RE test - staying right or left?

[alpha]

Hey guys - I'm going for my RE on Wednesday. My instructor has told me to stay towards the right of my lane reason 1) better view from rear vision and reason 2) oil slicks, however after reading past threads some have advised staying to the left of the lane. Has the rules changed and what will the instructors look for?
Thanks in advance

[Aphex]

Left of the left lane??? Drains, more crap, parked cars, driveways etc? Ill pass.

Right of the left lane for me thanks unless im about to turn left.

Everyones going to have an opinion but to be honest id be listening to your instructor.

[Davey]

pick a tyre track and stick to it. Doesn't matter which, but in areas with lots of intersections I like the right. more chance of a car seeing you from a side street.

whatever you do don't keep swapping tyre tracks or don't ride on the slick. Pick one, stick to it. all you need to do.

[nicz]

in the smaller residential roads they prefer you to stay on the left of the road

[HIHO]

Listen to your instructor , he would know better than most but not as much as me .

[Hellboy]

Stay left when turning left, or when you can see everything on your left( eg riding alongside parks etc)

Stay right when in residential streets where your dangers are on your left (cars pulling out, kids running out etc)

But plan for your next move ahead that will also determin your road position

[Teedo]

My instructor taught me stick to the left on single lane streets, and which ever tire track is closest to the middle on roads with 2 lanes e.g You in left lane you would stick to right tire track, right lane left tire track( will stop people trying to overtake you)

[MuNch]

Ride in the position that is safest for the situation you are in at that point in time.

How more vague and general could I be?

[Ice]

What Hiho said - listen to your instructor. Trust me when I say - trust these guys! lol
Just remember that whatever wheel track you find yourself in - if you need to change, head check first. If it's more than 1.5m, indicate.

Your instructor has been doing this for a while - I think he's probably a fairly reliable source of information!

[thro]

Yeah, ask your instructor, however... it's a bit of a tricky one... what munches said basically... some rules of thumb to get you thinking...

- Left of the lane on normal (non-suburban, eg highway between towns) one lane each way roads with no island (keeps away from oncoming traffic, be ready to move to the left of people suddenly stopping to turn right, etc).
- if it's a dual carriage way, rigt of left lane or left of right lane (ie, near the middle of the road, where you can change from lane to lane easily to avoid debris/accident/overtake/whatever by moving to the adjacent lane
- if you're driving down a residential or local street with cars parked to the side of the road, give them some space in case someone opens a door, pulls out, etc...


The basic idea is to think of the most likely hazard on the particular road you're on, and position yourself so that you have room to avoid it. There's no "hard" rule for this stuff, you need to evaluate the position you're in at that moment and deal with it...

[Jomac]

Would sure be nice if you could have one rule that fits all.
Passed my test a few weeks ago. Practised swiching L/R with instructor for intersections etc, but on day of test when he saw the tester warned me to stay in Left part of lane as that's the way that one liked it.

As it turned out I lost a point for being too far left!

[frazcat]

you read the conditions and make your decision simple..

[Stephan]

I get asked that question all the time, no clear answer from anyone so far....I like to stick to the right part of the lane but move towards the middle, just to position myself in the rearview mirror of cars in front of me.
But unfortunetly, we don`t teach for safety on the road, we teach to pass the test...

[thro]

I like to stick to the right part of the lane but move towards the middle, just to position myself in the rearview mirror of cars in front of me..

Yeah, i do this also, mostly on the big dual carriage ways...

If you're riding along near a car/truck and in or near their blind spot, it's worth playing with your lane position a bit to make sure you can see their face in their wing mirror.

Much better to just get out of that area, but if you can't for whatever reason, lane position can help make you more visible too....

[lee]

IMO, whatevers safest for where you are, your visibility, and conditions etc.. Just make sure you do a headcheck before switching sides of the oil slick. There is no correct side, it's just meant to be whatevers safest/easiest for you (to get out of the way of shit/make corners).