NeworRevisedSkillsExamRoutesCreation
BeginbyreviewingthemainrequirementsofthemapsaccordingtotheInstructorExaminers’
GuidelinesandRequirement(IEGR)datedFeb2014(foundunderthetraininglinkintheSAWportal).
Manydrivers’trainingschoolssubmittedtheirroutespriortothepublicationofthismanualandmay
notbefamiliarwiththenewerrequirements.
WhileSection6givesyouallthedetailsondrivetestrouterequirementsthatwillbereviewedfor
certification,Iaskthatyoutakeacloselookatpages6‐4thru6‐6(mapexample)whichtalksspecifically
totherequirementsforthemapitself.
Twoofthemainitemsthatcauseareturnorsignificantdelayintheapprovalprocessaremapsnot
clearlyshowingthedirectionoftravelandstreetnamesnotbeinglegible.DTSwillnotschedule
appointmentstocertifyyourroutesuntiltheseitemshavebeenaddressed.
OtherCommonErrorsWhenCreatingRoutes:
‐ UncontrolledIntersections–TobeconsideredanUncontrolledintersectionforgrading
purposesontheskillsexam,thecustomermustdriveTHROUGH(orpast;notturnintoorfrom)
theintersection.
‐ BackingManeuver–Whenperformingthebackingmaneuver,itCANNOTbedonewhenbacking
intoastreetwhereastopsignispresent(i.e.backingintoaStopSign).
‐ Cul‐de‐sacs‐AvoidperformingU‐Turnsinacul‐de‐sacwhencreatingyourroute;youwillbetold
toadjustyourroute.
Finally,whensubmittingyourinitialroute(Bothmapandwritteninstructions),pleasedosoina
MicrosoftWord®formatifitisavailabletoyou.Ifthereareslightadjustmentsthatneedtobemade,
DTSwilldoso(andcannotmodifyinaPDFformat).
DTSBlankRouteMapBuilder:TheDTSsectionhascreatedamapbuildingMicrosoftWord®document
thatprovidesuserswithabasicformatthatissimilartotheexampleusedwithintheIEGR.Providing
instructions,legendsandallthemoveablesymbolsneededtoindicatetherequiredmaneuvers,
indicationofstoplights,etc.
CapturingYourRouteArea:YoumayuseGoogleMaps®orotherfreeonlinemappingsoftwareto
createyourmap.Onceinthemappingsite,ensuretheentirefootprintoftherouteyouareusingis
visible,whileatthesametime,theareais“zoomed”inascloseaspossibletoclearlycapturestreet
names.Useyoursnippingtool(capturinganimagethiswayallowsaclearimageofthemap;see
instructionsbelow)orotherscreencapturingtoolsyoumayhavetosavethistoafileonyourcomputer.
PastethisfileintotheDTSBlankRouteMapBuilderthatDOLhascreatedtoassistyouwithmap
creationorablankdocumenttocreateyourown.
SnippingTool:ThisisfreesoftwarethatistypicallyonmostMicrosoft7®andaboveOperatingsystems
(Macusershaveatoolcalled“Grab®”).Followthedirectionstothebelowlinkonhowtocapture
screenimagestosavetoafileusingthesnippingtoolorsearchontheinternet“howtoprintscreenand
crop”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL3h5xns6DM
OutliningYourRoute:WhiletheIEGRindicatestheuseofhighlightingyouractualdriveroute,itisnot
required(andsometimescouldleadtostreetnamesnotbeingclearlyvisible).Theuseofarrows,
staggeredclosely,seemstobethebestapproachtoclearlyindicatethedirectionoftravel.Changing
colorsofthearrows,whentravelingmultipletimesonthesameroad,alsocanhelpwiththis.
CopyingandPastingArrow“ShortCuts”:
Singleleft“click”thearrowyourwishtoduplicateonce.
Holdingthe“Control”(Ctrl)buttonandthentheletter“C”onyourkeyboardwillcopythearrow.
Holdingthe“Control”(Ctrl)buttonandthentheletter“V”onyourkeyboardwillpasteanewarrow.
MapAdjustmentTips:
ArrowandPinPointTextBoxAdjusting
PinPointManeuverAdjustment:
Leftclick(hold)ontheYellowbox(movemouse)
toadjusttextboxpositionindicator.
ArrowDirectionAdjustment
Leftclick(hold)ontheWhitebox(movemouse)
todirectionofarrowrequired.
Remember:Youcanuseyourarrowkeysonyourkeyboardtomakeminoradjustments!
“Doubleclick”onthearrowyourareadjusting.
1.The“Format”TabwillappearintheMicrosoft®toolbarribbon.
2.Adjustmentsfortheheightofthearrowcanbemadewithinthe“Size”portionofthetoolribbonbar
3.Usethetextboxarrowstoincreaseordecreasethesizeofyourarrow
AdjustingArrowHeight
1.
2.
3.
NOTE:ThisadjustmentisbasedontheDIRECTIONofthearrow(adjustmentareoppositeforahorizontallypointedarrow!)
“Doubleclick”onthearrowyourareadjusting.
1.The“Format”TabwillappearintheMicrosoft®toolbarribbon.
2.AdjustmentsfortheWidth(Angle)ofthearrowcanbemadewithinthe“Size”portionofthetoolbarribbonbar
3.Usethetextboxarrowstoincreaseordecreasetheangleofyourarrow(setto“0”tostraightenArrow)
AdjustingArrowWidth(Angle)
3.
1.
2.
NOTE:ThisadjustmentisbasedontheDIRECTIONofthearrow(adjustmentareoppositeforahorizontallypointedarrow!)
RotateorTurnArrows:
“Doubleclick”onthearrowyourareadjusting.
1.The“Format”TabwillappearintheMicrosoft®toolbarribbon.
2.Selectthe“Rotate”Button
3.Selecttheappropriatedirection(Left,RightorFlipdirections)youwantyourarrowchangedto.
3.
1.
2.
ChangeArrowColors:
Right“click”onthearrowyourarechangingcolor.
1.Right“click”onthearrowyouarechangingcolor.
2.Selectthe“Outline”box
3.Selectthedesirednewcolor.
1.
2.
3.
3.
ThisbynomeansistheworstexampleofwhattheDOLhasreceived;many
submissionshaveroadswith2‐3passesandcanseemtoblendintooneanother.
Staggeringthearrowsmoreclosely,changingthecolorofthearrowandlabeling
unmarkedroadsmeetstherequirementoftheDTSRouteapprovalchecklist!
PineSt
RouteComparison’s