £1.50 a litre, though since the increase in fuel and since thinking of my phone as a black box I’m more aware of risks and hazards. Admittedly first time watching the clip I never saw the black car at the junction. However I’d always drive slowly and with care if traffic is stationary either on a dual carriageway or single carriageway giving me a chance to brake. I’m more cautious around other learners and new drivers as I’m anticipating mistakes more than expecting mistakes.

0:43 nice classic there Regarding the learner her actions are going to cause her to get into a lot of road rage incidents

First, when I learned to drive back in 1970 things were very different to today in many ways. At that time I had three driving instructors, my father and two licensed instructors. Of the three I learned the most about defensive driving and watching for idiots from my father who was a professional driver. However, what was a shock was how bad the first licensed instructor was, so I changed instructors. This only highlighted, to me, that it's NOT the qualifications and license that's important but the INDIVIDUAL skills and ability of the teacher. As to the gap in the traffic, you should ALWAYS expect such gaps in such situations as it's a break of the traffic laws to block the intersection. Thus drivers nearing such an intersection should be taking a lot more care to see what is happening in the side street, as you pointed out.

Yea, I'd slow down where there's a jam in the other lane, same on highways, when there's a stopped exit lane and I'm just continuing on the highway. One thing I find helps me psychologically deal with people's awful driving is that I expect it every time I get in the car, like I expect to be cut off , I expect others to be reckless or to have really slow people not knowing what they're doing. When you expect something, it'll surprise you way less when it happens and then you're less angry as a result. Anger stems from the element of surprise as well.

I was taught by my dad first then went on to driving lessons later. I think the lessons were needed as I was only around 9 years old when my dad taught me!!! 😄

Good video to show Ashley. As an experienced driver of 38 years I consider myself quite proficient but I would think twice before I took someone out to teach them. I teach sport to an international standard and I know that Teaching is a bloody difficult thing to do, just because you have developed good techniques and habits doesn’t mean that you can convey that to a learner. It is more likely that not only you will fail to instill the good driving you have learned but actually pass on some bad habits to the learner. There is a difference between a coach and an instructor, an instructor teaches the novice, and the coach puts the novice through training to put that knowledge into practice. [Usually the best that a family member can hope to be is to act as an assistant coach]

The differing viewpoints of the driver and the supervisor need to be recognised and accomodated for. In this case the supervsior could have used their viewing advantage, as well as their experiance, to notify the existance of the queue gap and advise the driver of the potential reason for a gap in oncoming the traffic. Similarly we should recognise that the cameras view of the vehicle through the gap behind the bus is greater than the drivers, if it was there at all.

This clip is in Newcastle in Stoke where I am from! This happens regularly with people out with parents and parents giving it big to normal drivers etc

Very interesting clip Ashley, thanks for sharing. It wasn't the best emerge and I can understand the learner drivers' initial shock, but why is she still complaining long after it's all over? (to be fair she does keep a good separation gap to the Honda). The other danger which we don't see is of a rear end shunt had a close following driver run into our learner when she had to hit the brakes hard. Jon's points about the need to reduce speed and look for danger are well made. I wish queueing traffic left bigger spaces round junctions to give vehicles like the Honda a better view when trying to emerge. Another thing that might have helped was if the black Honda driver had watched your video on 'creeping' before committing to an emerge.

Like several other commenters I combined getting practice in with my mum or dad with my proper lessons with an instructor- but only once I'd got the basics down in the proper lessons. I took about nine months until I went in for my test, which I gather is longer than most, but I did pass first time which I put down to how many hours of experience I had. About eight years later I took a girlfriend out for extra practice, but only went on public roads when I was confident that she'd got the basics down. I used a lot of the techniques my instructor used on me to point out potential hazards and to get her used to anticipating things. I certainly wasn't at the standard of a professional instructor but I like to think I helped her to pass.

Learning a test route. Omg. This does explain why people don't understand junctions. I took my son out on L plates once. I was reluctant to, even though I am a competent driver and believe that I am upto date with traffic laws, I said I am not a driving instructor. Anyway he is a good driver, even when he was a little boy he was encouraged to and just naturally took to driving all sorts of things. Anyway, he nearly pulled out of a roundabout inlet in front of a car. He was pretty shocked not by the near miss, but it was the first time he had been shouted at by me. It went sort of like this: “Brake, brake, brake. What the blood coated hell were you thinking of? “ This reminded me of my little lad that was, and his complete lack of fear. I was always having to explain that the bruises all over his body snd on his face, were as a result of his extremely adventurous nature, and not systematic child abuse. So we pulled over to talk about some fundamentals of self preservation. He seems to have become a very good driver. He keeps his excesses for track days now.

Unfortunately back in the seventies when I was learning, my driving instructor was much more focused on teaching how to do junctions, hillstarts, and suchlike than on the awareness skills that you constantly bring our in this channel Ash. I don't think my instructor would have pointed out that car, for example, and he certainly would talk while I was driving. I had friends sit with me while I was learning, and I payed the favour forward myself after passing (in those days that was legal the day you actually passed the test). Perhaps it's hubris but I didn't think I was significantly worse than the one instructor that I had: what I did insist on was that the trainee had one paid for lesson a week or I wouldn't go out with them. To be frank it wasn't about availability of instructors, it was about money. We all figured in my group of friends that we used the paid lessons to learn the skills and the unpaid practice with mates to then practice those skills. It's be interested in your thoughts on that, Ash? I am unclear if there has been a change in the professional attitude in the the forty years since, or whether you are simply an above average instructor: but if it is just you then I'm reassured that you are also an instructor of instructors, and at least your trainees will do better than my instructor did back in the day

I taught my two kids clutch control on pulling away no revs just easing out the clutch for pulling away the clutch in a gently brake lots of that in my field. Then they went with an awesome instructor R.I.P to him now both passed first time eight lessons, both calm drivers the daughter passed her HGV class one at 19 years old

Only had 5 lessons with my cousin (who was an approved driving instructor) and passed 1st time with the chief examiner. I was taught "Plan ahead as far as you can see"

Firstly can we take a moment to admire the hot rod at 0:42, now that is cool. Secondly the learner did well in this scenario to stop in time. While a friend or family member may not have the knowledge and experience that an instructor has, it can be great for a learner to sit with them between lessons. I wouldn't recommend it for a brand new driver though where the dual controls may well be needed. The learner in this clip has a good grasp of how to use the brakes in an emergency which is good. You say the black car can be clearly seen before it pulls out which is true but imo only to the experienced eye, a learner might not have that level of awareness yet. I agree with you on the point that they shouldn't be talking so much because talking definitely takes away some of your concentration when driving. It can be hard not to chat to a family member though and they might be well used to talking and driving and wrongly assume that a learner should be too which is wrong. Edit: Her attitude at the end was stinking. Mistakes happen on the roads, I bet the Honda driver felt bad about it but we all make mistakes. The learner did take it personally as if the Honda driver did it on purpose which I highly doubt. I can forgive some of the swearing just after the car pulled out because we all react differently when we are surprised/shocked but she did go to far especially at the next set of lights. The passenger seemed a little bit scared to correct her tbh but if that is the case then that is a family matter lol

If I drive I always drop my window about one inch, this stops condensation/keeps you more awake and the other thing it allows some extra noise to enter the car.So when driving towards a cross roads it may look clear but that can change very quickly with emergency vehicles so that 1 inch gap you may hear sirens/horn noises a little sooner,even so it's best to drop your speed a little knowing you can stop quickly just in case the condition changes.It's great for us HGV drivers because we can see more and take into consideration our load.

Son just passed recently (Pass first time no minors). He had 'proper' driving lessons with an instructor (actually a friend of mine) but there was so long between tests (theory then practical) because of the backlog just now due to the ongoing situation, that he did a LOT of practise . He would drive himself to and from work (with me in the passenger seat). I pretty much zoned out a lot of the time but did come out with some 'suggestions' "leave a gap here just in case he needs to reverse" etc. He never was one for histrionics but on the odd occasion where he seemed to be on the verge of 'losing it, Iquickly reminded him it probably wasn't deliberate the 'guy' could be rushing to the hospital where his/her child was critical and there was no point in him getting all bent out of shape over it.

My driving instructor didn’t have a dual controlled car. He was in two minds about them. There is the obvious safety aspect but he also thought they took away the sense the pupil was in control and responsible.This was back in the mid 90’s.

I had an instructor but did about 5,000 miles worth of driving with my dad before I had my test. Due to the fact my dad is in the police and has done the IAM advanced driving course, I never had any issues.

Having learned to drive in Germany where you can only learn and drive with a qualified instructor in a dual controls car until you've passed I was surprised when I moved to the UK that you can just drive with a parent on a public road in your regular car here. Haven't followed developments in Germany over the last 20+ years, but I assume that still applies today. PS: Can't remember the number of lessons required, but if memory serves me right I was also required to drive a certain number of lessons on the Autobahn (as well as a certain number of hours at night). Rather different to the UK where (as you obviously know) motorway driving for learners was only allowed to take place in the first place a few years back.

This is a stretch of road I know and drive on and that junction is actually a difficult junction, on the approach it looks like a side street but is a very busy junction and a link road between 2 busy A roads (and one of the routes Ambulances use to get to/from the hospital) its a junction I approach with caution as its difficult to get out of and is usually busy so people take chances (it's not unusual for the road the learner driver was driving on to be even busier (it's the a53 between Newcastle under lyme and the a500)

A similar incident happened to me when I was doing my motorbike CBT in Brighton with a cyclist. I had seen the cyclist quite early and saw he was trying to emerge through stationary traffic. I managed to stop well in time and give way. He looked back at me with a cheeky grin, realising he hadn't looked in my direction causing me to stop. BTW I had had no previous road experience. Regarding the clip and the "you should be proud of yourself" comment, I wonder whether the supervising driver was also in a bit of shock!

I know this area well as live just off the road the car came out from. I think this showed me why a driving instructor is better to learn with for these areas as this road is well known as one of the busiest it Stoke and that side road always has people pulling out fast due as people get impatient waiting. An instructor would have prepared her for it and said to slow down in case of this, that is what happened with my instructor which in turn made me be more aware of cars can come from anywhere. I understand the 1st instance of reaction as the shock if you are a new driver would hit you. But the amount it carried on is a worry as her concentration is going to be gone and that's when mistakes happen, plus she can't learn as she wasn't told what she could do better in that situation yes good save but as my instructor says what could you have done to help that situation.

I know that junction well and everyone is aware that it is a popular route to the local hospital and A&E. I’m surprised that wasn’t mentioned on approach as on my driving lessons it was always mentioned. It is horrendous and that sort of thing regularly happens there

I once gave a friend a driving lesson in his car without dual controls he was driving perfectly until he went onto the link road. He absolutely floored it well over the 50mph limit his driving became so dangerous, he started tailgating he was not listening to me to slow down or pull over. We come off the link road i got out of the car at a set of lights and refused to get back in. His mum bought his dad up in their car and took it back home, His dad was furious at me for refusing to get back in. His dad rang me a couple of days later apologised because he did the exact same thing with his dad following him, told me that he’s now sold the car and cancelled his insurance! I was absolutely terrified at the time, just imagine how much trouble i would have been in if we were stopped by the police? How would i have proven myself innocent?

I think Ashley is taking the father/friend too literally here. The suggestions to calm down and that she should be proud, in my view, are not literal, but crafted attempts to keep her on his side and not let the rage spiral out of control, a rage that he is probably all too familiar with. How do I know this? Because it's exactly how people behave around my sister. They are much more interested in keeping her sweet than what the actual truth of the matter might be. Here he is dreading a kick off that could get them in even worse trouble, so he'll say anything he can to avoid it. Incidentally, that's why her rage reaction exists: because she has learned over years that everyone around her will do what she wants when she kicks off because they fear her having a full meltdown.

One thing I think may be mitigating in this circumstance. We see a view from the dashcam up near the mirror and on the passenger side. The driver being lower may have had no view of the car due to the traffic and the A pillar obscuring it. Even from the passenger seat it may not have been visible but there is also the gap in the queue that should have sent a signal. But even this is how junctions should be in queueing traffic, that is left clear.

Imagine the learner when they go for their test, and have to follow instructions, and take accountability for their actions! I've never thought of this aspect before, but would the demeanour/state of mind of the leaner (and any thrown insults or aggression) effect the test itself?

Not necessarily. Learning doesn't necessary mean naturally gifted persons getting certified and dropping standards afterwards. I think people can grow during the process. Hopefully she will sort out her anger issues but do note she kept distance and didn't road rage. She will most definitely have an opportunity to learn from her mistakes and be more observant... sometimes it takes an accident to learn this but thankfully, it was just a near miss and the other driver also has some responsibility here. I never understood why people that pull out in front decide to stop abruptly when speed is a better option when the road is clear ahead. Maybe she was under the false illusion that driving with her dad (?) that everything will go perfectly. I don't think she will be assuming this next time. I don't think we should misconstrue the praise given to her... without the confidence it is a bigger uphill battle, and more mistakes happen, along with more frustration. I am sure post-situation, when she has calmed down and not in the car, he told her to be more observant and not to be so frustrated. There is no way she is passing her test if she doesn't learn these life lessons, so if she manages to pass the test, then she has learnt and improved her driving style, and deserves the licence. I am sure this is just pre-driving instructor lessons rather than instead of.

This whole situation gives me a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My wife hounded and pestered me to sit next to her so she could practice in our car as soon as she had her provisional. She could barely work the controls correctly, use the indicators or look for hazards. I felt like I was a passenger on a death trip I had no control over so after the first 2 times I forbade her from practicing in our car and put her in the capable hands of my own driving instructor. She passed and is a safe driver now but I absolutely do not have the constitution to be a driving instructor 😬

I hate this road! Newcastle under Lyme towards Basford roundabout. That side road is a short cut to North Staffs Hospital, and it’s lethal!! People emerging out of nowhere, and it’s ridiculously narrow. Really difficult to manoeuvre! Turning right out of that road…..forget it!!

If you’re learning with attitude then you’ll drive with attitude. That’s not good at all. I feel sorry for the horn on the car in the future! 😂

It's absolutely insane to me that there are countries where you are allowed to just take a family member on the road. Here in the Netherlands, we don't have provisional licenses or learners permits, you are required by law to go to a certified/licensed professional instructor to get your driving lessons, then take the written test, then take the exam (which is a random route passing through a few busy and less busy areas), and only then (after waiting about a week) you get to pick up your license and go on the road without an instructor sitting next to you. The fact that they changed this to where you can take the final exam when you're 16 (with the same training, but just when you're a little less mature) and then can get a handful of family members put on your license to sit next to you while you drive until you're 18 was already very controversial and seen as incredibly irresponsible. While I respect anyone willing to risk their lives to take a family member out for a drive, I really wish at least a few hours of training by a certified instructor were required everywhere. Everyone thinks they're the best driver, but very few people actually are. Edit: After watching the video again, it's even more clear that a certified instructor should be the norm. Between the talking when passing multiple obstacles (car stopped on the left, bus stopped on the right, queueing traffic behind the bus and clearly multiple intersections) and going way faster than anyone should in that scenario (very likely someone will try to overtake the bus, poor visibility, cammer just went around the stopped car on the left themselves) I feel like that family member clearly was not pulling their weight in that situation. May as well have been the learner alone in a car.

What are flat sided roundabouts Ashley and how do you recognise one?

Yes. Queuing traffic on the other side of the road is a warning someone is going to come across at some point. Problem is you only really learn when you've been in that situation a few times and either spotted it early or nearly hit someone. When I learned to drive in the 80s I had around 20 hours of instructor lessons but months of driving at any opportunity with my mum. Often driving from London to Brighton via the North Circular. My dad wasn't very calm. I guess the point is when is a novice driver no longer a novice? At some point they're out on their own and it shouldn't be one day only out with dual controls, next day out on your own.

5:29 bothers me "he's going to try all sorts on me", why would he? That coupled with her mouthing off makes it sound like projection to me, i.e. she'd try all sorts...

I think the proud of yourself comment was fair enough. Even if he didn't mean it, it might have helped to calm her down and chill her ego. Hopefully they can watch this video and start applying more anticipation in their teaching/driving.

I taught my little sister to drive, after she had about 10 hours with an instructor and was confident enough. Several rules were in place and practiced thoroughly (Emergency stopping being the main one)

Few days ago was behind a learner who nearly went into the back of parked cars on the road - literally saw the instructor reach over and grab the wheel at the last moment!

I totally agree with Ashley. Here in QLD Australia, learners are allowed to be taught by parents etc, without ever seeing a qualified driving instructor. The driving test is easy too. The govt here only tackles speed as a problem. Then wonder why the road Toll is so high.

Any chance of a video on do's and don'ts regarding being a supervising driver.

It looks as if they're heading toward Stoke-On-Trent city centre on the A53 passing the New Vic Theatre on the left. I've driven a bit in Stoke-On-Trent and it is part of the culture that cars will begin to emerge from a side street and they will be let in particularly by slow moving traffic in the lane they want to turn into whether they're turning left or right - because I didn't know the area well enough to be comfortable to anticipate where a vehicle could emerge half way into the main road and be waiting to turn right, if I was already going 20mph and there was enough space in front of me I would keep up my speed to make clear I wasn't going to make more space for anyone to emerge in front of me and thankfully I've not been caught out. Obviously the Honda should have waited in the gap in the near lane until it was clear to turn right particularly because the traffic was moving quickly in the direction they wanted to go. Much like vehicles running red lights in Liverpool, drivers local to Stoke-On-Trent would expect to see some reckless emerges. I fully admit I don't know the area well enough to always anticipate when such incidents could happen but confident, experienced drivers in the area are able to sniff them out and solve the problems on the road rather than creating them.

This is why I only had lessons from a professional driving instructor & will never teach someone to drive. Yes the cost of lessons is high, but well worth it for learning correctly.

I think being a learner in that situation a lot of that anger will be originating from how nervous and on edge the incident made them coupled with a desire for recognition and confirmation that they were in the right. I do agree that it doesn't bode well for their attitude to driving going forward, but at the same time it's a bit harsh to assume that once a qualified and confident driver they wouldn't react to the same situation in a calmer manner. Everyone has a bad day sometimes and we are only human, besides hindsight is 20/20.

Super stuff Ash! Did she pass? I’m a planner. I did a drive score, an app that analyses driving, over the last 350 miles I scored 965 out of 1000, no idea if it’s accurate but I thought it was about correct!

Jon C posted a great comment. I will add to this, or suggest what should've happened afterwards:- The Provisonal Licence Holder was clearly stressed. Dad (?) or whoever was instructing should have called a "time out"..... Pull over somewhere safe; calm down; discuss the incident. This clip demonstrates why it's a bad idea to have family/friends as the 'influencer'. To answer your final question..... I'm definitely more of a "planner" than a reactor. My quick thinking - as a passenger yesterday pm - saved a possible rear ender..... Not the first time with that driver but, thankfully, he has improved since my previous journey with him. He trusts my judgement and even watches some of your vids - not beyond redemption by any means but it's hard to change 50 years worth of bad habits 🤔. Stay safe everyone 👍.