How to approach a roundabout WITH THE CORRECT SPEED & GEAR! Driving Instructor explains

How to approach roundabouts with the correct speed. Guys it’s a SLOW approach!!! Slow it right dooooown!! Riiiiight dooooooown!

Remember to reduce speed down to walking pace ie (2nd gear) if it’s OPEN - (can see for miles) and 1st gear if it’s CLOSED (can’t see cos there’s something in the way like fences or bushes) or, of course, if you find you can’t go as you need to give way to the right

The trick is to go very slowly on approach to the roundabout with the MSPSL routine - this will ensure you can actually fit in everything that you need to do - ie, position beautifully, select the correct gear and look for the safest time to go! Going too fast will hinder all of this…..

MSPSL - is the routine you need for roundabouts.

MIRRORS - SIGNAL - POSITION - SPEED (Speed by brake then Speed by gear) then you’ll have lots of lovely time to LOOK for blockers whilst your speed is slow and gentle

I always say to my students - ‘walk round the corners (or roundabouts’) As walking pace is perfect for your mind to be able to make EXCELLENT choices at junctions and other hazards

Going faster than walking pace to make decisions is risky - so lower your risk levels and make decent and safe choices at a lower speed

If you care about what the person behind you is thinking about your speed - you need to start to let this go.
The person behind may just be a lovely little old lady going to get her macaroons for the day.

They may be absolutely lovely. Please don’t think they want you to go faster - they don’t - as what you are doing is perfectly normal!!
If anything these people want you to make good choices and not just not stall! Rushing and worrying about them will no doubt cause you to potentially make the wrong decision with the clutch and makes students stall a lot.
So slow down and relax.

Enjoy driving - relax and take your time on approach to roundabouts, junctions and hazards

Over-run means taking your foot off the gas and letting the car travel on the movement that is in the car with no feet pressing the pedals at the time. You’re using the momentum that you have already created as you approach hazards - it’s a beautiful way of slowing down - it feels nice and it doesn’t cost much as you are not pressing on the gas pedal anymore

The Slowing down process….

1. Come off the gas/accelerator (over-run)

2. Then on to the brake pedal

3. Then clutch down whilst continuing to brake

(At this point you would be changing gear for a hazard or preparing to stop)

The only time you don’t do this routine is when you are in 1st gear

Then it would be

1. Come off the gas/accelerator (over-run)

2. Clutch down

3. Brake

The reason the clutch is used first here is because there maybe no speed to kill if you are still only in gear 1. So using the brake first may make you stall. (Places this could happen: - a very slow moving traffic jam)

As a general rule of thumb - if you are in gears 2,3,4,5,6 you need to use your brake first

And if you are in 1st you can use your clutch first (but it does still depend on how fast you are going)

www.DSMcheltenham.uk

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