During the Journey · Principle 5 of Six

ANTICIPATE & POSITION

Use what you know and what you can see to anticipate what comes next and position appropriately.

The Basic Idea

Anticipation is working out what the road is about to ask of you. Positioning is being in the right place to do it. The two belong together because neither is much use without the other.

What was planned and learned before the journey, and observed on the approach, comes together here as a decision taken in good time.

Why It Matters

Most navigation errors are late errors. The lane is right but taken too late; the exit is the correct one but reached from the wrong side of the carriageway.

A driver who anticipates has time to position, and a driver who is already positioned has no need to make a sudden manoeuvre in order to follow an instruction.

In Practice

  • Decide what the junction requires while it is still ahead of you, not as you reach it.
  • Move into the correct lane in good time, using the road markings and signs as well as the lane guidance on the screen.
  • Where the device and the road disagree, follow the markings and the signs: they are what you can see and what applies.
  • Keep the option of carrying on safely and rejoining the route if the manoeuvre cannot be made.
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