Giving directions
Left here. No, here. Okay, next one.
Most arguments in the car aren’t about where to go. They’re about when you said it. Here is how to call a turn so the driver can actually take it.
Giving directions sounds easy. You know the way, they don’t, so you tell them. Then the car sails past the turning, somebody says “I told you”, and the next ten minutes are quiet.
Almost every missed turn has the same cause, and it isn’t the words. It’s the timing. A car covers about 13 metres every second at 30 mph. By the time “left here” has left your mouth, “here” is already behind you.
One left turn, three calls.
You’re doing 30 mph down a high street. The turning is on the left, and your driver has no idea it’s coming. Everything that happens next depends on when you tell them.
20 metres out: “Left here!”
At 30 mph that’s about a second and a half before the turn, and roughly the time it takes them to hear you and understand you. There’s no time left to check the mirror, signal or slow down.
A careful driver carries straight on. You were right about the road. It just doesn’t help any more.
50 metres out: “Left at this one!”
Now there’s just enough room, if they brake hard and skip the polite bits. They make it, and so does the car behind, probably.
This is the call most passengers make: correct, urgent and a bit late. It works, but nobody enjoys it.
120 metres out: “Left at the next junction.”
Seven or eight seconds’ notice. They check the mirror, signal, ease off and take the turn at a walking pace without anyone noticing.
Same words, same road. The only thing that changed is the distance.
How far ahead should you call a turn?
Far enough for three things to happen before the junction. First the driver has to hear and understand you, which takes about a second and a half. Then they check the mirror and signal, another couple of seconds. Only then can they start to slow down, and slowing from 30 mph to a walking-pace turn takes another 30-odd metres if nobody wants to spill their coffee.
Add that up and you need about 80 metres at 30 mph. In a 20 mph zone it’s nearer 45; on a 40 mph road, more like 120. Try it:
Try it
Missed it.
“That one? It’s gone. I’ll find somewhere to turn round.”
20 m · 1.5 s before the turn
- You gave them
- 1.5 s
- They needed
- 5.9 s
- Hear and understand, 1.5 s
- Mirror and signal, 2 s
- Slow down gently
Assumes 1.5 s to react, 2 s to check mirrors and signal, then gentle braking (2.5 m/s²) to 10 mph for the turn.
The three-part call
Once the timing is right, the words matter. Good calls have the same shape: which way, then where, then which one if there’s any doubt. Direction comes first because it’s the part the driver can act on straight away: they can start thinking about the left lane before you’ve finished the sentence.
LeftWhich wayat the lightsWhereafter the bridge.Which one
- Which way. First, so they can start planning before the rest arrives.
- Where. Something they can see: lights, a pub, a bus stop, a church.
- Which one. Only if there could be two. Landmarks beat counting.
“Where” should be something the driver can see from the seat: traffic lights, a pub sign, a bus stop, a petrol station. Street names are great on a map and nearly useless at 30 mph, because the sign is small and usually on the corner you’re about to pass.
Count landmarks, not junctions
“Take the second left” goes wrong surprisingly often. Is a car park entrance a left? A private drive? A one-way street you can’t turn into? You count one way, the driver counts the other, and you’re both right. “Left just after the church” has only one answer.
Prepare, confirm, now
Sat-navs don’t call a turn once. They warn you early, confirm it as you approach and call it again at the junction. People can borrow the pattern. The first call lets the driver plan; the second ties the plan to the actual junction; the third removes any doubt about which gap in the kerb you meant.
- ~200 mPrepare“We’re turning left in a bit, at the lights.”
- ~100 mConfirm“Left at these lights.”
- At the turnNow“This one.”
Lanes before turns
On a road with more than one lane, the turn needs two calls: the lane, then the turn. Changing lanes takes a gap in the traffic, and gaps don’t appear on request. “We need the right lane for the lights up ahead” buys the driver time to find one. Asking for the lane and the turn at once usually gets you neither.
What not to say
Some calls are guaranteed to go wrong, or to start a row. Here are the usual suspects and what to say instead.
Instead of “Left here!”
try “Left at the next junction, after the bus stop.”
Distance is the whole game. Say it while there’s still road.
Instead of “No, the other left.”
try “Sorry, right. Right at the lights.”
Own the mistake in one word, then give the full call again.
Instead of “Take the second left.”
try “Left just after the church.”
Was that car park the first left? Landmarks don’t need counting.
Instead of Pointing.
try Say it out loud.
Their eyes are on the road, not on your hand.
Instead of “Turn, turn, TURN!”
try One clear call, then “this one” as it arrives.
Repeating louder adds panic, not information.
Instead of “You missed it.”
try “No problem, next left and we’ll loop round.”
The turn has gone either way. The next instruction is what matters.
Navigator, or back-seat driver?
There’s a line, and most passengers know when they’ve crossed it. Navigating is telling the driver where to go: the route, the lane, the turn. Back-seat driving is telling them how to drive: speed, braking, gaps, “you could have gone there”.
Navigating helps, because you have information the driver doesn’t. Back-seat driving mostly doesn’t, because the driver can see the road at least as well as you can, and now they’re listening to you instead of looking at it.
Unless, of course, it’s a game, and the driver genuinely has no idea where they’re going.
Questions
Quick answers
How far in advance should you give directions to a driver?
In town, call a turn about 100 metres out, roughly seven or eight seconds before it at 30 mph. The driver needs about a second and a half to take it in, a couple of seconds to check mirrors and signal, then room to slow down gently. On faster roads, call it earlier still.
What is the best way to give directions in the car?
Say which way, where and when, in that order: “left at the lights after the pub”. Name something the driver can see rather than counting junctions, ask for the lane before the turn on bigger roads, and say it once, clearly, then confirm when they’ve got it.
Why do drivers miss turns even when you tell them?
Usually because the call came too late. Reaction time, mirror checks and braking all take distance, and at 30 mph a car covers about 13 metres every second. A turn called 20 metres out is already behind the point where a careful driver could take it.
What is a back-seat driver?
Someone who isn’t driving but tells the driver how to do it: speed, gaps, braking, lanes. Giving directions isn’t back-seat driving. Commenting on how they drive usually is.
In the game
Now try it with someone who doesn’t know the way.
In I Know a Shortcut you’re the passenger. You can’t steer or brake; you can only call it, and your driver does their best. Riverside Reunion runs 940 m to Glaisher Street pickup, with 5 turns to call and a gold medal at 4:50.