Mirrors, Signal, Manoeuvre

Mirror signal manoeuvre or MSM is the routine commonly used for turning left or right at junctions, roundabouts, changing lanes, pulling over on the left or right and other situations.

So imagine you wish to change lanes from the left lane to the right lane. This is how we apply the MSM routine.

Mirrors: Check the interior mirror to see the speed and position of the vehicle behind you and then check the right mirror to see if there is someone overtaking you. If it’s clear you can move to the next stage.

Signal: Once it is clear you can signal right to let others know that you are planning to change lanes.

Manoeuvre: Once you’ve given your signal and it’s safe to change lanes then you can start to change lanes by steering slowly towards the right. Once you’re in your new lane and you have straightened up you can now accelerate to a safe speed.

This MSM routine is used for many situations especially at junctions.

At junctions the MSM routine can be elaborated to the MSPSL routine which is known as Mirrors, Signal, Position, Speed, Look.

If you are turning right from the major road to a minor road for example you should check your mirrors and signal for the same reasons as earlier but now the manoeuvre part of the routine is broken down to position, speed, look.

Position: You now move into position for turning right which normally is closer to the centre white lines.

Speed: Adjust your speed accordingly. So if there is an oncoming vehicle and you’ll end up meeting at the same time you will have to stop at your right turn position and select first gear. If you approach your right turn and it is clear and nothing is coming towards you then you can turn without stopping in second gear.

Look: Once you’ve checked that it is safe to turn you can then turn. It’s always a good idea to recheck your right mirror before and after you turn right into the minor road. The reason why you check your right mirror just before you turn is just in case something appeared that was trying to overtake you like a motorcycle for example. Also you should also check your right mirror once you’ve safely turned into the new road as there may be something trying to overtake you there and it may not be safe to accelerate.