When you've reached a certain point in your in-class instruction at driving school, it's time to put what you've learned into practice and get out on the road with a driving instructor. One challenge that many new drivers experience is the ability to maneuver their vehicle smoothly. This will come in time, but in the meantime it's easy to jolt the car forward when you step on the gas pedal and lurch to a stop when applying the brakes. This approach, in addition to providing an unpleasant driving experience, also risks having a poor evaluation from your teacher. You can easily improve the smoothness of your driving by adopting these strategies.

Give Yourself Time To Enter The Road

Even if you're doing your best to avoid lurching as you accelerate, it can be hard to avoid this habit if you enter the roadway at the incorrect time. When you turn onto a road from a parking lot, driveway or other road, make sure to only do so when the gap between you and the next vehicle is largel enough that you'll be able to accelerate smoothly. Many novice drivers make the mistake of entering the road and then having to accelerate aggressively because another motorist is quickly closing the gap.

Keep Your Focus Down The Road

An effective way to improve your driving smoothness is to watch what's happening well down the road from you, rather than only watching the driver who is immediately ahead of you. With the former approach, you'll see when people are applying their brakes, that a turn is coming up or that a light is about to turn red; advance notice of the pending changing conditions means that you'll be able to decelerate smoothly, rather than hit your brakes in a panicked, reactive manner.

Keep Your Pedal Heel Planted

Until some novice drivers are comfortable with making the transition from the gas pedal to the brake pedal, they'll actually lift their entire foot as they move it from one pedal to the other. This can result in jolting and lurching, providing a driving experience that is anything but smooth. An effective habit to adopt is to keep the heel of your foot planted, and then simply slide the upper part of the foot from pedal to pedal. When your heel is planted, you'll have more control as you apply smooth, steady pressure to either pedal to control your vehicle.

For more information, contact a company like Shropshire Driving School.