anthonysdrivingschool.com » handbrake

Stopping Smoothly

anthony — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:13:01 +0000

Biting The Dust

A lot of learner drivers worry about the fact that they cannot stop the car very smoothly. When you are a passenger in a car driven by an experienced driver you will notice that the car usually comes to a nice smooth stop with very little or none of that sensation of being pulled forward in your seat after the car has stopped.

So how can you also stop the car as smoothly as that? And is it that important? Well, to be honest it is not that easy to do and takes time and practice to perfect. Basically, the secret is that at the precise instant that the car is coming to a stop you shouldn`t still be braking hard, but infact easing off the pressure ever so slightly so that the car actually more or less stops by itself. Once the car is stationary, the brake pressure is increased again to avoid the possibility of the car rolling either forwards or backwards. The changes in pressure on the brake pedal are very subtle and should not be noticeable to a passenger. Of course to be able to have the possibility to decrease the brake pressure just as you are stopping means that you already have full control of the car and have already reduced your speed to the point that the last meter or so before the car stops is actually no more than a controlled roll. This is where practice is required:-being able to time your slowing down and accurately using the correct amount of braking in various situations is a skill that needs to be developed.

The good news is that when you sit your driving test the examiner does not expect you to be able to stop perfectly smoothly. That doesn`t mean you can get away with doing emergency stops at every junction of course! However, an occasional slightly sharp stop should not be a problem. Having said that, being able to stop the car smoothly can only make a good impression on the examiner. Don`t worry too much about it though, because you will find that as you get more experience, you will develop this skill without even thinking about it.

Parking On A Slope

anthony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:01:58 +0000

What If The Handbrake Fails?

I remember an incident years ago when I did a double-take upon seeing a neighbour`s Mini car rolling sedately and silently down the road, followed seconds later by said neighbour, looking anything but sedate as she tried to catch up with her escaped vehicle!.

Yes, she had parked it outside her house and forgotten to put the handbrake on! Luckily the slope was gentle and the car rolled harmlessly into the kerb.

Recently I heard about a similar but more scary incident when a vehicle could have rolled off a cliff onto a house below. Fortunately that didn`t happen as the car hit a wall which stopped it, albeit causing extensive damage to the vehicle.

So what are the lessons to be learnt from these incidents?

Firstly, never ever leave your vehicle parked without applying the handbrake. Sometimes an incline can be so slight that you don`t even realise that it is a slope.Your car will certainly realise it though!

Secondly, if you are parking on a very steep hill, never rely solely on the handbrake to hold the car. Always take the extra measure of leaving the car in gear. If you drive an automatic you usually have no choice anyway, as in most cars you have to select "Park" before you can remove the ignition key. In a manual car, select first gear if you are facing up the hill and reverse if you are facing down it. That way, even if you didn`t pull the handbrake up sufficiently, or even in the unlikely event of the handbrake cable snapping, your car will move only an inch or so and then stop again.

As a third precaution when parking on very steep slopes, you should leave your wheels turned so that if the car does roll it will roll into the pavement and hopefully come to rest.

Oh and when you come back to your car later, do remember that you have left it in gear! Take it out of gear or press down fully on the clutch before attempting to start the engine otherwise your car will lurch forward or backward and maybe hit another parked vehicle!

Emergency STOP!

anthony — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:41:54 +0000

Emegency Stop!

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It is fairly unlikely that the examiner will ask you to do an emergency stop during your driving test. However, you do need to practice it just in case!

It isn`t difficult and should only take you a few attempts to perfect. After all, if you have been learning to drive in Cyprus, you have probably done a few real ones already during your lessons!

The examiner is always going to pre-warn you if he is going to ask you to do an emergency stop-he can`t just spring it on you as a surprise!

The examiner will choose a quiet road so that you do not cause a problem to other road users.

You are not going to have time to check your mirrors, indicate or change gear-remember it is supposed to be an emergency situation!

When he tells you to stop by slapping the dashboard with his clipboard or hand, you will be expected to stop the car as quickly as possible, without losing control, locking the wheels or skidding.

Use firm, progressive pressure on the brake, keeping just short of the point when the wheels will lock up. Follow up by pressing the clutch fully to the floor to avoid stalling the engine. At the relatively slow speed that you will be doing during this excercise, it is OK to press the clutch at the same time as the brake as long as the pressure on the brake is sufficient to stop the car free-wheeling and speeding up before the braking takes hold. What you must never do is press the clutch down before the brake, so beware of that.

Once the car has completely stopped you should apply the handbrake , select neutral and await the examiner`s instructions to proceed. I find many learners have difficulty at first in keeping both hands on the wheel until the car has completely stopped. The left hand is usually ready on the handbrake whilst the car is still moving!

Another common mistake is stopping the car too gently! Remember this is the one time you need to see the examiner pulled forward slightly in his seat as you come to a stop!

Make sure there are no unsecured objects in the car, mobile phones, bottles of water etc which will launch forward when you brake hard!

Remember to make the usual observation checks before moving off again, and signalling if need be.

That`s all there is to it!