Drivers; how do you judge your position on the road?

Question

Do you try and stay right in the middle of the lane and so try and judge the middle of the car against the centre of the lane?

Or do you edge to the left of the lane slightly by centring your own body on top of the centre of the lane?

Or some other way? Am learning to drive at the mo and have been wondering about this.

Answer 1

As a driving instructor, I teach my students to stay in the middle of the lane. The easisest way to do this is to look far ahead (20 seconds minimum) and steer for the middle of the lane ahead. Most people tend to stay left when learning to drive, because they can't see the distance between the right side of the car and the right lane marker, but if you look at other cars, you will see how much room there is in a lane (normally 10 feet wide). Steer ahead and you will be fine.

Answer 2

There many ways to approach this. Normally there a center line and side line, with or without a shoulder. Long ago cars had a "Scope Cross Hair" it was the ornament on the center of the hood. With practice, a person could use this to scope the side line. Many cars not have that now, so, from experience, you can learn the center or right fender to scope your right line, you not worry about the center once you learn the Right line keep you center, this helps at night when headlights blind you. Instead of looking at the lights like a "Spot Light Hunter on a Deer" you use your known Center/Fender Scope to look at the line to your right. Thus you stay on your side of the road and can still use peripheral vision to watch the other car. Then you can still have your escape route for the Side of the road, should you need to swerve to miss the on coming car, if, they in your lane. If, a car is behind you at night and blinding you with the mirrors, stop looking at the mirrors and watch your road, it their responsibility to not run into you, do not worry about the car behind, worry about where YOU going, OK? It really takes practice and experience to learn this, but, anyone can. We are all smart in what we want to learn. In the day you can see where you should be.

Answer 3

To be honest, an experienced driver becomes 'part' of his car and judging width and positioning come almost automatically without constant monitoring. The trouble on todays roads is that congestion means tight spaces and aggressive road users mean that you often have to brake sharply and slow to a crawl. You will find that positioning comes with practice rather than having a specific strategy. But the golden rule in positioning ( I believe ) is if in doubt, hold back and slow to a crawl to enable you to position and proceed safely. But I must admit, I often wonder how PSV and HGV drivers seemingly drive through spaces only a few inches bigger ...... it's almost like they have second sight! One thing though, while you learn, always use the nearside as an anchor point ..... you will never be in the wrong if you are obeying the basic law of the road and 'keeping left' !

Answer 4

Try to judge the middle of the car against the centre of the lane. Use your side mirrors - if they are postitioned correctly, you should be able to see how much space you have on either side of the lane by looking at the side white lines in comparison with the side of the car.

Answer 5

Try to align the center of your hood (if you have a hood ornament that helps) with the line on your right (whether it be the line of the adjacent lane or the lane marking the shoulder) and you should stay in the middle. HOWEVER, on the city streets I try to stay closer to the left just in case someone in a parallel parked car swings their door open.

Answer 6

Look at the line where your hood opens on the right side of the car line it up with the "fog" line on the edge of the road it will give you a good idea of where your car is in relation to the edge of the road ...try it in a parking lot where you can get out and look at how far you are from it ... you might have to use a different part of the hood depending on your car ... with a truck or RV with big mirrors you can see your back wheels and the edge of the road to tell where u are ....

Answer 7

I think your driving examiner will expect you to drive to the left hand kerb line or left hand side kerb line, however I always drive to the centreline or to the right hand side lane marking. You stand much less chance of hitting a Cyclist/dog/pedestrian doing this so start doing it as soon as you have passed the test.
On Country lanes put the gearlever in the centre of the road till you meet something and if you see me in your mirrors pull over and stop.

Answer 8

It helps to drive the same car all of the time, because then you know its dimensions. When I started driving, I just made sure the left side of the car was only a few feet from the line. As you get more comfortable and gain more experience, you'll use the fog line when it's dark and the weather is bad. The fog line is the white line along the shoulder.

Practice.

Answer 9

When I was learning to drive this is what I did. They car I was driving had a crease in the middle of the hood with an emblem at the front. I lines the emblem up with the line or edge of the right side of the road. It always kept me right where I needed to be.

Answer 10

You should try to stay in the middle of the lane.

The best way to do this is to this is to be comfortably seated in the driver's seat - don't lean excessively near the door of near the middle of the car.

Imagine the hood of your car with a hood ornament (which is normally located front-center), and the ornament should be almost touching the line on the right side of the road.

With continued practice, this will be second nature to you.

Good Luck.