To help save you money before booking an intensive driving course, you can help familiarise yourself with the cockpit drill. This is a procedure that you carry out each time you enter the car before driving.
The details below will help you to learn the cockpit drill in a private car.
To begin with, remember ‘DSSSM’, which stands for basic parts of the cockpit drill,
namely doors, seat, steering, seatbelt, and mirrors.
Doors
Make sure all your doors are closed.
In order to check that the doors are correctly closed, look in your side mirrors to make sure the doors are flush with the car bodywork.
When possible, you can also manually test the doors and recheck when you turn the ignition on, as a symbol on the dashboard will show if doors are not closed.
Seat
Adjust the height of the seat to ensure a good view through the front and back windscreens, ensuring that the steering wheel and head restraints do not obscure your vision.
Adjust the base of your seat so you can depress the clutch pedal to the floor and still have a slight bend in your left knee.
Adjust the back of your seat to reach the steering wheel with both hands positioned at ‘ten to two’ or ‘quarter to three’ to achieve an even balance on the steering wheel.
Adjust the head restraint so that the back of your head is centered on the cushion.
Seatbelt
The seatbelt must be applied flat against your chest and stomach with no twists in the belt, fully secured and adjusted to the correct height.
SteeringTo adjust the steering wheel, it must be positioned so it does not obstruct your view out of the front windscreen or when you apply the push and pull steering method
You must also be able to reach the controls located on the steering column with your fingertips without removing your hands from the steering wheel.
Mirrors
Adjust the interior mirror to give you a clear view through the back windscreen.
Adjust the exterior mirrors so that one third of the mirror is taken up with your car and two thirds gives you a clear parallel view back down the road or pavement.
Pre-Start Checks
Check handbrake is fully on and the gear stick is in a neutral position.
This information when practiced correctly with save you some time at the start of your intensive driving course.
To book an intensive driving course and be recommended an approved driving instructor registered with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Click: https://www.pass-now.co.uk/intensive-courses/ or Contact Us On 0333 0110 391 / 0784 335 5577.
