Low Friction Handling Dynamics

General Principles
Performance criteria 

• Check participant expectation and experience
• Activities introduced clearly and precisely; confirm understanding
• Assess confidence and ability levels of the participant
• Ensure coaching techniques and activities adapted to participant
• Develop thought process and driving skills of the participant, use of discussion points, use of demonstrations from the Driving Specialist, debriefing
• Include Q&A session
• Constructive feedback

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Risk Awareness
Performance criteria

• Clear understanding of risk assessments; any new or temporary hazards identified. 
• Continuously assessing area before, during and after activity
• Clear explanation of each activity before driving activity commences, and confirm understanding
• Knows all relevant exercises for each area
• Reads participant confidence levels well, manages over or under confidence
• Doesn't start any driving activity if a participant is not clear on the instructions

 
Dealing with a problematic guest
Performance criteria

• Able to deal with a difficult participant, including verbal intervention. 
  
• Communicates issues clearly and manages situation courteously, confidently and effectively.
• If participant continues to drive in a unacceptable way, gives clear and authoratative verbal warning that driving experience will be terminated if behaviour persists. 
• Able to brake or take control of the steering wheel from the participant if necessary
• Knows the drive termination procedure, including correct people to notify and any documentation as necessary.

  

Participant Pedals Check 
Performance criteria

• Ensure vehicle is in park before the pedal familiarisation exercise. 
• Participant run through pedal familiarisation before driving.
• The Driving Specialist is to carry out a static brake test with the guest to ensure they can apply the brake as quickly as possible prior to the driving experience. 
• The pedal familiarisation repeated as relevant

Exercises on Low Friction Facilities​

General Principles to be considered with all dynamic exercises
Performance criteria 

• Clear explanation for each exercise and the learning points being developed; demo if relevant
• Ensure vehicle is positioned in a safe area while briefing, not obstructing other vehicles
• Avoid holding up other participants by ensuring participant is ready before, and clears area promptly after, the exercise
• Check participant has full understanding and is happy to proceed before exercise. 
• Does not ask a participant to proceed if they are unsure of the activity or do not want to participate
• Explain safety technology effectively, use open ended questions to help participants follow own learning path
• Participant helped to develop skills at own pace, aligned with experience and ability
• Aims to keep driving activities within defined areas. 
• Ensure activities are related to appropriate driving scenarios
• Only carries out exercises on low friction facilities when the facilities are wet
• Correct protocol to activate wet facilities. 
• Encourages mechanical sympathy during activities
• Relate exercises to appropriate real life scenarios
• Uses coaching methods effectively to build participant understanding and skills
• Effective discussion of learning points from each exercise

Straight Line Wet Grip
 
Specific Principles for Straight Line Wet Grip area (SLWG)
Performance criteria

• Ensures only one car on exercise area at any one time
• Ensures that any speed restrictions are communicated and respected 
• Ensure the safety systems are kept on until the driving activity has been briefed and participant is aware when safety systems are turned off
• Recap on pedal exercise prior to braking exercises 
• Indicate correct brake point

  
Specific Principles for Emergency Stop and ABS
Performance criteria

• Provide an effective explanation of contributing factors during firm braking on low friction surface 
• The guest should be coached through what they may hear and feel such as ABS. 
• Good explanation of ABS and Stability Control technology
• Able to effectively demonstrate stability and ABS systems

 
ABS Slalom/Steer
Performance criteria

• Route through the slalom clearly communicated
• Advise appropriate speed for the exercise.
• Weight transfer and tyre behaviour communicated effectively
• Looking ahead communicated and developed effectively
• Steering lines communicated and developed effectively

 
Specific Principles for  Acceleration from rest in SLWG
Performance criteria 

• Throttle control developed, give understanding of how throttle input affects the balance of the vehicle. 
• Give effective experience of the cars stability systems while accelerating from rest on a slippery surface. 
• Develop understanding of interaction of steering and throttle inputs at limit of grip

 
Specific Principles for Split grip acceleration (Split Mu Acceleration)
Performance criteria

• The vehicles stability systems explored while accelerating. 
• Activity performed with the vehicles safety systems on
• Develop understanding of interaction of steering and throttle inputs on mixed surfaces

Specific Principles for Split friction braking (Split Mu Braking)
Performance criteria 

• The participant given insight into the degree to which the safety systems compensate for the directional instability and how much steering input is needed to straighten the car. 
• Ensures participant uses both hands on the steering wheel
• Develop participant understanding of interaction of steering and brake inputs on mixed surfaces

 
ESP Slalom/Steer on Slippery Surface
Performance criteria

• Discuss contributory factors to grip levels in slippery conditions. 
• Reveal how smooth steering avoids loss of drip or ESP activation
• Explore how speed effects steering, control and ESP activation. 
• Impact of higher speed or harsher steering on stability and grip
• Appropriate repetitions with variations to highlight contributing factors to loss of grip and ESP activation.

 
Specific Principles for T-junction pull out
Performance criteria

• Relate to pulling out of an icy T-junction to create context for the exercise
• Stability programs shown both on and off; gives clear understanding of how systems affect stability
• Emphasis that safety systems are there as an emergency backup and should not be relied on for control - activation = loss of control
• Uses exercise to highlight throttle control during acceleration

Specific Principles for Safety Systems on brake and avoid ESP
Performance criteria

• Relate to a real life accident-avoidance situation
• Effectively communicate ABS and stability system action while steering and braking on a slippery surface. 
• The participant advised correct steering inputs
• Activity performed with the vehicles safety systems activated
• Feedback discussion to confirm knowledge and understanding. 

 
 4WD Benefits 
Performance criteria

• Clear demonstration of 4 Wheel drive advantages 
• Mechanical understanding 
• Natural understeer highlighted to show risk is not eliminated in all wheel drive cars.

 
Relating to Road Driving
Performance criteria

• Use real life scenarios during driving activities to bring to life
• Low friction dynamic areas used to help participant recognise and anticipate risks, and understand how road conditions can affect the car's stability and grip.

 
Parallel Braking (dry. V. wet)
Performance criteria

• Discuss how grip and speed relate to braking distance. 
• Same speed should be used for each repetition to highlight braking distances 
• Exercise should give clear understanding of ABS and how to maximise control
• Brake control, sensitivity and grip level awareness should all be discussed and developed during the activity. 

 
Wet Circle
Specific Principles for Wet Circle area

General Performance Criteria

• Driving Specialist knows the breakaway speed on the circle.
• No more than 2 vehicles use the circle simultaneously maintaining safe gap between vehicles.
• Minimise time spent stationary on the circle
• Sessions on the circle should be timed appropriately, giving way to waiting vehicles to allow effective throughput.
• Safety systems can be turned off on the circle
• Appropriate period of orientation explaining the basic principles of the circle, explaining were the low friction and normal tarmac is.
• Explains high forces can be experienced when the car slides from the treated area onto the normal tarmac
• Good observation and awareness of other vehicle

Specific Principles for Understeer and Oversteer Exercises
Performance criteria

• Develop understanding of what happens to the vehicle at the limit of grip, improving throttle control and sensitivity.
• Understeer and oversteer clearly explained and experienced
• Safety systems explored giving clear understanding of how safety systems operate.
• Clear explanation of how weight transfer effects grip and how to influence this; exercises to bring this to life
• Introduces techniques to recover a vehicle from understeer or oversteer.

Specific Principles for Contributing factors to  loss of grip
Performance criteria

• Develop understanding of loss of grip as a result of throttle, brake and steering input. 
• Explore effects of harsh and smooth steering inputs on grip and stability
• Explore effects of harsh and smooth throttle inputs on grip and stability
• Explore effects of harsh and smooth brake inputs on grip and stability
• Explore how speed effects grip
• Skid correction v. not losing control and effects on progress​

Braking into a slippery corner
Performance criteria

• Develop understanding of braking in a corner
• Explore steering during maximum braking on a slippery road surface
• Explore stability while cornering and braking on a slippery road surface. 
• Experience how traction systems work to counteract understeer and oversteer when limit of grip is exceeded
• Develop understanding of brake pressure needed to maintain control without activating safety systems.

 
Power induced loss of grip
Performance criteria

• Explore effects of acceleration while on a slippery surface. 
• Explore directional stability during acceleration in a corner, and how these effects can be minimised. 
• Clearly explain traction support systems interventions during acceleration and turning on a slippery surface,  and exercises to experience, showing how different driving techniques produce different effects.

 
Split Mu Traction and Braking
Performance criteria

• Show how safety systems compensate for uneven grip
• Develop feel for steering inputs effects during split mu exercises
• Discuss ways to read the road and the conditions and react accordingly

 
Balanced Throttle Control
Performance criteria

• Work to develop feel for the throttle and grip levels to maintain traction while turning
• Discussion on factors that interact to give balanced throttle control.

 
AWD Benefits (All Wheel Drive)
Performance criteria

• All-wheel drive benefits explained clearly 
• Explore feel of the car and discuss what feels different about it
• Extra control and reasons for it
• Natural understeer highlighted