Simply Learners Driving School Preston will teach you the Turn in the Road manoeuvre, formerly known as the 3 point turn, this is a useful exercise to carry out when reaching the end of a cul-de-sac or blocked road.

Firstly when picking somewhere to park to carry out the Turn in the Road you should always use the S.C.A.L.P. routine.

• Safe, is the road suitable for the manoeuvre? Try not to pick a road which has lots of traffic or pedestrians.
• Convenient, is the road wide enough to carry out the manoeuvre successfully? Do you have good visibility up and down the road?
• And Legal, is it lawful to carry out the manoeuvre here? Is it a one way street? Is there a no U-Turn Sign?
• Place, are you blocking any driveways?

When carrying out any manoeuvre into a small space it is important to keep the car moving slowly, using good clutch control, and the steering fast or brisk.

When steering, try not to turn the wheel while the car is not moving. This is called dry steering and if you constantly dry steer you will wear out the tyre tread over time.

When you are ready to begin the manoeuvre you should use the P.O.M. routine.

• Prepare, make sure the engine is switched on and select 1st gear. Set the Gas, by slightly revving the engine to a higher level, and then bring the clutch pedal up to the biting point.
• Observe, check all the mirrors and around the car including the blind spots make sure no other vehicles are coming and that by your moving away you will not affect them.
• Move, drive forward very slowly turning the steering wheel briskly to the right while moving across the road, check up and down it for any other oncoming traffic. When you are about 1 metre away from the opposite kerb, steer briskly to the left so you don’t have as much steering to do when you have to reverse back.

Stop the car before you can overhang or hit the kerb, then apply the handbrake and go through the P.O.M. routine again.

• Prepare, select reverse gear and as before, make sure that if there is a camber in the road you set the biting point so that the car does not roll forward or move backward when you release the handbrake.
• Observe as before check all the mirrors and around the car including blind spots, make sure you are looking over your left shoulder in the direction of travel when you are reversing because you will see more through the back and side windows than you will through the mirrors.
• Move back slowly turning the steering wheel briskly to the left. Check up and down the road for any oncoming traffic. As you get close to the kerb behind you, swap over and look over your right shoulder looking in the direction of the kerb, then about 1 metre from the kerb start steering to the right.

Stop the car before you can overhang or hit the kerb then apply the handbrake and go through the P.O.M. routine again.

• Prepare, select 1st gear and as before, make sure that if there is a camber in the road you set the biting point so that the car does not roll backward or move forward when you release the handbrake.
• Observe, check all the mirrors and around the car including the blind spots make sure no other vehicles are coming and that by your moving away you will not affect them.
• Move, drive forward very slowly turning the steering wheel briskly to the right while moving across the road, check up and down it for any oncoming traffic, once you are happy that you can clear the kerb safely, drive on and make progress.

For more information on the Turn in the Road exercise call Simply Learners Driving Lessons Preston on 01772 792 590.