Learning to drive is not just about understanding how to operate the pedals and gears but also about learning how to be a responsible citizen on the road, a process that often requires us to commit as many of the mechanics of driving as possible to muscle memory.

One of the most important of these is ensuring that you maintain a complete awareness of the road and other road users, using a combination of your mirrors and your indicators to signal your intentions if you plan to turn, change lanes or overtake.

It is a key aspect to building confidence on the road and one that a driving school will prioritise to ensure it becomes second nature.

The common maxim for this, as stated in the Highway Code, is Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre or MSM, which allows you to ensure you quickly survey the road and make decisive, safe choices on when to make a move.

Mastering MSM is crucial to passing your driving test, comprising a remarkable proportion of the skills you need to pass your test.

How does Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre work? Why is it so pivotal to pass your driving test? And why is it sometimes taught in different ways by different instructors?

What Is Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre?

The recommended technique by the Highway Code when making any move on the road that requires skill and could affect other road users, MSM is a foundational part of safe driving, and many, if not most, parts of the driving test are predicated on its confident use.

To understand MSM, it is best to break it down into its three component parts.

Why Are The Mirrors Vital To Driving Safely?

Everyone knows what they are, and it would be redundant to explain what the wing mirrors and rear view mirror are used for. However, why they are so essential for safe driving and why you need to look at both sets of mirrors regularly is to determine the relative speed and position of any traffic you cannot see.

If you do not use your mirror appropriately when attempting driving manoeuvres, you may receive a driving fault. 

What Are The Six Points To Check?

Alongside MSM, you will often be advised to do a six-point check whenever you check your mirrors and look for hazards.

These are, in no particular order:

• • The left-hand blind spot that you will typically be unable to see in either mirror.

• • The left-hand wing mirror.

• • The rear-view mirror.

• • Through the windscreen.

• • The right-hand wing mirror

• • The right-hand blind spot.

This will provide a complete overview of the road ahead, to the side and behind you, allowing you to take note of any obstacles.

Why Is Signalling Important?

Communication is key to safety, and clear signalling using your car’s indicator lights is vital to not only your safety but the safety of other road users.

You should think of your indicator lights as the language of the road, as they show other drivers and pedestrians what you plan to do and when, allowing them the chance to respond safely.

Ambiguous, unnecessarily or rushed signalling can also lead to faults, so it is important to get this right.

How Do You Use Your Indicators Safely?

Safely indicating is not as difficult as it can seem, and it is a simple matter of thinking about how your signals will be seen by other road users.

In general, safe indicating is:

• • At the right time: It is not too early as to be ambiguous nor too late as to be dangerous. Learning the roads and your reaction times will help you find the right point.

• • Clear and unambiguous: It needs to be the right signal for the manoeuvre you intend to do.

• • Only used when necessary: Make sure that the signal is cancelled once the move is complete. Do not rely on it automatically shutting off.

What Are The Three Elements Of The Manoeuvre Stage?

Once you do your initial mirror check and use your indicators, it is time to move, but this stage is in itself broken down into three other steps, known as Position-Speed-Look.

These three steps ensure you are making the right move in the safest possible way:

• • Position: Adjusting your car’s position on the road for the move in question. This means changing lanes to the most suitable for the turn, or giving yourself enough space to avoid the kerb.

• • Speed: Approaching the junction, turn or overtaking opportunity at the most appropriate speed. Many serious faults are the result of approaching and trying to take junctions too quickly in a way that is determined to be dangerous.

• • Look: This is not only looking again to see if it is safe to make the move, but also assessing your options, making a decision on whether to make the move or not and acting upon that decision.