a few test questions

nacho libre

in your test is coasting up to a stop sign in neutral forbidden? i find it alot easier this way, rather than going down through the gears, but i imagine it would be seen as you are not in control in an emergency?

i take it if you look down at the gears while changing them, this would also come against you in a test? i've been driving about a month now and i still have to look down at the gears when changing them, as when i haven't, i've sometimes put it in too high a gear for the speed i was going.

I presume also that if the car chugged slightly when changing gears this would come against you as well. a tester would like to see a smooth change of gear at all times.

Alanstrainor

nacho libre wrote: »

in your test is coasting up to a stop sign in neutral forbidden? i find it alot easier this way, rather than going down through the gears, but i imagine it would be seen as you are not in control in an emergency?

i take it if you look down at the gears while changing them, this would also come against you in a test? i've been driving about a month now and i still have to look down at the gears when changing them, as when i haven't, i've sometimes put it in too high a gear for the speed i was going.

I presume also that if the car chugged slightly when changing gears this would come against you as well. a tester would like to see a smooth change of gear at all times.

For your first question, oh my god no, stop doing that right away, that's an awful habit to get into, i dont know where you'd even pick that up, doing so in a test would result in a fail. And the same for looking at the gears while changing up or down, you should be able to do this without looking, it might just take some time learning where the gears are. And as for the third part of your post, it would go against you in the clutch control section of the test, but dont worry about it too much, with more practice you'll be able to change smoothly.
Have you gotten lessons OP?

javaboy

Avoid coasting when driving as it means that your car is just a rolling piece of metal with brakes. You don't have the same level of control as when the car is in gear. Also it's still coasting if you have the clutch pressed in far too early.

The driving tester will punish you for this and since you will stop so many times during a driving test, you will quickly build up the 4 required to fail.

If your gear changes aren't smooth, you can get grade 1 or 2 faults in the test. If you find the car chugging a lot when changing gears you may be changing up too early/at too low a speed. Remember in the test you're not going to get punished for your car revving a little too much, but if you're going up a hill in too high a gear for your speed, you won't have the power to accelerate which can be dangerous.

As for looking down at the gears, this comes with experience and practice. Try changing gears while the car is stopped without looking at the stick.



A good instructor should sort all of these problems out and since you aren't driving long, the bad habits won't be ingrained so you're at an advantage.

chris85

nacho libre wrote: »

in your test is coasting up to a stop sign in neutral forbidden? i find it alot easier this way, rather than going down through the gears, but i imagine it would be seen as you are not in control in an emergency?

i take it if you look down at the gears while changing them, this would also come against you in a test? i've been driving about a month now and i still have to look down at the gears when changing them, as when i haven't, i've sometimes put it in too high a gear for the speed i was going.

I presume also that if the car chugged slightly when changing gears this would come against you as well. a tester would like to see a smooth change of gear at all times.

Rolling in neutral is really bad. If you need to react to a situation on the road you will not be in control the car. It will take extra time to get in control as you have to put it in gear (without looking :cool:). You have no control over the car.

Looking at your gear changes means looking off the road unnecessarily so try get out of that habit as well.

You need to learn to control the clutch a bit better so you wont chug. This comes with time.

just give it a bit of time, you are only driving a month. But try work on getting rid of them bad habits early.

nacho libre

thanks for all your replies. I hope i can eradicate the bad habits fairly quickly.

one final question: Are you allowed to jump gears(go from fourth straight into second then into first) when stopping in your test? does the test require you to go down in sequence through the gears?

chris85

nacho libre wrote: »

thanks for all your replies. I hope i can eradicate the bad habits fairly quickly.

one final question: Are you allowed to jump gears(go from fourth straight into second then into first) when stopping in your test? does the test require you to go down in sequence through the gears?

ok well first i would advise never to stop in first, always stop in second gear.

Otherwise afaik it is ok to skip but would not really advise as better to cycle through. Keeps the engine running at the correct range and also have control of the car throughout the whole braking process

mgsrocks

Going from 4th to 2nd is not a problem, your allowed do it, its common practise.

chris85

mgsrocks wrote: »

Going from 4th to 2nd is not a problem, your allowed do it, its common practise.

Common but not good. Not great for the engine.

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't change from fourth to second, it's just bad practice.

spideog7

If you're starting out it's easier to change from fourth to second, because if you aren't quick changing down and you try to cycle through the gears you either slow down far too quickly and end up travelling really slow up to the corner, or you end up coasting and not letting the clutch up between gears, which is pointless anyway.
I had trouble with this until my instructor told me to just come to a stop in whatever gear I was in it's not a problem in the test, or if not coming to a stop just block change, straight from fourth to second. One thing that did bother me though is that to stop in third or fourth gear you need to push the clutch very early (before the car starts to "chug") I was told that clutching for 2 or 3 car lengths up to a stop line is fine. Whereas before I was told that I would have though that this was coasting.

Is this true ??

j1979p

I would have thought that putting the clutch in any later than 2 cars away would cause the car to struggle so much that it might stall. I would have thought 3-4 car lengths, no?

charlesodowd

Schedule an driving lesson the hour before your test. This will help you get in the zone. I did it and passed first time!

Good Luck!

chris85

j1979p wrote: »

I would have thought that putting the clutch in any later than 2 cars away would cause the car to struggle so much that it might stall. I would have thought 3-4 car lengths, no?

Depends what gear you are in really and how fast you are expecting to slow down :cool:

spideog7

Well I'd imagine it'd depend on the car too, I was driving a big diesel engine so lot's of torque, but that's no problem then ?
I take it from the response that that is just the normal thing to do as long as the distance is reasonable ?

j1979p

What I don't understand is why it is considered dangerous. Maybe I am missing something. Is it not safer to be able to have changed into a low gear (with the clutch down), than slowing down in 4th? How is keeping the gear engaged in 4th making it any safer? At least when you have the gear quickly selected, you can lift the clutch pedal quickly at any time to get away if there was an emergency. The only logic I can see is perhaps a shunt from behind would not knock you as far as you would be knocked if you were coasting (before applying the brakes).
Another valid reason (but not from a safety perspective) is wearing out the clutch cable.
Can somebody provide a good reason for keeping in gear for all us learners, because we all know that coasting to a stop is the natural first instinct. Thanks.

nacho libre

another question:

i was practising(?) reversing around corners and parking in between cars, i got the car in line with parked cars in front of me and behind me, but the wheels were turned slightly to the right a few times. in the test, when you are reversing around the corner, when you undo the locking, is it a mark against you if the wheels are turned to the right slightly?

nacho libre

Not revelant or just a stupid question:o

Wishbone Ash

nacho libre wrote: »

when you are reversing around the corner, when you undo the locking, is it a mark against you if the wheels are turned to the right slightly?

Usually the candidate is required to continue for a bit after rounding the apex so the wheels would have to be straighten off to reverse parallel to the kerb.