Online driving tutorials
Online Driving Tutorial - Turn In The Road/3 Point Turn
The turn in the road (3 point turn) is pretty simple as long as you remember to go slowly. During the exam you'll be asked to pull over to the side of the road, remember to M-S-M and pull over in a parked position (A).
Step one - POM as usual. First gear, no gas required here (just the clutch and brake). Take a moment to prepare the hands too. Right hand nice and high on the wheel and the left hand on the handbrake ready to go. Mirror check, look over your shoulder, and if it’s clear release the hand brake and the moment the car starts to move turn the wheel full-lock to the right. This should be done with the car only moving a matter of feet.
Keep the cars speed low and the hands move briskly. The car will turn at almost right angels. You should be looking now at the on-coming kerb and when it appears under your right door mirror and lines up with the top of the speaker (photo 1), quickly take some of that turn off. As much as you can. One full turn to the left would be great. Stop the car and apply the handbrake (Position B).
Step two - POM. Into reverse gear, find some bite to get up the camber. Prepare the hands again, this time right hand low on the wheel to help with a quick left turn once the hand brake is released. Left hand ready on the handbrake and before you move, observe both up and down the road before looking over your left shoulder, out of the rear window and then release the handbrake.
As soon as the car moves, quickly apply full-lock, this time to the left. When the car is halfway across the road you need to switch which shoulder you are looking over. Now you should be looking for the kerb behind you out of your right side window. When the kerb is in the bottom corner of the window, start to take some turn off (to the right). Again, one big full turn will be enough. Then you need to stop and apply the handbrake (position C).
Step three - POM. Prepare the car to move away, so first gear. Observe fully by checking up and down the road and if it's clear, away you go. You will not need full-lock to get out, but be ready to turn the wheel to the right a fair bit and then be ready to take some of that turn off and pick up a normal driving position as fast as you can. Get in a little rear mirror check when you have yourself sorted out in your new direction (position D)
Other road users - Never let anyone bully you whilst you are performing this manoeuvre. If you see a car coming in either direction, stop and get eye contact. Wait to see what they intend to do. If they stop, generally, this means they are going to be nice and let you preform the task in hand. If they are still creeping towards you, wait until you know what their intentions are.
Things to watch out for - The kerb, dry steering, crossing your hands, don't over rev the engine, jerky movements with the car - keep it smooth. The camber of the road (bottom image). This is why I would always use a handbrake. Last minute steep cambers can sometimes be hard to spot and can catch some people out.
