Lane Change and U-turn

You know how us learner drivers always have to stick to the left lane. So in order to do a U-turn or a right turn, there is the need to lane-change. I was taught this in my fourth lesson, and trust me it proved to be the bane of my existence!

My first lane change was done at the stretch of Bukit Batok Road with a speed limit of 70km/h. My instructor kept saying I need to speed up to at least 60km/h, look at the rear mirror, signal, when clear, check side mirror, quick check of the blind spot than move to the next lane gradually. All these while maintaining the speed, scary for someone like me who had previously only went up to 45km/h at that time. How the hell am I suppose to do so much in such a short time!

My problems here lines in:-

1. I have a problem judging the distance of the vehicles when I look at the rear mirror.

2. I have a nasty habit of checking blind spot and moving the car at the same time, thus my car will tend to swerve. Very 

     dangerous!

3. Not enough acceleration.

4. Lo and behold, bad judgement, I don't know when I should accelerate or slow down.

So after like another 4 lessons, I managed to find some solutions to my horrendous lane change.

1. When you can see the car(s) fully, i.e every single bit of the car from the rear mirror, that would probably mean that the

     car is quite a distance from you. However you have to keep up your acceleration so that the car will not catch up to   

     yours.

2. Blind spot checking have to be done quick but while doing so, keep shoulders firm while holding on to the wheel. This

     way, your hand will not move along with your head while doing the check. 

3. Remember to keep constant pressure on the accelerator and don't turn the wheel too much. At a higher speed, eg 

     60km/h, a slight turn (like the clocking moving 5 minutes), you can steer your car very smoothly into the next lane.

4. OK, the last point is a matter of common sense. When traffic is quite clear behind you, make sure you speed up to 

    complete the process. If the traffic is fierce, that is when you may have to slow down so you can wait for an opening.

After you had managed to do the required lane change in order to complete the U-turn, you must remember when approaching the position, start slowing down. I always have to remind myself not to slow down too far before the U-turn as that would mean road hogging should there be vehicles behind you.

In a 3-lane situation, you can wait for the 1st and 2nd lane to be clear to complete the process. I know that in theory, but in real life, I tend to wait for the road to be clear. I have to add though, I have improved quite a bit cos now I could complete the U-turn if 1st and 2nd lane are clear. For a 2-lane road, the road has to be completely clear cos the turning radius is sharper. Sharper does not mean a full-lock though. How much to turn really depends on the road. Remember to control speed while turning and once you have straighten the car, accelerate and then do a rear mirror check.

Even though I can blabbed about it so much, I am in no way efficient at all. In fact, it's my weakest maneuver. So the next time I do this, I have to make sure I think all the pointers through before acting, and not rush to complete it which equals to not safe!

Oh Oh.... One more thing before I sign off, do not hesitate when it comes to lane change! Very very important.