Please contact someone about eye tracking glasses for a video - would be so cool to see where you're actually looking in real time, how far down the road and how often your focus changes

It's fascinating how every time you do these type of videos , even if you go down the same busy route, the scenarios are always different . Risks are there all the time. whether the dangers are Increasing, decreasing or static. This is why you always have plenty to talk about it, and it is always different. It gives you the opportunity to instruct your viewers many pertinent reasons to be aware of so many things and how to accommodate and adjust their driving so they can get to their destination safely.

You could change the title to 'How to drive as if Ashley's in the passenger seat'. Works for me whenever I'm driving 😏😁

Thank you for all the videos Ashley,soon I will be starting my driving lessons here in Serbia, and I think I've learned a lot from you and other instructors on youtube in past few years. Keep up the good work!

Ashley i love when you do these videos, i can reflect on my own driving and hopefully reflect on how to improve and drive more defensively assessing the risks . Cheers mate

Absolutely love these videos, Ashley. ❤️ Each one is a real master class! This one is also a treasure trove of learning points. In the interests of keeping this comment from becoming a book, I've restricted myself to just a few comments on the first 10.minutes. 6:07 I do commentary driving quite often too. I find it helps me discipline my approach to driving. The Institute of Advanced Motorists calls it "Spoken thought". You are right, we simply cannot comment on everything we are observing, planning and actioning. But it helps to focus on the main things. You embody excellent hazard perception in your actions and your comments. As you take in new information about the driving environment, you assess the potential threat and respond immediately. You are not just looking at what is in front of the bonnet, you look far ahead. Love it. When I was receiving mentoring to take my driving up a level recently, something I had to improve on was to watch for signs and plan accordingly. As an experienced driver, I tended to read the road but my mentor pointed out that somebody went to the time and trouble to put the signs up for a reason - so look for then and use them! 7:41 "As risk increases, I should be slowing." Love it. Dealt so easily with the grey car; no drama as you kept it all safe in spite of the driver electing to cross your path. You gave yourself plenty of time to stop if the grey car had to stop suddenly before it crossed your path. Always a contingency to bear in mind! 9.10 First time I've seen a Kia try to drag race a Golf GTI then cut in front to turn left. 😀 I think your use of positive (not aggressive) acceleration away from the lights helped to pre-empt that problem. The driver then quickly recognised your position in front, so put the left turn indicator on and dropped back into the space your acceleration had left for her. I think people don't realise how important and helpful to others it is to use good acceleration. This was a superb example.

really enjoy listening to your thought processors when driving,very helpful indeed, and as we know you can only control your own safe driving ,no accoiunting for others who dont seem to be thinking about what ifs.thanks Ashley.

Im from Hungary and starting my license this week. I know a few rules are different, but these videos about how to think and what to look at, are a really big help. Thank you for these unique videos!

Excellent commentary, a lot to verbalise in that short journey. Very helpful to get inside your thought process to ensure safe passage. Your drive along Queens Drive brought back memories of driving from Walton to Childwall in the late 60's to visit my wife to be who lived in Childwall. Happy days a long time ago. :)

Another great video Ashley, keep them coming!

Recently passed my test and this is a PERFECT video on stuff I didn't know. Thank you Ashley

I recently had an issue with my car where I needed to stick to around 55mph on motorways (wrong gearbox ratios after repair) so spent a lot of time in lane 1, and the amount of lorries that tailgated about a metre behind me before overtaking was astonishing. I see many lorry drivers doing it to each other maybe to increase their speed before overtaking but I'd rather they didn't do it to me in my little metal box. Surely everybody can leave a gap no matter how much of a professional driver they think they are. Love the videos :)

honestly these videos r brillirant, always learn something!

I love watching these types of drives.

Greetings from the huge British Motor Show in Farnborough. Some pretty cool cars...as well as planes taking off and landing. Will watch this latest video as soon as I can after getting home.

thank you for these videos. so much information

Another calm, clear demonstration of defensive driving. My only dispute was at (2:30) when you were turning left "The van reversing is no problem". I agree, he was no problem to you. I cant believe he is not in the habit of reversing in and driving out of that very badly placed exit (must be historic, Highways would refuse that permission now). Some say you should park in forwards to deter the 5 finger discount brigade but I prefer a safer easier access on to the road, particularly at busy times or in bad weather.

The three years I’ve been watching your channel I don’t talk while I’m driving but I have the same things running through my head. I’m still a novice with only 17 months of owning my own car but I do the same thing with my hands whilst driving. When I think there’s risk I hold my hands at a quarter to three, then usually relax my left hand to the bottom of the steering wheel,never have both hands off the wheel unless the lights have just turned red and I know I’ll be sat a while. I’ve always had the habit of trying to be several steps ahead (a bit like a snooker player)

Good video as always Ashley and some really good tips and thoughts for everyone to take away. It was good to hear you talking about using positioning to protect the more vulnerable, something that not many think about. We might be keeping them safe but we need to make sure we can help others keep them safe (I am thinking the roundabout with the cyclist that I sent you for one I did recently) I really must do a commentary video for you to analyse of my driving, not sure if that is something others would think of doing as well as a new segment for your channel? One thing I think we can all agree on though would be you doing a "Commentating like I'm Eminem" video of one of your drives 👍 Thank you as always

A great refresher for all the training I used to get when I worked for an OEM. We used to cover the annually on a 2 day advanced driving course, that also included a day at Mira on the test tracks!

4:16 I totally agree about driving with Waze on. Especially for motorways and advance warnings about queuing traffic and traffic stopped usually on the hard shoulder. But I did have the scenario the other day where Waze warned about a vehicle stopped and there was an electronic sign warning only of an “obstruction in carriageway”, armed with both these bits of info I immediately moved out to lane two and a few seconds further up the road there was indeed a car stopped halfway out into lane 1. Of course you may be the first to come across a stopped vehicle or other incident, but overall I do feel safer with it on. Not to mention that some road layouts basically expect you to be using a satnav to say which lane to be in because signage is minimal.

Even experienced drivers get this wrong sometimes. Good video.

I think variation of speed and position is the best indication of a driver who is deeply engaged with the process of driving compared to the driver who treats the car as an appliance used to get from A to B who merely, but responsibly and diligently, complies with the highway code. The latter does no harm but the former not only reduces ther isk of stressful interactions with other road users but also makes a positive difference to all of our experiences on the road.

Flash back from 1987. This was the area I learnt to drive. Lived in anfield, got picked up at Aintree from work for most lessons.

In regard to the left only lane and the bus pulling out ,the fact that you knew the road and moved over highlights the poor signage not only there but in general. I think most road signs are designed by the local council or by people who know the road. They should get non local people to design signage for non locals. The fact that you moved to the middle lane is a preemptive move used by many people as a safety measure if they’re not sure which lane to be in. I’m sure this safety measure rolls over to motorways where we get the middle lane huggers. Great vid. Every days a school day except this one cos of holidays lol.

31:00 The junction with the road closed on the left. It's worth keeping a weather eye open for people approaching the junction who've planned to go down there and only discovered at the last second that it's closed - there's a possibility of erratic changes of direction or people going a different way to the signal that they've put on for that exit out of habit.

Very useful video.

A rule of thumb I always like to repeat in my head when driving is that even if you have priority in whatever situation you're in, you also have priority to the garage to get your car fixed and end up losing even more time

Would be great to see you do either a BIkeSafe or Rapid Training session on hazards. The need for looking ahead and reading the road jumps up to a new level when you’re on a bike and you’re far more at risk. People should also do what you’re doing in this video. Verbalise what you’re seeing from time to time (not necessarily with passengers). I was told to do it on the bike and it helps to process what’s going on and is a good thing to practice. I’m a much safer driver for doing it (and watching your videos too of course)

I do enjoy these videos as they are so instructive. I recently got told I was doing 'all the right things' so you must be having a positive impact. But "impossible to speak that quickly"? Have you listened to Steve of Gamers Nexus? He can speak at 200WPM! I much prefer your measured diction, though.

It's so very brave of you posting this unedited driving. You obviously open yourself up to criticism by the world, although most comments seem to accept and agree with everything you say and do, but I imagine you don't feel above a little feedback, so I thought I'd make some comments while watching. Generally I have found that your driving is always more risk averse than mine, which is fine, we all need to chose a style between not driving (the safest way to drive) and treating the roads like a race track. I do wonder whether it would be fair to ask if between 5 and 9 mins whether you are keeping up with traffic, and whether you are annoying the reddish Focus behind, they seem quite close. Your observations continue when stopped at lights or in traffic, which is something everyone should take on board. The hazard is more likely to come from behind, bike, ERV's etc, so watch those mirrors rather than day dream. The Clio at 13 mins is a classic scenario where I may have given a little flash, you worked really hard to communicate with positioning etc, but some road users just don't speak the language or have learnt not to trust others on the road that much! At this point, with the cones, I would have positioned more to the left in anticipation of filtering motorcycles (I don't ride myself). Other drivers tend to position centrally, so your "BOB" mirror would show a really good distance on the left to spot cyclists and your spacing while stopped would give you room to adjust position. Nice point about bus stops. At 16, while you were slowing for the white Merc which didn't end up lane changing, you were cutting down space for the Black Merc behind that did. You were in a better position to manage risk with the space in front than behind. In this instance I think you increased risk by slowing (damn that's not what the post is about is it😂). The roundabout at 25 mins, you staggered beautifully to reduce risk with the Micra going in, but both of you accelerated similarly around and on exit. The Micra was away slower and clearly was triggered. But at the end of the day, there were two lanes on exit, so it was a non-issue, but I think I'd be shouldering a little of the blame myself. You missed an entry opportunity to the round about at 27.12 which may have caused the slight impatience from Mr invincible VW a little later on. So half an hour driving, not much I'd have done differently and loads and loads of great tips and advice and top notch driving. Just my running thoughts as I watched for you to take (hopefully with positivity) or leave (because I come across as an arrogant git daring to comment on such a highly qualified driver).

I sit quite close to the wheel. But i do it as i feel much more in control of the car than when sat legs fully oustretched and arms outstretched. I do have short srms and legs too, but sit close for above reasons regardless of length of arms and legs.

I’m a IAM driver I use 10 to 2 hand possession but on a long drive because my hands are level or slightly above my heart I can get pins and needles. Dropping my hands or one of my hands helps to restore the blood. Pumping the fist also helps 😊

Nice video

Ashley, do you not have any concerns about people tracing back to where you live? Especially given your critical analysis of some driving clips might upset the wrong person. Also, your ability to verbalise everything you see, while acting on it, shows how skilled you are.

Ashley, I have a typical celtic statuette, ie my legs are only 26 to 27 inches although i'm 5 feet 6 inches tall. So even with the modern seats which go up and down I still cant declutch without the seat at its furthest forward position. 😢 Its the problem of the car manufactorers who make cars for people over 6'6" and under 5' with the same componants.

04:44, sometimes it worth letting them go, because you block there vision and they're blocking yours. thoughts?

Nice example of positive acceleration there at around the 11:13 mark coming off the roundabout once you worked out the taxi wasn't taking the road with you. It is a difficult skill to judge and those that are still learning (and I mean post test learning) all these road craft skills need to remain vigilant of everything around you. You alluded earlier to not being able to talk through everything and I would hope you didn't miss the car approaching the junction to the left as the car in front was turning into the junction, in fact it looks like you ease out of the acceleration until you are certain the red vehicle is not going to enter your path, something that happens too often where a driver sees a car turning so pulls out not noticing cars already on the road. My rule is "If there is a doubt, don't let the engine shout"

I think that call on the black Micra was a good one, along with the VW SUV. One of my bugbears is drivers, sadly, it's mostly women, driving very close to the steering wheel - and airbag. I think it's a lack of confidence and drive accordingly when I see it. My wife said how much better she felt when I showed her that sitting further back was better for control. At the other extreme is the yoof practically lying down in his personality extender. They don't realise that grannies looked like that in their Moggie Minors 60 years ago.

Thanks for this positive example video. It would be extra helpful to me to see speed limit and speedometer in video corner so I can see exact speed and how it relates to the limit

Lovely Oris Aquis!

I took my dar driving test one month before the theory test came in and the hazard perception wasn't part of it back then, I, therefore, have nothing but my own assessment to decide if I am hazard aware. So I paused the video and went over to the government sample test, I achieved 10/15 (66%) and with a 44% pass rate I'd say not bad for a first attempt, but I'd hope to do better with a little practice of the click system and defo hope I'm beter out on the road.

@9:34 you speak of your veiw blocked by a parked car, and a car comes to the junction, you say your looking for movement of that white car. my dad was an advanced driving instructor (learned to be an instructor in the army in the 70s) and one of the many bits of advice he told me in a situation like this at 9:34 is to look at the front wheel of the vehicle for movement, it will tell you exactly what the driver is doing, if they stopped the wheel wont move, if the holding it unsteady on the clutch the wheel will rock back and forward, if they creeping out to follow behind you but misjudging it you will see it move slowly and if they completely missed you you will see the wheel start to move to up to speed. most drivers look at the drivers face for information on their intentions but most of the time its a blank stare until then the penny drops that they pulled out in front of you and by then its too late. as a rider of a motorbike as well as driver of car and van, its one of my favourite tools to look at the front wheel and know what that vehicle is doing, and allow myself more time to adjust for that situation.

Ashley could you do a vidio on daytime running lights and the use of them during nightime driving, as I'm pretty sure they should not be used in conjunction with main headlights, thank you.

You should buy (or rent) an eye tracker some time. Would be neat to see that synced up with the dash cam footage to see where you look while driving

Ashley, I’m looking to take my ADI Part 2 exam, however finding it difficult to look for dates in the Widnes area. Does anyone know if there’s any apps that support this type of exams. Thanks in advance

How brilliant would the roads be if we all had Ashley's ability and skill?

Speaking of position of your hands on the wheel. My worst habit is driving with one hand on the top of the wheel, I do not know when I started doing this bu lt I find it more comfortable to drive like that. However, same as you will alter the position of your hands as risk increases, I find myself doing the same and will have both hands on the wheel in the correct position when risk increases. It is something I need to work on and change the habit though.

I do the same thing with my hands on the steering wheel . If the road is low risk i relax my hands lower on the wheel and gives my arms a rest , but if it gets higher risk or approaching a junction or roundabout etc then i put them back up to 10-2 position. Also similar thing with my radio and dont know if you do this ashley but the higher the risk the lower i put the radio so i can concentrate better . Also i dont know why people sit too close to the wheel other than they trying to see the front of the bonnet , but have you noticed they cant steer very well, because their elbows are virtually touching their chest and they havnt got room to turn the wheel properly apart from micro movements and constantly having to change their hand position on the wheel ,, difficult to explain but i think you might know what i mean , especially if you tried driving while that close to the steering wheel .

Interesting video. Bit I have a question. About 4min 37, where the Volvo is turning right, you go on his left as you are turning left. But by doing that, haven't you potentially obstruted the view that the Volvo driver has of the main road? Why didn't you hold back to let the Volvo have a clear view.

4:14 I thought I was the only one who drove around with Waze on all the time!

Really interesting video. What's viewers thoughts on the lane Ashley chose for the roundabout at 24:50? The exit was more than 12 o'clock and really should be classed as a right turn and the right lane used. However a potential bad situation was avoided mainly due to both drivers having great awareness of each other and the exit having two lanes.

24:39 Five Ways Two turnings before the 3rd one we want and it's past 180° The Micra is indicating right but they might mean 3rd or 4th exit. Am I too timid? I'd be hanging back and letting someone like that choose their own line. I suspect her usual exit lane would be lane 1?

Were you on stanley car park today?

At around the 20:00 mark, whats stopping me from driving is the cost of driving lessons (34 per hour( and stuff. I want to drive but money is the problem. I always use public transport to city but buses do not always go on time

Must have missed this one a month ago, you say we could Always do better well it applied to me today,in East Kilbride known as roundabout city I was waiting to enter the roundabout and the car waiting at the entrance before me had left indicator on and I just seen the gap and went for it of course he was going straight on , no accident but very close. Motto don't trust indicators

4:45 Wouldn't you have hung back to give the volvo driver full visibility of the road for the turn they are trying to make?

17:25 I'm a bit confused. I thought we were encouraged to use all empty lanes until the road markings changed, where we'd merge in turn. Where does local knowledge override this?

The thing that does annoy me at work when putting things in the skip and on the road side nobody pulls over to give space and reduce risk. Its all stay in lane don't adjust speed. It's like people are frightened to use an empty lane, but are happy to pass someone 50 cm away yet could easily use the opposite lane that is empty to reduce risk. I like that straddle position to keep the cyclist safe. It's not something I would have thought about in that scenario. I do like it though and would certainly use it

The IAM and ROSPA are not what they were, I now tell people to book a couple of lessons with a driving instructor to brush up on their skills. Having said that I know that driving instructors are a little thin n the ground. I also speak about reducing risk by reducing speeds by around 10%, this allows for driving with a higher degree of observational skills. Regarding IAM, I do not think they teach high-speed driving as they once did, it was phased out after I did it and they fell in line with Road Safety schemes. That was 35 years ago and it may have changed. To test yourself, do the observation by speaking out loud to yourself, that will give you a great insight into what you are doing and seeing. Be Humble: Promote Happiness

The G-Wagon owner's old car is for sale for £143,990, is that a good value Lamborghini???

The fact that most people don't look past their car bonnet is scary plus also shows how lazy they are. But I also think a lot of drivers instructors don't teach it well enough, Adjusting Speed

I was always told "just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

Good morning

This is way too enjoyable and engaging for me to ever have my head stuck in a phone screen looking like I have an angelic crotch! 😂🙏

The micra which zoomed up along side, then stayed there. That’s something I don’t like. It’s like, Where you going to go Where you going to go Where you going to go Where you going to go

yeah i wouldnt be posting a video showing ur exact door on youtube mate. might wanna edit that bit out real quick.

"unless you're Eminem" 🤣 Now that's a collab I'd like to see... Ashley and Eminem driving the streets of Liverpool

This is definitely an area where I could improve.

Its best not to sit next to other vehicles as they may move lanes without checking their mirrors. This js also the reason not to overtake on the left. There should be a law where buses should wait to signal until its clear except in traffic as 4/5 drivers blow past them

Reminds me of the commentary driving I did

That crowbar truck from the other video has found you by the looks of it.

Great video. I always try and assess risk around me (with varying degrees of success). I can see why you wouldn't (couldn't) sit so close to the steering wheel. You seem to be enjoying the good life. Judging from your introduction, you seem to be putting on some timber. 😉 Please don't take offence. Compared to me, you're slim. Maybe it was the camera or your T shirt causing an optical illusion.

seems like every primary school around here runs a creche or dayclub for kids in summer

Nothing to do with today's 'drive' - but what would you do about a contractor who has been working on a house for several weeks, on a narrow one-way street - who persistently drives up the street in the wrong direction? I'm not going to confront him myself, as he has bigger muscles in his young ears than I do in my old legs!

Not sure why the Micra was annoyed at the fiveways roundabout. Ashley took the normal route to stay on queen's drive. Seen so many incidents and accidents there over the years it's best to assume other cars will do something daft

@ashleyneal - around 28:00: Some people do sit that close to the wheel because their legs are short; you can't always tell by a person's torso how long their limbs are. It does also help with visibility as you point out and it does indeed decrease the space between air bag and human; presumably air bags are tested for the full range of seating positions.

I’ve got very short legs, so I need to sit close 🙈🙈 I don’t like it though.

The schools being closed for summer holidays means it’s *more* likely there are kids around at quarter to three

Looks like the 2003plate Mk1 Ford focus burgundy was tailing you throughout the video 😂

4:32 I would have held back and waited for the Volvo to have cleared

@ashleyneal would this drive see you pass the DoT Test? That may not be the aim of this vid, but my points below prompt the question. 2min 48secs you use the on coming lane to pass the Learner Driver with a blind RH turn in front of you. 1, surely one should cover the horn whilst performing the manoeuvre. 2, you compound the issue by looking in you mirror to wave to your chum before you’re clear of the junction! Later in the video you explain when hazards approach you move you hands from your restful position on the steering wheel quarter to three. Yet at 18mins 5s you’re focussing on waving at the van behind you (your having just moved from the nearside to the middle lane) and you seem oblivious to the grey BMW overtaking you on the RH side! To make the same error twice in less than 20mins suggests an ingrained and fundamental issue in your own technique and hazard perception. Later in the vid you mention IAM/RoSPA. The Advanced Test standard is much higher than the technique shown in this video and as the issue is ingrained it would be an issue on Test. Your holding back from potential danger (HGV ahead) was a nice call (7mins 10secs), as was black Mecedes (7mins 17s). 22m 14s changing lanes on a zigzag? It shows a Planning issue (especially as you know the road so well) I’m sure that this used to be endorsable! This and the 2 waves would be a Fail on the The Advanced Test. What about a pass on the DoT Test? 25m 30s you’re at it again. You’re looking at the Nissan on the RH side whilst passing the last parked white van on your left! Why is your focus not on what you cannot see beyond the van? 27m 35s trickling was very nice as was the straddle for the cyclist and holding back for the black Audi at the very end. Great video and it goes to show that everyone, myself excluded (obviously!😂) can do better.

If that was your house at the beginning you might want to blur out the number plate of the other car on the driveway

@6:41 I was in a simular situation with a car on the giveway line, but he decided to look left rather than right, I was out by the white line which the road was wide enough for 2 lanes of traffic just. sounding my horn for him to stop as clearly couldn't see me he decided to floor it being a new driver and straight into my passenger wheel while steering right. about the worst situation you can be in, as he was stationary when I made my risk assesment, and litterally nothing I could do at this point apart from trying to stop my car which would end up infront of his vehicle.

one for me.😅

Why was the black micra signaling right before the roundabout then continued straight through the roundabout next to you 😂

Vintage Ashley Neal. While I acknowledge the comments questioning some of your choices, the point I take from these videos is that they are all choices, based on your concentrated attention to the road and your pro-flow, non-sectarian attitude to other road users. Not nearly enough drivers approach driving this way and that makes the roads hazardous far more than the odd questionable action of those who do.

Ref the lady sitting close to the steering wheel; cars are designed by men for men. Ladies who are below average ladies have to make full use of the adjustments to be able to reach all the controls comfortably. For instance, you assumed you knew the ladies leg length. Point over, thanks for the videos, always learning, and try to drive like Ashley.

Your neighbourhood street's are tight and small no wonder people drive smaller car's in the UK

The "Queens Drive/ Menlove Ave. Roundabout, Allerton Road junction" is one I'm very cautious at. There is almost always someone in the wrong lane, I don't blame them it's a terrinble setup. Not as bad as that Norris Green double roundabout though.

One thing you've never mention is the need for great caution whenever driving near a church. Children fleeing from priests can run out into the road without any warning.

Ashley people are NEVER going to take buses over their car. I witness drivers doing laps of supermarket car parks for 20 mins to get 3 bays closer to the front doors! buses are for people that have no other choice

You talk about the hazard of sitting too close to the wheel if the airbag goes off; I worry about that hard microphone sitting over your heart, ready to kill you in the same circumstance.

You are such an excellent male archetype. What percent of your audience is female? I'm guessing less than 10%? This is like a spa weekend and nail treatment for men.

Why call it "How to Drive ike a Driving Instructor?" I seen lots of poor diving instructors. Better title would be How to Drive.

BOT IN COMMENTS

Ashley, could you say a word about the neighbourhood from where you started? It sems to me that there were no continuous sidewalks, those black bands were interrupted by parking and green spaces. The carriageway (correct British term?) was paved red instead. Is this meant to be a walkable street? The whole neighbourhoods appears to be quite new.

Hi Ashley, great video! I was wondering if you could do this same style of video but in a place you've never driven before, as thats something I and some others find more tricky (balancing this with driving somewhere new and not knowing what lane goes where ahead of time), apoligies if you have already done this!