ADI Part 2 - Reading the Road

Reading the Road

Reading the road ahead means looking for the road signs and natural clues that are there to be found.

Many of these skills will seem to be of little value to you at part 2. I'll leave that for you to decide, but I include them here for completeness.

So many areas of driving and advanced observation skills overlap, that the boundaries between one skill area and another become very fuzzy indeed.

Reading the road is no exception, and it relies upon the skills of taking cross views, using observation links and developing your skills in recognising hazards and anticipation.

So, what do we mean by 'reading the road'?

The answer is using all of the information ahead, some of which is provided for you by the local authorities, some of which is purely natural

Let's look at the sources of information provided by local highways authorities . . .

Road Signs and Road Markings

Some of the very best sources of advanced warnings of hazards ahead are the road signs provided for us, yet so many drivers carry on their journeys blissfully ignorant of their very existence. Even if they do notice the signs, they usually fail to interpret them correctly and fail to take any action based on their skills at anticipation.

What you have to do, is to actively look for the road signs, interpret them correctly, and to use the information they give you to help you plan your approach to any area of danger.

The book 'Know your Road signs' by HMSO Publications is an excellent guide to the types of signs on our roads. See the link at the left margin of this page to purchase the book from Amazon.co.uk

Look at the photograph at the top of the page. This is a typical junction scene. In this case, it's a junction in the Lake District.

From quite some distance away, as I approached this area, I could see the white bollards in the centre of the road. You can clearly see the 'keep left' instruction on the bollard facing us.

Many drivers would see the bollards, but wouldn't consider them any further. After all, the bollards are just something else to drive around, are they not?

But, as advanced drivers, we have to think 'why are the bollards there? what could it mean?'

The local authorities do not, under any circumstances, place expensive items like these on a road for no reason. Even before getting anywhere near to the area, it's obvious to an advanced trained driver that there must be a hazardous situation ahead.

Already cautious, I drove on. No change in speed, but a very good look in the mirrors well before reaching the danger area. I'd seen the bollards by taking a very distant cross view, so I was still too far away to see the actual warning sign or the hazard itself.

As I got closer, I saw the warning sign for the two staggered junctions ahead. I saw the sign because I was looking for it.

Now, we need to ask ourselves 'what might happen?'

In this case, the danger could be a car pulling out with us approaching fast, or a car on the main road from the other direction crossing in front of me whilst we were approaching fast . . . we could go on and on.

So, a mirror check again, ease off the gas to slow down on acceleration sense, and expect the unexpected. Consciously think about what might happen. What are the very worst circumstances that could happen? Be prepared for if it does, and you won't go far wrong.

There's no need to reduce speed for every hazard that we see. Simply being aware of the possibilities is a big step towards safer driving. The line between intelligent caution and undue hesitancy can sometimes be a fine one.

In this case, I expected a car to be there and to emerge. I couldn't see the car until we got to the area where my passenger took the picture, but the fact was that we expected it to be there. I was prepared for the possibility.

As you can see in the picture, the junction to the nearside is just over the crown of a hill. No wonder the local authority wanted to decorate it like a Christmas tree, with bollards and several warning signs. The normal driver would approach this hazard without a second thought for what might happen. In fact, despite the abundance of warning signs, there are still collisions at this junction each year. A very clear indication of how much notice drivers take of the warning. Even when they see it, they fail to anticipate and act.

The rule to remember, is that the authorities do not spend money unless it's needed. So when you see a lamppost or group of lampposts, you can expect some type of hazardous area. When you see a road sign, it will be warning you of what's ahead, perhaps just around a bend. Use the information provided. Not always necessary to slow down, but being aware gives you something vital . . . time to react.

Natural Road signs

These 'natural road signs' are the things that we see on every drive, that many people don't appreciate as being a clue to what is about to happen.

One of the more obvious examples are the hedgerows that we see stretching across the fields on either side of a rural road. Farmers need to divide their fields into sections, and often use hedgerows to achieve it.

Sometimes, they have to use hedgerows where their fields border a road . . . now, that should interest us.

If we see a hedgerow at an angle to the road we are on, and the hedgerow seems to extend right up to the edge of our road, then that could quite easily indicate that we are approaching a 'T' junction. It might not mean any such thing, but the fact is that we've considered it as a possibility.

Many junctions on rural roads are unsigned. Your early anticipation of the possibility of a junction, because you put two and two together and came up with five, could be the difference it takes to avoid a collision.

Another thing to consider are dips in the road surface. Once again, many drivers are completely ignorant of what might happen. Think about what might happen on a rainy day . . .

Water runs downhill, where it tends to collect. Many drivers will continue driving at speed down hill on a rainy day, even when the road twists and turns and the bottom of the hill can't be seen. They are then shocked when they turn the final bend at the bottom of the hill and find the road flooded. With no time to react, because they hadn't expected this very unexpected event, they plunge into the water and find themselves struggling to keep control. Many, unfortunately, don't manage to.

You will see examples of undulating road surfaces on your journeys. Often, the road has a series of small crests and troughs. The troughs are generally not seen until you are driving into them. On a rainy day, think what might be there. Sometimes the water can gather for some time, so a recent downpour may be enough to leave the road surface very hazardous.

There are many more examples of natural warning signs that you can use to give yourself valuable information. We may have a section of the site devoted to advanced driving techniques at some stage in the future. For the time being, we need to stick to instructor training. That's the name of the site.

ADIT Team