RiK wrote:...
As a starter for further discussion, take a look at this section around the 3:25 mark and think how you might feel should an associate question the steering technique...
I'd ask the Associate what technique were they expecting? Was the manoeuvre carried out safely, accurately and smoothly?
It gets more interesting at 19:46 where I think I can see self-centring being used!
In the old days, Pull-Push was enforced. Since around 2016(?) the IAM official position has been:
"Steering (if it's not broken don't fix it). If the steering is accurate and smooth, the method of steering becomes less important as long as safety is always maintained." - Taken from the 2016 v1.0 edition.
I'm sure there are Groups and individual Observers that are still keen on Pull-Push everywhere. A quick look at Bristol Advanced Motorists website gave me this:
"In the main, mirrored steering provides greater control over a range of situations than can be achieved by other steering methods such as fixed input, gangster lean-back, crossing hands or rotational and is particularly valuable for accurate control in all manoeuvring exercises and especially for reversing round a corner when your eyes will (for the larger part) be through the rear window. It allows you to know precisely the position of the steering wheel in relation to the direction of the road wheels."
Mirrored equates to pull-push I think.
There's no arguing that if you can do good P-P you can deal with anything. The issue is the other methods, properly applied in the correct situation, are perfectly acceptable. But is it "advanced driving"?