highway code

Google is your friend. First result on googling for driving theory test

Lumpy Turd.

You did *that* badly, eh?

I got 31. Trams!!! Toucan crossings!!!

But those were obvious. The toucan one - well, you know that flashing amber and only stopping is zebra, so those aren't it. Pelicans don't allow cyclists, so by process of elimination you get the right answer.

The first tram one : yellow hatch is box junction, so it's not that. Zig zags is pedestrian crossing so its not that. Metal studs is pelican crossing, so eliminate that. Three left look reasonable, and again you get the right answer.

It's not hard. What else did you get wrong?

cheers, clive

33 out of 35 but I can't rememember which I got wrong. I know it wasn't the one about stopping distances on ice because I got that wrong on my motorbike theory.

Just remember a Toucan (Two can) crossing means TWO CAN cross.

Yellow hatch seemed reasonable for tram tracks at heavy traffic junctions....

Can't remember what else, I was just skimming through it. Nothing at all major though.

And is it really important to know whether it takes 7 or 10 times longer to stop on ice? And does it, anyway?

Seems like a big exercise in book memorising, *not* actual driving ability. Better than nothing, but....

Ice? I chose 10 times longer as a suitable approximation for "you've got no grip at all unless you've got studs". The important lesson there is that on ice, you've got no grip - see recent welsh incidents. Making the biggest number the right one emphasises this point. I think this is actually rather a good question to have in there.

Of course this is very difficult to test in practice without a handy frozen lake - and even then any snow on it will make a big difference. Ice comes in patches, so you never have to find out the total stopping distance on it.

Er, that's the point. This is the theory test. The physical driving ability gets checked elsewhere.

However it is disturbing how many people don't know their HC - see interminable discussions over on uk.r.d.

cheers, clive

The message from "PC Paul" contains these words:

Yes and yes. Well, no and yes if you already know, if you see what I mean.

If you've driven on wet ice and know how long it takes to stop then you're not likely to get to sufficient speed where it starts to matter how long it takes to stop.

If you don't know - then you'll soon find out.

Don't get me started... the number of people that don't know how to use a mini-roundabout...AAAAGH!

It might be quite important if you think it'll only take you 7 times as far to stop.

Or if you think you're guaranteed to stop in 10 times the distance, for that matter...

Oh I'm well aware it takes *forever* to stop. I have driven on ice many times and played on it many more. No question I know the effect it has. I chose 10 as my answer as well, in the sense of 'at least 10'.

Really it was just that the whole question struck me as 'wrong'. It doesn't

*matter* whether it's 5,7 or 10 times longer. It matters whether you are going slowly enmough to stop before you hit something.

Same as braking distances, memorised furiously since time immemorial. As one of those 'interminable uk.rec.driving' threads showed recently, even people who have memorised the table have no idea what that number means in real life anyway..

I just have problems with the way the test is done. And the frequency of it.

But that *is* a uk.r.d. discussion, so I'll leave it there in this group. I'll try crossposting this to divert it over there, dunno if it'll work.

So true

The message from "PC Paul" contains these words:

That was near enough what I said!

"Hmm, how fast am I going now? 40mph ... now what was the stopping distance on a dry road at 40mph, crap can't remember, umm, about 20 metres I think, ok so on ice it's 10x more, that's, erm, 200 metres, now how far up the road is 200 metres, hmm i reckon it's about where that - SHITTT!!!"

How thankful am I that I never had to sit one of those? Not a problem with it in principal but some of the questions are waaaaaaaay too subjective and that would have pissed me off no-end! I mean what the hell have 'the reasons a tram is environmentally friendly' got to do with DRIVING?! Bloody government. Rant over now.

Chandy

Yup, when I did my CBT a few years ago we had to put a traffic cone where we thought the instructor would stop when doing an emergency stop from 30 mph. Now I knew what the stopping distance was so I paced it out and was the only one to get within a couple of yards. But - I had to pace it out, there was no way I could do more than a rough estimate and when you're driving or riding it would be next to impossible.

If a road was really icy would you even be doing 40mph?

IMHO there is only one way to find out how long it will take to stop, try it! When ever it is icy I always test my brakes (not a complete stop) a few times down my road to see how much grip there really is. However I have never had it really icy, people tend to salt the roads too much these days :-(

The message from "Malc" contains these words:

When I was a driving instructor I used to take learners out to an empty straight country lane and on the first circuit show them a feature I'd like them to stop next to - like a tree or a gate. Then tell them on the second circuit at 60mph (conditions permitting) that I wanted them to brake as late as possible so as not Most people braked too soon.