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Hi there smart drivers, Rick with Smart
Drive Test talking to you today about
judging gap for new drivers working
towards a license or those drivers that
have got their license that are just
embarking on their driving careers. This
is probably the most essential skill
that you need in order to be able to
turn safely on left and right turns. When I
was asked by Big Money Boss to do a video
on how to judge gap, I had to give this a
fair bit of thought because I was
thinking about how we did this when we
trained in the vehicle and actually what
we do is if the student misjudges the
gap we simply intervene. And through the
process of repetition and different
traffic scenarios, the student learns
when he or she can go. And that's how we
did it. So doing a video on this tended
to be a little bit more difficult
because I actually to think about
exercises that I could give you in order for your to do
for you to be able to learn how to judge
gap. So that's what I'm going to do today.
I got a couple of exercises for you in
order to help you to learn to judge gap
more quickly. And to actually be more
precise in learning to judge gap. As well,
get with a veteran driver and drive
around with them and have them help you
judgE gap to make sure that the gap is
sufficient when you're making your left
and right turns. So stick around, we'll be
right back with that information.
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Hi there smart drivers, welcome back.
Rick with Smart Drive Test talking to
you today about judging gap. We're
standing out here on a highway where the
speeds are in excess of a hundred
kilometers an hour (60 miles an hour) and
in a lot of instances people are doing
70, 75mph, 110kph, even sometimes 120 kilometers
an hour on this highway. Now I sat
down at the intersection and I was
judging gap. And it took about 10 seconds.
I wanted a 10 second gap before I pulled
out into this intersection on the
right-hand turn to get my vehicle going
and get it up to speed in front of the
traffic that was down there. So what you
do is you just simply come out to an
intersection that you're having
difficulty judging gap and start
counting in seconds. When you see the vehicles back
off in the distance at a landmark--so pick
a landmark--a traffic sign the end of a
concrete barrier or whatnot and count for 10 seconds.
On this intersection its is way down there
at the concrete barrier just by that
green sign. You may or may not be able to
see that in the camera. So that's one of
the exercises that you can do is simply
go to the intersections you're having
difficulty judging gap and start
counting and figuring out how long it
takes a vehicle to get from a certain
distance to where you are. The more you
do that, the more this will become second
nature and it will be easier for you to
judge gap. And know how long it takes you
to get out into an intersection. Now the
other thing you can do on a left-hand
turn, is do what we call "meeting the gap."
And when the vehicle is coming through
on the gap that you know that it's going
to work for you to get your vehicle
through and around the intersection, you
can start moving into the intersection on a straight line,
and gaining speed with your vehicle
before you actually start to execute the
actual turn. That way it's going to cut
down the amount of time that you're in
the intersection and doing your left hand
turns. Because you've got a lot more
distance to travel through an
intersection on the left-hand turn. So we
call it "meeting the gap" You start moving,
forward as the other vehicle is coming
through and once the vehicle clears the
intersection then you can turn and
you've got a bit of speed. Now this is
even more important in bigger vehicles.
The bigger the vehicle, the more you have
to
judge the gap, the more you up to stay back on
the left-hand turn. That way when you
start to see the gap--the vehicles coming so
you can move forward and gain speed--and
if you're in a manual transmission you
can also start shifting gears. That way
you're not going to be limited to your
speed when you go through the
intersection. Because you're going to be
in the appropriate gear to go around the
corner at some speed and make the
left-hand turn. So that's another way you
can compensate for it. Same thing on
right-hand turns. If you got a slip lane (turning lane)
stay back a little bit. That way, when you
see the gap coming you can judge that
gap and start moving forward and then
simply turn in behind the other vehicle.
So that's another way you can do it. So
what we're going to do, is go down to
some intersections here in town and
we're going to judge the gap. We're going to do the counting
exercise and figure out how far away the
other vehicles need to be. Now one more
point about judging gap for vehicles at
intersections. The smaller the
vehicle, the more difficult is going to
be to determine that vehicle's speed -
motorcycles and bicycles are now coming
out that we've got spring coming on, and
it is more difficult to judge the
distance and judge the speed of
motorcycles and bicycles because they're
smaller vehicles. And it is difficult for
us to discern that because spatial
orientation is essentially what you're
trying to do with your ability to judge
gap. And that is a right-brain exercise.
If you want to learn more about spatial
orientation and right brain exercises
look at the book "Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain." She talks about
right brain activities and spatial
orientation. Because that's essentially
what you're trying to do. So have a look
at that. As well, work with a veteran
driver if you're having difficulty
judging gap. Go out with a driving
instructor and do some work at complex
intersections and on highways. And work on just
determining gap and determining when it
is safe for you to go. Because as I said,
it's a lot more difficult for me to do
this in a video than just to do it in
the car and teach you at different
situations and at different
intersections where the traffic is ever
evolving, because it's difficult to get a
perspective in the camera as opposed to in a
vehicle. And actually being there in the
situation. So the more practice you get,
the better you're going to be at judging gap.
And work with a veteran driver, work
with a driving instructor, and they'll be
able to help you judge gap. And as well,
know the amount of time it takes you to get
through an intersection. And practice
that - go to an intersection and see how far
away the cars are and how long it takes
them to get to the intersection from a
fixed landmark. So we're going to go to
another intersection here and we're going to
do some of those exercise in the urban
center here. [JUDGING GAP - IN VEHICLE] And moving out onto a big
road at a high speed. The speed
limit is 90 kilometers an hour on this
road (55 miles an
hour). And this is a very busy road and we
have a big gap - [COUNTING]
one thousand one, one thousand two,
one-thousand three, one-thousand four
one-thousand five, one-thousand six,
1,007, 1,008, 1,009, 1,010. It took
10 second to get up to 90 kilometres an
hour on that right-hand turn. [LEFT-HAND TURN ONTO BUSY HIGHWAY] So this is
more difficult because you have to judge
the traffic from both directions. And we
got a good gap on this side but not on
the other side. There is a traffic island
out there, but I don't want to be working
on the traffic island just today. So we
need probably half a kilometer good
quarter mile down to the right here to
get out there. And get the vehicle up to
speed. So we need the same on both sides.
So you need to wait, you need to be
patient. Especially on these bigger roads
with much higher speeds.
It takes you a long time in a passenger
vehicle to get out there and get up to
speed as you can see. And sitting
here for quite a long time because one
side clears and then the other side has
traffic.
Never risk going on an insufficient gap. Always take your time,
wait for the gap, and get the gap that you
need. Because you don't want to be ran
into by one of those big trucks because
they'll just basically run over you and
leave you in bits and pieces on the
roadway.
So we've got one more car on the right here
and we can probably go after this little
bunch of traffic here. And yes 1,001,
1,002, 1,003, 1,004, 1,005, and I've got
the fuel pedal right on the floor.
And I'm at speed limit, so that was about
a 8-seconds, I believe. I'll time it in the
post-production and see how long that took me to get
the vehicle up to speed. Now obviously a
lot of you are going to have vehicles with
much bigger engines. And this one, this one's
only got a four-cylinder in it. So you're
going to be able to get up to speed much
more quickly than this vehicle was able
to.
Quick review of judging gap. Smaller
vehicles are more difficult to determine
their speed. So motorcycles and bicycles
are going to be harder to judge. As well,
as speeds increase, it's also harder to
judge gap. So know that when you're on
highways and high-speed roads and those
types of things. It's going to be harder to
judge gap. In town you need five to eight seconds
for both the left and a right hand turns.
Out on the highways, you're going to need
10 to 20 seconds, depending on your
vehicle and how big the motor is and how
fast you can get up to speed. As you saw
here in the video, on the left-hand turn
out on the highway, when I was coming off
a stop sign out onto a high speed
highway, I had to sit there for a long
time because I needed a gap on both sides
to be able to make that left-hand turn.
So be patient, wait for the gap, don't get
pressured by other vehicles, especially
when you're a new driver because you're
susceptible to that social pressure of
other vehicles on the roadway. So don't
get pressured by other vehicles. Take
your time and go when you feel it is
safe. As well, when you're coming through
left-hand turns--as this complex
left-hand turn here at this intersection--
you can begin to move forward and meet
the gap in the intersection. That way
you're going to get some speed. And this
is more important with larger vehicles
that you have to stay back a little bit
so you can get that speed - shift a couple
of gears and then expediently clear the
intersection as quickly as possible.
Work with a veteran driver and he or she
will be able to help you with judging the gap. If
it's too low, as I said. It's easier in a
car to teach you this, then they can
intervene and say, "no, no, the gap's
not enough, don't go." And as you get more
exposure to more traffic scenarios at
different intersections and those types
of things, you are going to get experience
and you're going to learn how to judge
gap. Because gap is a spatial orientation.
You're determining speed, you're
determining the size of the vehicles, and
how far away those are. As well, come out
to the intersections, like this one here,
start counting, pick a fixed object off
in the distance. When the vehicle goes
past that fixed object, see how long it
takes them to get
to the intersection. That way you can
start determining if you have a safe gap
or what not. Because you need five to eight
seconds in town and you need ten to twenty
out on the highway on high-speed
highways that are in excess of 90
kilometers an hour or 55 miles an hour.
Questions for my smart drivers: have you
made a turn and misjudged the gap? What
were the consequences? Did the vehicle
just brake aggressively that you
turned in front of and told to you your
number one? Leave a comment down in the
comment section there. All of that
helps out the new drivers working towards
their license. I'm Rick with Smart Drive
Test. Thanks very much for watching. If
you like what you see here, share
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comment section. As well, hit that thumbs
up button. Check out all the videos here
on the channel if you're working towards
the license or starting a career as a
truck or bus driver. Lots of great
information here. As well, head over to the website:
great information over there and awesome
online courses that you can purchase.
In May 2017, we're releasing "air brakes
explained simply." It's an air brake
manual to help you pass your CDL license.
Actually it's going to make sure that
you do, in fact, pass your CDL license! 100
multiple choice questions for the CDL
air brake questions that you will be
asked on a theory exam. So look for that
in May 2017. Thanks again for watching.
Good luck on your road test. And remember,
pick the best answer, not necessarily the
right answer. Have a great day. Bye now.
[FADE TO BLACK - MUSIC]
Man, something stinks out here!
Must be the dump!?! [LOSING BALANCE WHEN SITTING] Whoa!!
I'm Rick with smart drive test thanks
very much for what
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