ADI Part 2 - Safe, Legal, Convenient

ADI Part 2 Manoeuvres - be careful where you do them

Whenever you consider a manoeuvre, you have to ensure that your intended location is safe, legal and convenient . All three of these are required, not just one or two of them

During your part 2 test, the examiner will be asking you to "stop at the side of the road", then "move on when ready" several times. It's not unusual for the SE to ask you to do this up to a dozen times or even more

What the SE is looking for, is that you can choose a location to stop at the side of the road that satisfies the requirements of being safe, convenient and legal

On some of the occasions that the SE asks you to pull up, they'll simply ask to drive on again. On other occasions they'll explain to you that they'd like you to perform a driving manoeuvres

By completing a driving exercise on a public road, you could effectively place your car, yourself, your passengers and every other road user in a position of danger. That's why it's essential for the manoeuvres to be carried out under full control, with due regard to the safety of other road users

Now, let's take a quick look at those headings in a little more detail

Safe

Would you perform a turn in the road in the middle of a railway level crossing? No, so why would you do the manoeuvres in any other location that could be remotely considered as unsafe?

Examples of locations that are completely unsafe for any manoeuvre are:

Near to any junction, a busy city or town centre street with large numbers of road users and pedestrians, just over the crown of a hill or bridge, on a sharp bend to the left or to the right, on a high speed country road with limited vision . . . the list goes on and on

Legal

You are obliged to ensure that you only perform any manoeuvre in a location that is completely lawful. You cannot, for instance, perform a turn in the road in a one way street

You would also be very unwise to pick a junction protected by double, or even single yellow lines, for any of the reversing exercises

Convenient

Consider the convenience of not just yourself, but other road users too. Think about the example of a busy city or town centre street above, and imagine trying to perform a turn in the road there. Not to be recommended. Road users tend to be a little impatient with those who inconvenience them, so always fully consider the affect of your actions on other road users

Overlap

Many of these areas overlap somewhat. For example, would you consider it safe, convenient, or indeed legal to perform any manoeuvre on a narrow road with double white lines separating the two single carriageways?

Ensure that you know the Highway Code thoroughly, and be fully aware of the requirements for your chosen location to be safe, convenient and legal. All three, not just one or two

ADIT Team.