Stopping
At some point after we move off we're going to have to stop the car - when we do so we need to find a place that is:
Safe, Legal and Convenient. There are numerous rules relating to the places we can stop and park illustrated in the Highway Code rules 213 - 226. You should read this section and familiarise yourself with the rules regarding stopping, parking and waiting.
Now we'll look at the procedure for stopping. The normal position for stopping is about 9 - 12 inches (about half the width of the steering wheel) from the kerb.
Stopping is a manoeuvre - we use the Mirrors - Signal - Manoeuvre routine to manoeuvre safely.
Mirrors - we're checking the mirrors to make sure it's safe to make the manoevre.
In this case we'll be moving to the left so we need to check in the interior mirror for any following traffic and check in the left hand exterior mirror (the nearside mirror) in case there are any cyclists behind who could come alongside as we slow down.
If it's safe ............
Signal - now consider whether a signal is necessary.
We need to make a signal if there are any other road users in the area who would benefit from the signal - the term other road users includes pedestrians as well as cyclists and vehicles.
Manoeuvre - now we'll steer gently towards the kerb and brake to a halt.
Remember - just as when we moved off we'll only be making a small adjustment to the steering so it will require only a small movement of the steering wheel. You may well find it difficult at first to judge how far you are away from the kerb - when we do this in the car I'll give you some tips. You will soon become accustomed to judging your position and we'll be having lots of practice.
Once our position is adjusted move your right foot from the gas pedal to the brake and begin braking - because we'll be moving only slowly a very gentle pressure on the brake pedal is all that will be required.
Cover the clutch (put your left foot over the clutch pedal without actually pressing it down)
As the vehicle is about to stop push the clutch down - then just before we stop ease a little pressure off the brake so we come to a smooth stop.
KEEP YOUR FEET STILL - until we have applied the handbrake and selected neutral and then you can rest your feet.
Changing Gear
Once you're confident with the procedures for moving off and stopping we'll move on to building up our speed - when the car is moving faster we'll need to be able to select the appropriate gear.
You will have practiced gear changing while the car was stationary when we covered the cockpit drill - I'll revise it with you in this lesson - again whilst the car is not moving before we do it on the move.
The procedure for any gear change is the same - the only thing
that changes is the position of the gear lever according to which gear we are selecting.
Let's look at changing from 1st to 2nd gear which we need to do fairly quickly after moving off:
Move your left hand from the steering wheel and take control of the gear lever (remember to have your palm facing slightly away from you).
Push the clutch all the way to floor (clutch can go in quickly) and ease off the gas.
Move the gear lever slowly and smoothly back into neutral and down into 2nd gear.
Left hand back to the steering wheel.
Allow the clutch to come up slowly and smoothly (if we allow it to
come up quickly the gear change will make the car judder)
Once the clutch is passing the bite keep it coming up smoothly and gently apply pressure back on the gas pedal
Once the clutch is fully up rest the left foot away from the pedal.
The procedure is the same when we change gears downwards but when we are moving fairly quickly in a higher gear - say at 30mph in 4th gear and we need to slow down to make a manoeuvre we would generally need to brake to the required speed before selecting the appropriate gear.
That's all there is too it - you just need to repeat that simple procedure for each gear change that we need.
The skill element in gear changing comes in the following areas:
You may find it difficult at first to resist the temptation to look down at the gear lever when changing gear. I will be reminding you to look well ahead down the road (which is where any problems might be) and you will soon learn to select any gear confidently without looking down
Recognising when the time is right to make the gear change requires experience and practice - I will be guiding you at first until you learn to recognise from the sound of the engine or the right time to change down when we're approaching a manouevre - you'll soon get the hang of it for yourself.
Summary
This will probably be your first experience of driving a car, there is a lot to remember and it may seem complicated at first.
Don't worry if it all seems a little confusing - by the end of the lesson you will be moving off and stopping smoothly and be able to change gear when prompted. We will be having lots of practice at the procedures we use in this lesson and practicing braking, clutch control and gear changing skills before we go onto to other areas of the syllabus.
Remember these are the foundation blocks of your driving skills - I will make sure that the foundations are solidly in place before we move on to building on top of them.
Key Points
Moving Off:
Look all round- We need to know it's safe ! - if it is we can do the safety checks and start the engine.
Prepare:
Select 1st gear - set the gas - find the bite
Keep feet still
Observe:
Check mirrors - is it safe?
If it's safe to continue -
Signal:
Do we need a signal
Handbrake ready
Check the blind spots
Manoeuvre:
Release the handbrake to start moving
Steer gently to normal driving position
Clutch comes up slowly and when fully up foot away from pedal
Once in normal position check mirrors.
Changing gear:
Left hand to gear lever
Clutch to floor and ease off the gas
Smoothly move gear lever from 1st down into second
Hand back to steering wheel
Clutch slowly up - when past the bite gently on the gas
Once clutch is fully up foot away from the pedal
Stopping: - Remember it's Mirrors - Signal - Manoeuvre
Interior and nearside mirrors - is it safe?
Consider signal
Keep looking well ahead as we steer gently to park position
Brake gently
Cover clutch and then clutch down to floor as we come to a stop
Ease the brake pressure just a little just before we stop
Handbrake on and select neutral
Rest the feet.
[Back][Introduction]
Prior Reading: This tutorial should be studied in conjunction with:
Driving the Essential skills - pages 68 - 71
Driving the Essential skills - pages 76 -81
The Highway Code rules 102,135,137,213 - 219,222 and 226
In your first lesson you will have been taught how to do the cockpit drill to ensure that you that you can sit comfortably and be in a position to operate the controls effectively. You will have been introduced to the main controls and been shown how they operate and if there was enough time you may have progressed to moving the car for a short distance and stopped in the normal parking position.
This tutorial will introduce or revise you in the techniques we use to move off and stop the vehicle safely - if you have been revising what we covered in the first lesson you will understand enough to benefit from this tutorial - if you've not managed to do any studying since your last lesson you should consider a quick revision of the controls and cockpit drill before reading this tutorial. Remember the aim of these tutorials is to develop your understanding of the in car lessons and prepare you for the next lesson so that we can spend the maximum time driving and minimum time talking.
Lesson outline.
When the lesson starts I'll drive us to a nice quiet place where we can do the lesson without having to cope with much other traffic - on the way I'll talk through the main points of the lesson.
When we arrive at the training area we'll change places - remember you'll need to go through your cockpit drill when you get into the drivers' seat (I'll help you if you need it). Then we'll revise the main points from the controls lesson - the foot and hand controls, safety checks before starting the engine and how to set the gas and find the biting point on the clutch - I'll be helping you when you need it.
When you're confident with the controls we'll practice the procedures for moving off and stopping without moving the car.
[Next]
Moving Off
Remember this first time is a "dry run" so we'll have to imagine that the engine has been switched on.
Look.
Because we will have been sat in the same position for some time we'll need to look all round to make sure that it's safe to prepare the car for moving.
Prepare - if it's safe we'll prepare the car for moving.
Push the clutch to the floor and select 1st gear - set the gas - find the biting point - then keep the feet still
Observe - Now we need to check it's safe to manoeuvre (move off)
look to the front and check the mirrors - IS IT SAFE?
Signal - ask yourself if a signal is necessary (apply it if you need to) - and then be ready to release the handbrake.
keep looking and if it's still safe and moving off would not make anyone else change speed or direction
MAKE YOUR FINAL SAFETY CHECK - LOOK INTO THE BLIND SPOTS OVER YOUR LEFT and RIGHT SHOULDERs - if it's still safe....
Manoeuvre - to get the car moving all we have to do is release the handbrake.
Once we're moving bring the clutch slowly up and when it is fully up take your foot off the pedal.
Now we need to steer to the normal driving position - about the width of an open car door from the kerb. Because we're only making a small adjustment to our position we'll only need to move the steering wheel a small amount.
We won't change gear once we're moving until you have become confident with how to move off - but we do need to know how to stop the car.