The flashing amber light allows pedestrians who are already on the crossing to get to the other side before the green light shows to traffic. Give way to them and only proceed when the crossing is clear.

If a pupil is to make effective progress, they must have an accurate idea of how well they're doing. It would be dangerous if they moved on to a more complex driving task before mastering all the competencies required to perform that task successfully. Ideally, the process should start with you encouraging the pupil to identify their own weaknesses.

Too much oil in the engine will create excess pressure and could damage the engine seals and cause oil leaks. Any excess oil should be drained off.

On a windy day, the blustery conditions will affect motorcyclists and they may be blown off course. If you wish to overtake a motorcyclist in these conditions, make allowances for them and give them extra room.

If your vehicle breaks down on a level crossing, your priority is to get everyone out of the vehicle and clear of the crossing. If there's a railway telephone, use it to tell the signal operator what's happened. If you have time before a train arrives, move the vehicle clear of the crossing, but don't attempt this if the crossing alarm sounds.

Before starting any journey, make sure your windows and mirrors are clean and your lights are working. You need to be able to see clearly and be seen by other road users. This is especially important when visibility is reduced, as in fog or heavy rain.

Normally, a driver shouldn't stop or park on a road that has double white lines along the centre. However, you may stop for long enough to set down or pick up passengers, or to load or unload goods.

You can move into a box junction as long as your exit road is clear. You can stop and wait in the junction when you want to turn right and have to wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic.

Most motorway signs have a blue background with white lettering, numbers and borders. These signs not only confirm motorway status but are designed to give clear information to drivers travelling at motorway speeds.

Car tyres must
- be correctly inflated
- have a tread depth of at least 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tread and around the entire circumference
- be free from certain cuts and other defects.
When checking tyres for cuts and bulges in the side walls, don't forget to check the inner walls (that is, those facing each other under the vehicle).

If you don't have your vehicle serviced regularly, the engine will steadily become less efficient. This loss of efficiency will progressively cause an increase in fuel consumption, engine running problems and increased risk of the vehicle breaking down.

Some vehicles are prohibited from using the motorway. These include motorcycles under 50 cc, cyclists, horse riders, agricultural vehicles and powered wheelchairs/mobility scooters.

Learning is far more effective when a pupil can identify for themselves the reason why something has gone wrong. If they can't work it out, you can help them to understand with an explanation or a diagram. When they understand the problem, the pupil should then practise this manoeuvre.

Sometimes road markings can be obscured by queuing traffic, or you may be unsure which lane you need to be in. If you realise too late that you're in the wrong lane, don't cut across lanes or bully other drivers to let you in. Follow the lane you're in and find somewhere safe to turn around if you need to.

Knowing the sequence of traffic lights allows you to plan your approach. This can help prevent excessive braking or hesitation at the junction.

If your indicators don't turn off automatically, you must cancel them. This might happen after a slight deviation, where the movement of the steering wheel hasn't been enough to activate the auto-cancel mechanism. A signal that continues to show after it should have cancelled can mislead other road users.

Try not to panic if a tyre bursts while you're driving. Take your foot off the accelerator and avoid braking suddenly. Try to steer a straight course while holding the wheel firmly.

When your vehicle is too big to fit into the central reservation, you should treat a dual carriageway as one road and wait until the road is clear in both directions before emerging to turn right. If you try to treat it as two separate roads and wait in the middle, your vehicle will overhang the central reservation and could cause a collision.

It's against the law to drive on or over a footpath, except to gain access to a property. If you need to cross a pavement, watch for pedestrians in both directions.

Usually, a road is constructed with a camber: the road surface slopes to assist with drainage. Some bends have an 'adverse camber'. This is where the road slopes towards the outside of the bend. When going around a bend that has adverse camber, you need to take extra care. The forces acting on your vehicle could cause it to leave the road more easily than normal.

Holding the clutch down or staying in neutral for too long will cause your vehicle to freewheel. This is known as 'coasting' and it's dangerous, because it reduces your control of the vehicle.

Even an empty roof rack will create extra wind resistance and this in turn will increase the vehicle's fuel consumption; for this reason, remove a roof rack when it's not needed.

When renewing your vehicle tax, you must have valid insurance cover for the vehicle. It's illegal to drive or keep a vehicle on public roads without insurance cover.

Your safety and that of others may depend on the condition of your tyres. You must check that they're correctly inflated and have sufficient tread depth. The legal minimum tread depth for cars is 1.6 mm. This depth should be across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tyre and around the entire circumference.

Dual accelerators aren't normally fitted to training vehicles. If one is fitted, it must be removed while the vehicle is being used for a driving test.

When driving a motor car, a learner driver who holds a provisional driving licence must
- display red L plates (or D plates in Wales) to the front and rear of the vehicle
- be insured to drive the vehicle
- be accompanied by someone who's at least 21 years old and who has held for at least three years (and still holds) a full licence for the category of vehicle being driven.

When you've driven through a ford or flood, your brakes may be soaking wet. Water can reduce your brakes' efficiency, so check that they're working properly before you build up speed again. Lightly applying the brakes while driving slowly will help them to dry. Before you do this, remember to check your mirrors and consider what's behind you.

In icy and snowy weather, your stopping distance will be up to 10 times further than in good, dry conditions. To reduce the risk of skidding, take extra care when braking, accelerating and changing direction.

Lorry drivers may be unaware of objects falling from their vehicle. If you see this happen, and the lorry doesn't stop, drive safely onto the hard shoulder near an emergency telephone. Report the hazard to the authorities. Don't try to retrieve fallen items yourself.

When a candidate passes a practical driving test, their full licence is normally issued directly by the licensing authority. However, if this doesn't happen, successful candidates should apply for a full licence as soon as possible. The driving-test pass certificate is valid for two years; if a full licence isn't applied for within that time, the driver will need to retake their test.