slowing down

nearly_there

Hi guys,

just seeing if anyone can offer any advice on this. i have my test next week. when i am slowing down at a junction is it always necessary to go down through all the gears or can i jump straigh say from fourth to second to stop? i have a feeling im doing a good job of hiding the fact that im coasting from my instructor but im not sure.

thanks

TwoShedsJackson

You do not need to go down through all the gears while slowing, and it's perfectly acceptable to stop in whatever gear you like during the test, as long as you don't coast. Going from fourth to second and then stopping will cause no problems.

Older drivers etc. will mainly go through the gears as older cars with poorer brakes benefitted from having the engine braking effect help slow them down, this is unneccesary in a modern car.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

nearly_there

thanks, that puts me at ease a bit. now i just need to figure out how to reverse around corners and i should be alright

Richie15

nearly_there wrote: »

thanks, that puts me at ease a bit. now i just need to figure out how to reverse around corners and i should be alright

Put the car in reverse and turn the wheel. :P
Sorry couldn't resist that. Reversing around a corner, or "reversing into a road" as they call it, is probably the hardest part of the test. Just make sure to keep watching all your mirrors, and mainly over your shoulder. Take your time and if you see anyone in your way stop immediately. My sister failed becaue a man walked behind her and she didn't see him soon enough. Keep going until he tells you to stop and keep close to the kerb without touching it.

It's perfectly fine to stop in third, I'd favour that rather than skipping a down-shift. It's ok to skip aswell if that's what you're used to, but I find it's harder to judge the appropriate speed.

nearly_there

thanks for all the help guys.

see my problem is that i can get around the corner but then trying to straighten up i almost always end up on the kerb or way too far out. i think practice practice practice is my only way.


i dont suppose theres an easy way to do it? or a cheats way?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

brian076

nearly_there wrote: »

thanks for all the help guys.

see my problem is that i can get around the corner but then trying to straighten up i almost always end up on the kerb or way too far out. i think practice practice practice is my only way.


i dont suppose theres an easy way to do it? or a cheats way?

One tip that might help, is that when you pull in at the side of the road before the manoeuvre, look out the back window and see where the kerb comes to, maybe there's a mark on the window that you can line it up with.

As you start to reverse, the kerb goes out of view until you get around the corner, then it starts to appear again. When the kerb approaches the point in the back window where it was when you started, straighten your wheel. if you can keep the kerb in this position as you reverse back you'll be the exact distance from it that you were when you started.

ItsYourTime

You can stop in fourth if you so wish. There's no problem whatsoever. TwoShedsJackson pointed out exactly the reasoning behind people who do go down through the gears, it was to cause engine breaks in cars with inefficient breaks. There's a saying driving instructors use "Breaks to slow, gears to go", by this saying why should you use your breaks to slow the car down? By using the gears to slow the car down you are making unnecessary gear changes with doesn't do much for vehicle sympathy as it wears your clutch and your gear teeth. Also it takes up too much time and a small bit of concentration, thus making it, believe or not, more dangerous than stopping in the gear you were in. In advanced driving tests, undertaken by the likes of the metropolitan police in London and Emergency services you would fail on the spot for going down through the gears to stop the car. One last thing, you may be afraid to stop in fourth because you'd have to compress the clutch earlier than in 2nd and therefore would be seen as coasting, not through the margins of time are fractional so you would have to be really riding the situation to be done for coasting.

As regards the reverse, practice, practice, practice. Also they say "reasonably" close to the kerb, once you straighten to within two feet after the turn you should be fine. The most important thing here is the observation. Actually observation is the most important thing on the test. Literally fling you head from side to side give the impression you are taking everything in. It'll really impress the tester.

Good Luck! I hope my advice is usefull!

Sunjammer

nearly_there wrote: »

thanks, that puts me at ease a bit. now i just need to figure out how to reverse around corners and i should be alright

My Instructor gave me a very handy tip, adjust your left door mirror downward so you can see the kerb and while keeping up your normal observations keep the kerb in view in that mirror and using clutch control go nice and easy. DON'T forget to readjust your mirror when you have completed the manoeuvre or it may be marked against you as poor observation as you are looking at the kerb rather than behind your car to the left

Here is another excellent video tip http://www.driving-test-success.com/rev_corner/cornerrev.html

brian076

Sunjammer wrote: »

My Instructor gave me a very handy tip, adjust your left door mirror downward so you can see the kerb [/URL]

Have to say I wouldn't recommend this at all. When I was testing I usually found that anyone who adjusted their mirror like this relied too much on looking in the mirror and forgot to look behind them. If your mirror is properly adjusted you should be able to see the kerb anyway.

Alanstrainor

brian076 wrote: »

Have to say I wouldn't recommend this at all. When I was testing I usually found that anyone who adjusted their mirror like this relied too much on looking in the mirror and forgot to look behind them. If your mirror is properly adjusted you should be able to see the kerb anyway.

100% agree. A lot of drivers seem to position their mirrors skyward, which makes little or no sense. I wouldn't recommend adjusting your mirrors for the reasons Brian mentioned above, and also because it gives you one extra thing to worry about.

DrivingInfo

I have worked on this website for the best part of 2 years, It is just amazing how long it takes for people to find out what information is out there.

I think it will help you as this is based on the Irish Driving Test. www.DrivingTestTips.ie "Look at tutorials"

P.S If you can hid coasting from your Instructor I would Change Instructor

Burtchaell

Your able to hide the fact that your coasting from your driving instructor??? You won't hide that from a tester...

nearly_there

Well thanks for all the help guys!

I passed last thurday with only two grade twos, funnily enough for my turnabout which i wasnt concerned about at all. I know I might be shot for saying this but i really think not driving alone while a learner really helped me pass because i didnt have the time to learn any bad habits and am still a careful driver, not being overly confident.

ps those tutorial videos are great, really helped with the reversing around a corner

Alanstrainor

nearly_there wrote: »

Well thanks for all the help guys!

I passed last thurday with only two grade twos, funnily enough for my turnabout which i wasnt concerned about at all. I know I might be shot for saying this but i really think not driving alone while a learner really helped me pass because i didnt have the time to learn any bad habits and am still a careful driver, not being overly confident.

ps those tutorial videos are great, really helped with the reversing around a corner

Congrats!:pac:!