Remember the cockpit drill by D.S.S.S.M

CAR COCKPIT DRILL AND CONTROLS LESSONThe cockpit drill is the very first procedure you will be taught by a driving instructor on your firstdriving lesson.

Learning the cockpit drill will provide you with knowledge on all the relevant car safety aspects andcontrols. Much of your first driving lesson will be taken up by learning the cockpit drill, although mostgood driving schools should allow you to drive once the cockpit drill has been completed.

Learning the cockpit drill before your first driving lesson should help to reduce the time the instructortakes teaching you, therefore providing you with more time actually learning to drive. Reading thesetutorials may also go some way into reducing the amount spent on driving lessons.

Once the cockpit drill has been learnt for the first time, it should take no more than a minute or two tocomplete on subsequent driving lessons.

Much of the cockpit drill relates to the majority of allmakes and models of cars although certain controlssuch as side mirror adjustment controls for examplemay be operated and located specifically to a certainmake and model of car. Such specific controls will beexplained by your driving instructor.

DSSSM

The cockpit drill consists of the Doors, Seat,Steering, Seat belt and Mirrors. To aid in learnersremembering this procedure, it is abbreviated to DSSSM. See DSSSM and driving routines for thevarious routines that learner drivers should learn.

Cockpit drill – Doors

Ensuring all car doors are shut before moving off is essential as there is a chance that they may openwhilst driving.

Driver side doorDon’t be afraid to give it a good stern pull to shut it, although try not to slam it too hard. If youare in doubt that it is correctly shut, reach over to the door handle with your left hand and give ita tug. If closed properly, the door should not move, if the door moves slightly, you will need toopen and shut it again ensuring that you pull a little firmer on the door this time. Before openinghowever, check in front and over your right shoulder to ensure there are no pedestrians orcyclists in the path of your opening door.

Passenger doorsPassenger doors will need to be checked using mirrors. When the doors are shut correctly, theside of the car that can be seen in the side mirrors should remain smooth and flush. If a door isnot correctly shut, the side of the car will look uneven and not smooth. If you suspect that apassengers door is not shut correctly, either ask the passenger closest to shut it correctly or getout of the car and shut it yourself.On a driving testIf you fail to shut your door correctly at the start of the test, the examiner will likely ask you tocheck your door. Most modern cars alert the driver of doors not properly shut by either anilluminated light on the dashboard or by a sound. If you move off and your door is incorrectlyshut during a test, pull over in a safe and legal position and safely secure the car.

Cockpit drill – Seat

SeatThe seat will need to be adjusted so that you can comfortably use the foot pedals. If operating amanual car, locate the foot pedal on the left side – the clutch. Using the ball of your left foot,press the clutch down to the floor until it stops. Grip the bottom of the steering wheel with yourleft hand and using your right hand use the seat lever to slid the seat either forward or backwardsuntil you have a slight bend in the knee with your left leg. This is the ideal seat position tocomfortably operate the foot pedals. Controls for sliding the seat forward or backwards areusually found under the front of the seat.

Cockpit drill – Steering wheel

Steering wheelThe seat now needs to be adjusted correctly so as to allow you to comfortably control the steeringwheel. Place both hands at the very top of the steering wheel as this is the part of the wheel thatis the furthest away from you. You do not want to be too close to the steering wheel or stretchedout too far as this will impede safe control in operating the wheel. The ideal position whilstgriping the top of the wheel is to have a slight bend at the elbow in your arms. Keep one hand onthe wheel and use the seat controls to move the back rest of the seat forward or backwards untilthis position is found. Back rest controls are usually found at the lower right hand side of yourseat.HeadrestThe correct adjustment of the headrest can help to reduce neck injuries in the event of a rearcollision. Most modern cars tend to have larger headrests to for most of us are in a good positionby default. If you are using an older model car or are particularly tall, you may need to adjust.The centre vertical position of the headrest should be in line with your ears to be most effective.

Cockpit drill – SEAT BELTS

Seat beltsDriver and passengers must wear a seat belt whilst driving forwards on a public road unlessmedically exempt and have proof by certification. It is the drivers responsibility to ensurepassengers of 14 years and younger are either wearing a seat belt or are appropriately and legallysecure. A driver is legally entitled to remove a seat belt whilst reversing (including on a drivingtest) as a seat belt can reduce your ability to move in the seat and take effective all-roundobservation. Remember of course to re-apply the seat belt before moving forward again. Ensurethat the seat belt is firmly clicked in-place and has no twists and turns in any part of the belt asthis will reduce the belts effectiveness in an accident.

Cockpit drill – Mirrors

Finally, the mirrors need to be correctly adjusted so to give you as much rear view observation aspossible. Your instructors car may have extra mirrors to enable them to have rear observations. Yourmirrors of concern is the main interior mirror at the top centre of the front windscreen and the twodoor mirrors.

Adjusting car mirrors: interior mirrorSitting in your normal driving position, reach out with your left hand and grip the plasticsurround of the interior mirror. Try not to touch the glass as this will put finger marks on themirror, making it difficult to out of at night. Try to keep in your normal driving position as muchas possible including your head, adjust the mirror so you can see as much out of the rearwindscreen and as little interior as possible. Essentially, you need to ‘frame’ the rear windowinside the mirror. Unlike side mirrors, the interior mirror gives you an exact representation interms of distance of what is happening behind you as the glass is flat.Adjusting car mirrors: side mirrorsAgain sitting in your normal driving position, adjust the side mirrors so that centre of the mirroris in line with horizon (see mirror adjustment for an example) and that there is a small sliver ofthe side of the car only in each mirror.Door or side mirrors are usually made from convex glass.This curved glass gives the driver a wider angle of view to see behind. Although this increases theviewing angle of rear observation it does not eliminate the car blind spot. Before driving off,changing lanes and on occasions making left or right turns, the appropriate blind spot must bechecked. Failure to check the blind spot will certainly fail a driving test and increase the chancesof an accident.

Cockpit drill controls

Now the basic cockpit drill has been explained, the instructor will now explain the basic car controls.Car controls are divided into 3 categories:

Foot controls – description and operation of the accelerator, brake and clutch.

Foot pedals from right to left ‘ABC’.

Hand controls – correct use of steering wheel, gears and hand brake.Auxiliary controls – correct use of indicators. Other auxiliary controls include windscreenwipers / washers, lights, heaters and demisters although these are often explained at a later date.

Foot controls

Foot controls are the Accelerator, Brake and Clutch and from right to leftcan easily be remembered as ABC. The accelerator and brake areoperated with the ball of the right foot and the clutch is operated usingthe left foot.

AcceleratorThe accelerator will often be referred to as the gas pedal during driving lessons as it is quicker tosay. The accelerator is very light and easy to press and is used to increase the amount of fuelgoing into the engine. More fuel means more power.BrakeThe foot brake has much more tension than the accelerator. The brake needs to be used carefullyand lightly. When you wish to stop the car, press the brake lightly and gently increase pressureuntil the car has stopped.ClutchThe clutch is easier and lighter to press than the brake and is used to break the connectionbetween the drive wheels and the engine so that gears can be selected. A description of how theclutch works along with clutch control can be found in the clutch control tutorial.

Hand controls

SteeringUsing the steering wheel correctly in terms of where you hold it is important not only for safetybut is also assessed to a degree during the driving test. The steering a car tutorial offers learnerdriver the correct method for holding and steering.GearsThe gears in a car allow you to increase and decrease speed and enable the car to be fuel efficientby selecting the appropriate gear. It is important to know where each of the gears are and how tocorrectly use them as detailed in the changing gears tutorial.HandbrakeThe handbrake or parking brake as it is also referred to secures the back wheels of the car.Handbrake is to be applied when the car has been parked and if you are waiting in traffic for aperiod of time.

To apply the handbrake and secure the back wheels, the handbrake is to be gripped firmly using theleft hand, pushing the button in with the thumb as you pull the lever up. Continue pulling the

Car handbrake secured

Car handbrake released

Most car indicators levers are located on the left side of thesteering wheel. Modern cars use electronic indicators insteadof the mechanical. Electronic indicators can use multiplesignalling functions such as a temporary flash option forchanging lanes or a permanent flashing sequence used inconventional indicators.

handbrake up until the lever becomes tense and release the button.Be reasonably firm when pulling the lever but not excessively. Torelease the handbrake, grip with the left hand, slightly pull the leverup and as you do so push the button in with your thumb. Place thelever down until it stops and release the button. Testing this shouldbe done whilst your right foot is firmly pressed on the foot brake.

Auxiliary controls

IndicatorsIndicators are used to show others your intention of changingdirection. During a driving test, the examiner will be assessing youto ensure you indicate in good time and that you cancel theindicator once the task has been completed. The indicator lever isusually found to the left side of the steering wheel.

Cockpit drill driving test

When time arrives for the driving test, all you shouldneed to do when getting into the car with theexaminer is put your seat belt on as you would havegone through the cockpit drill before driving to thetest centre. The driving examiner will not expect youto run through the cockpit drill if it has beencompleted already.

If your car is a 3 door however and your instructor oranother accompanying passenger is coming with youon the test, the instructor is likely to enter the carthrough the drivers side, moving the seat. Ensurethat your seat is back in a good driving position and also check the mirrors again just in case they needaltering. A supervising examiner can on occasions also accompany yourself and the test examiner. Thesupervising examiner is also likely to enter the car through the driver side. The supervising examiner isassessing the examiner who is conducting your driving test to ensure the correct procedure is followed.

The driving examiner will ensure that their door is shut correctly and that their seat belt is correctlysecured in place before the car is started. The examiner will not try and trick you in any way duringtheir part of the cockpit drill. Usually, a driving test is taken over a 2 hour period; the first hour is to‘warm up’ and the second hour is to arrive at the driving test centre in time and to take the driving testwhich lasts for approximately 40 minutes.

The cockpit drill and the examiner

Although a driving examiner is rather discreet in what they appear to notice during a driving test, theywill be aware of any discrepancies on the cockpit drill. Badly adjusted mirrors or an incorrectly fittedseat belt for example will be noticed. Ensure that:

all doors are shutyour seat is correctly adjusted for pedals and steeringthe headrest is positioned correctlyyour seat belt is properly fastened with no twiststhe interior and door mirrors are correctly adjusted before moving off