Mirror checks, habits and pedestrian crossings - Cheat sheet for parents

This next blog post for parents teaching their children how to drive over this Covid infested period is about mirror checks and habits. After students starting to grasp the basics of control and feeling semi-comfortable with driving on the roads, I like to form good habits early. The mirror check for speed reduction is one of the most difficult habits to form due to it feeling counter intuitive. Why would looking away from a potential hazard make any sense? Getting them to know how close something is behind them before needing to brake means they know how much pressure to apply and when to do it.The best way of training for this mirror check is through the use of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. They can be seen easily from distance and shouldn't take anyone by surprise. The premise is that as soon as the student sees a crossing, they check their interior mirror. They're looking to see how close the vehicle is behind them.

Zebra crossings

They next need to scan and plan. They look either side of the crossing and make a plan on what they see. If there's no one in view, they maintain their speed. If someone might get there before them, they should reduce their speed just in case. If it's obvious someone is crossing, they need to stop.Drivers should make it all the way up to the line of the crossing when stopping. Consider a handbrake if the pause is more than a few seconds or there's a chance of roll back.When pedestrians walk from right to left, they have to be on the pavement before the car proceeds. When pedestrians walk from left to right they just need to clear half way before the driver should make progress.Drivers should never wave pedestrians across the road. Let them make their own decisions.The zig-zags on the floor on approach mean two things. No parking and no overtaking of the lead motorised vehicle on approach to the crossing. If there's an island in the middle of a zebra crossing, this makes it two separate crossings. Meaning that if the driver can reach the crossing before a pedestrian walking from right to left can reach the island, the driver should carry on.

Traffic light crossings

It's the same deal in terms of the mirror check and and action needed when seeing any traffic light.Make sure they know the sequence of traffic lights.  Red, red and amber, green, amber then red. Make it clear that amber does not mean speed up!A pelican crossing is slightly different with the flashing amber light. Go if it's clear.Any traffic light system with an island in the middle is different from the zebra. It's just one crossing. The island in the middle is a traffic calming measure.

Mirror check training

It's something that requires constant reminding of to the student for at least an hours session. High streets with shops are a good training ground. Going up and down the same street numerous times is fine. It doesn't matter that they know where the crossing is, just that they practise looking behind them in the interior mirror whilst on the move. This should be your objective.They need to convince their brain it's OK to leave looking out of the front window for just a split second fairly early in their training. Trying to teach this habit way down the line can be unbelievably difficult.The other check you should be encouraging is the door mirror check for moving around objects. Interior and right for moving to the right and interior and left for coming back in again.