Countryside Driving Tips

We’re going to be talking about driving in the countryside. We realise you may still be having driving lessons, with us, or with another driving school. On the other hand, you may be a newly qualified driver, and you are a little anxious about driving in the countryside alone for the first time.

High Number of Accidents on Country Roads

There are different reasons for this, and these are mainly due to inappropriate speed, hazards such as ditches, slow moving vehicles, poor lighting and livestock. These aren’t problems that can’t be overcome, we just need to drive a little differently when we’re out on the road.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

When you’re out driving in the countryside, stay alert, have you noticed a gate wide open and fresh mud in the road in front of you? This might be because there’s a tractor out and about, and you need to keep this in mind while you’re driving so you’re super-aware of any obstacles.

Clues

Look out for skid marks, hedges and broken fences, road-side debris and any other signs which may indicate that livestock are out and about, or that there may be slow moving vehicles ahead.

Slow Down

Don’t think it’s okay to pick up speed just because you’re on a deserted road and it seems there’s no one else around. Country roads can be cleverly deceptive, it may appear deserted, but other vehicles could pop up at any time, and if they do, there’s nowhere to pull into, and you could end up driving straight in to the oncoming vehicle.

Corners

Country lanes are most often quite narrow, so don’t try to cut corners, it’s a sure-fire way of driving directly into oncoming vehicles.

Overtaking

Be careful when you overtake on country lanes. You need to be sure that the vehicle ahead isn’t going to be turning into a gate directly in front of you, or that perhaps another car will join you from a side road. You need to be constantly vigilant, and by doing so, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding accidents.

Livestock and Wild Animals

You’ll come across this occasionally when you’re in the countryside, farm animals like cows and sheep or horses and wild animals are also a danger when you're driving. Depending on where you are, there may be deer, or other small animals such as rabbits, which if you shock them, could lead to an accident. It’s best just to come to a stop until they’ve gone on their way if you encounter them, use your hazard lights so traffic from behind you will know you’ve stopped in the road.

Compass ProDrive – Premier Driving Instructors Edinburgh

If you have any questions about countryside driving, then please get in touch with us here at Compass ProDrive, and we’ll be more than happy to talk to you about any concerns you have.