SAFETY. CONFIDENCE. SUCCESS.

5 TOP TIPS FOR BROOKVale

Brookvale isn’t your average suburban test. Between the narrow streets of Freshwater, many school zones, heavy traffic on Pittwater Rd and the sheer number of roundabouts, it requires a high level of hazard perception and excellent decision making skills. The goal isn't just to pass; it’s to prove you can navigate one of the Northern Beaches' busiest hubs with confidence and safety.

1. Driving Test Car Parks.

Brookvale's driving test car parks are now located on the rooftop. Head up the ramp to locate the allocated test carparks.  It is always helpful to practice parking there and going up and down the ramp. When arriving for your driving test, head to the allocated parks and reverse into the spot so when you start your driving test you can drive forward out, good to arrive at least 15mins early. If practicing the carpark and when exiting the carpark onto Old Pittwater Road you will either turn left or right out of the driveway depending which route you take.

The car park itself at the end of the test is not marked, however just remember to indicate , check for other cars & pedestrians. Be safe. 

2.Master the "Roundabout Capital".

The Brookvale testing routes can feature up to 10 roundabouts in a single test.   

Although these roundabouts are all single lane be sure to feel confident in your decision making and picking the right gaps to move through. In particular the main one on Mitchell Rd near Winbourne Rd. 

 Remember positioning is also important so be sure not to manoeuvre through  too close to roundabout, possible position errors or fail items at roundabouts are: 

- getting too close and bumping the edge, minor error 
- going over it even just a little is a fail item: F3 fail item colliding with an object  

*Keep an eye on traffic building and congestion around the roundabouts - if you block a roundabout this will be an immediate fail item, watch for pedestrian crossing near a roundabout  

3.Right Turn at Mitchell Rd.

Two of the routes will head onto to Pittwater Rd turning right at the Traffic Lights into Mitchell Rd.  This right turn is a common fail area at Brookvale, so great to practice this!   Decision making is important:  

• Choosing the correct gap if no arrow   
• Sitting in the middle of the intersection if first car & no arrow  (keep car straight while waiting to turn right)
•  Turning on the orange light if light changed while out in the intersection  
• If the turning lane is full, where do you go so you don’t block traffic… did you know you can enter a painted island if a turning lane immediately follows?  There is one of those in this location so be sure to go into it if the turning lane is full so you are out of the way and not blocking. Creep forward as the lane begins to clear    

4. Bus Lanes.

Entering into the bus lane to turn left too early is a fail item. Another way to fail  is trying to turn left from the middle lane.  Remember the 100m rule you are only allowed to drive in a bus lane for up to 100 metres to turn. So just remember to enter the bus lane within 100m of the left turn.  

The two possible times you may have to do this are located: 

-  Pittwater Rd turning left back into Old Pittwater Rd (near 99 Bikes)  

- Condamine St turning left into Kentwell Rd 

5.Narrow Streets.

The majority of the driving test is spend on back residential streets. Driving through suburbs such as Freshwater, North Manly and Curl Curl. Some to practice are listed to the right -------->

Some of the streets are quite narrow with many parked cars. This reduces visibility for hazards and can make turns slightly more challenging. 

Focus on keeping the speed low in these types of streets.  Keep the car moving slowly while your eyes are moving fast. If there are cars parked on both sides, take it slow trying to maintain a 1m buffer and demonstrate that you are scanning for oncoming traffic or pedestrians. If at a challenging turn where visibility is reduced, edge out a little while trying not to block the lane and oncoming traffic. 

Important tips to remember: 

• 1m meter buffer from parked cars - if possible
• Keep left as practical - driving too far to the other side of road can lead to a fail item
• Reduce speed on hills/corners or where visibility is reduced
• If moving a whole car width to avoid an obstacle/hazard, you must indicate and blind spot head checks in both directions that you are moving (left and right)
• When passing a parked car, move slightly to go around it safely and then reposition car to the left when its practical to do so
• If there are a few parked cars in a row, no need to move in and out around each car. Look ahead and keep to the middle, continue until there is space to move back to left. Watching for oncoming cars.
• If there a two parked cars on either side of the road its perfectly acceptable to drive in the middle until its safe to move back to the left, watching for oncoming cars. 

A driving test prep lesson will help fine tune those skills before the big test day. The test prep lesson will cover all topics related to the driving test while also practicing the driving test routes.