Driver etiquette is an interesting and sometimes controversial topic that everyone seems to have an opinion on. This includes none other than our favourite family man, Sunrise’s very own David Koch who blogged about his pet peeves while on the road. But we’ll spare you another whinge about the ‘good old days’ when motorists were nicer. Instead we’ve put together our wish list of what we envisage a utopian driving society to look like.

1.    Everyone gives the courtesy wave

It’s a great thing when you get acknowledgement for letting everyone merge, and slightly disappointing when a courtesy wave is overlooked. In our utopian driving society every courteous action on the roads is acknowledged with a courtesy wave.

2.    Motorists flash lights to warn of speed cameras

Warning of police activity ahead by flashing lights is looking out for your fellow motorist at its best. It also instils a sense of camaraderie between drivers since motorists are all on the same team and just trying to get where we need to go safely and in one piece.

3. Night Drivers remember not to leave high beam on

Sometimes people forget their high beam lights are still on, others just don’t seem to care that they’re blinding oncoming traffic.  In a perfect driving world this would never happen since motorists would always consider how their actions affect other drivers.

4.    People think twice before flipping fingers and horn honking

Wouldn’t it be nice to see horns only used as they were intended – to alert other motorists instead of being used to unleash frustration? Speaking of frustration it would also be nice if raising the middle finger symbolised a loving action instead of a hateful one. We think If you don’t have anything nice to gesture, (like the courtesy wave mentioned above) don’t gesture anything at all.

5. People in car parks followed normal road rules

In our ideal driving world, the same rules of the road applied to car parks. That means keeping to the left and giving way in shopping centre car parks, as well all the other regular driving rules. Good etiquette also means not stealing other people’s parks that they have been waiting for before you arrived.

6. Waiting your turn is the norm

Trying to cut in front of traffic by racing up the inside lane is not considered patient. Pushing in has never been accepted in regular queues, and it’s something that wouldn’t even cross people’s where good etiquette and patience on the roads were the norm.

Share the love on the roads

Imagine if everyone shared the love around on the roads a little more. Would it mean ultimately safer roads, and happier drivers? While we do understand that at times things grind our proverbial gears on the roads, the roads are never the time to unleash your frustration since it could be not only a costly but also a deadly manoeuvre.

Here at A Grade Driving School we teach learner drivers positive driving habits and help them identify and eliminate the negative ones. Our driving instructors don’t nag, but teach and encourage. If we hope to do anything right it’s to teach young people good driving etiquette one learner driver at a time. To book a lesson with one of the friendliest driving schools in Brisbane, call 1300 885 585 today.

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At A Grade Driving School we strive to create a positive learning environment while providing constructive feedback and ongoing support to our learner drivers. We believe this to be the best and most effective approach in educating young drivers, rather than resorting to over critiquing and lecturing.
With that said, today’s article is serious in nature in that we would like to stress the importance of the log book system and gaining the required 100 hours driving experience before sitting the practical exam. While one hundred hours might seem a huge amount, the figure has been developed with safety in mind so learners can gain an appropriate amount of practical experience in a variety of conditions.

A recent article in the Sunday Mail has highlighted the growing trend where learners are applying for exemptions to have these hours reduced as well as instances where learners are forging logbook entries and fabricating situations where they have been ‘unable’ to gain the required experience.

More experience means safer drivers and safer roads

Despite the fact that gaining 100 hours experience can be time consuming, here at A Grade Driving School we believe gaining adequate experience is absolutely necessary in equipping beginner drivers with the needed skills to drive safely under different circumstances. RACQ safety advisors told the Sunday Mail they also backed the logbook system, citing research which has shown logbooks improve learner driver safety.

Falsifiers Beware – It could cost you

If increased safety and better driving ability isn’t motivation enough to complete the required 100 hours, tough penalties for falsified logbooks may prove to be a deterrent with fines of up to $6600. While no prosecutions were recorded last year, more than 8000 incomplete logbooks were returned to learner drivers. Professional driving lessons have proven effective to gain extra experience, since a one hour professional driving lesson with a qualified instructor accounts for 3 hours of regular logbook experience. Because of this, a few professional driving lessons can quickly make a difference in gaining the required hours.

The reasoning behind the logbook system is not to make it difficult for learner drivers but to protect and help them gain the required experience before flying solo on the roads. Applying for exemptions and falsifying logbook entries can undermine the purpose of the system. Since logbooks and the graduated driving system was introduced in 2007 there has been a marked decrease in reported decreases of young drivers in serious crashes which is down from figures in 2006 before the system was introduced.

A Grade Driving School helps learner drivers gain valuable experience across Brisbane by equipping them with confidence and the skills they need to pass the practical exam in a positive and supportive learning environment. Please call 1300 885 585 to speak with one of our instructors and to arrange a professional driving lesson today.

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Here at A-Grade Driving School, we really take pride in not only teaching our students what they need to do to drive safely on the road, but also to teach them why they should do it. By doing our driving lessons this way, we hope to provide all of our driving students in Brisbane, Logan and beyond with a thorough understanding of their automobile and the world around them. In today’s blog post, we will continue this education by answering one of the more popular questions which we receive here at A- Grade – that is of course:

‘Why should I bother driving a manual??’

Practical

One of the main reasons that may steer you towards your manual license is based solely on practicality. If you are able to earn your manual license, this means that you will not be restrained to a select group of vehicles like automatic drivers are. This is due to the fact that manual license holders are legally able to drive both automatic and manual vehicles. Even if you don’t intend on buying a manual car, you may find that this is particularly useful if you ever need to drive someone else’s car (perhaps even in an emergency!).

Performance

A lot of people that drive a manual car will note that they love the greater performance that their car offers. You will notice better vehicle control, whether it be accelerating, steering or decelerating.

Cost Effective

The final well known benefit of driving a manual vehicle over an automatic is the lesser running costs that are associated with the former vehicle. Manual cars cost less to buy, are cheaper to run and are generally cheaper to fix should they play up.

In today’s blog post, we have outlined some of the main reasons why many of our students are choosing to take manual driving lessons. If you have any more questions on the topic, or would perhaps like to book in for a lesson in Brisbane, Logan or any of the surrounding suburbs, please don’t hesitate to give A-Grade Driving School a call today on 1300 885 585.

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If you are looking to start your first course of driving lessons speak to a few instructors and find one you feel most comfortable with. You can ask how your course will be structured to help you pass as quickly and safely as possible. Everyone will learn at different rates, some people will pick up driving very quickly and some will take longer. A good instructor will understand the different ways people learn, some people thrive on applying practical skills with very little theory preferring to learn from mistakes, and some people will need to feel they understand the theory behind how to drive before being confident on the practical application.

At A Grade Driving School we have both female and male instructors and we are sure we can match you up with your perfect instructor, helping you become a confident and safe driver. If you learn good driving skills from the start they will stay with you for life, learning quickly and safely will allow you to pass your test as soon as possible.

A qualified driving instructor Brisbane will help you quickly understand how to operate a motor vehicle, how to read traffic, road rules and how to drive in a safe and confident manor. A grade Driving School is ready to help you learn to become a competent driver. Call us on 1300 885 585.

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