Turn in the Road

The turn in the road exercise also known as the three point turn is a turn you’ll make when you want your car to face the opposite direction usually when you’ve driven down a dead end or there is something blocking your road.

You should find a nice quiet road to perform this exercise on and avoid main roads.

When you’ve found somewhere safe you can start the exercise.

Put the gear into first gear and get the biting point. When you feel the biting point, keep your feet still. Have a good check around you from your left shoulder all the way round to your right shoulder and when it’s safe you can release the parking brake.

You want the car to move very slowly here so clutch control speed is best. Once the car starts to move steer briskly to the right until the wheel cannot steer anymore (this is also known as full lock right). Allow the car to head towards the centre of the road (camber) and once you are over the camber and you’re heading towards the kerb, you can put the clutch pedal down and use the brake as this will feel like the car is going downhill, this is called brake control. Once you’ve stopped, secure the vehicle. When stationary you can find a reference point that will help remind you where to stop in future.

Next you’ll need to reverse. Select reverse gear and get the biting point and keep your feet still. Once the car is prepared, you will need to have a thorough check around you this time from your right shoulder all the way round to the rear window. Release the parking brake when it’s safe and move back at a clutch control pace. Immediately start to steer to the left until its full lock. Keep checking around you regularly and pause the car if you need to. When you are over the camber and the car is heading downhill, you can start the brake control. When you are near the kerb, stop and secure the vehicle. Try to find a reference point here looking over your right shoulder.

Finally, once you’ve found your reference point it is now time to finish the exercise. Prepare the car by selecting first gear and getting the biting point, check around you from left to right and when it’s safe, release the handbrake and start to steer to the right. Move over onto your side of the road, check your right mirror to ensure no one is overtaking you and then you can accelerate to a safe speed.