Easy Print
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Introduction:
This lesson follows on from lesson 1 and assumes you are familiar with the controls of the car, what they do and how to operate them. If there has been a break between lessons, it’s a good idea to have a brief re-cap of lesson 1 before starting this one. It just helps remind you of what you now know. If you are familiar with the car controls and how to use your mirrors correctly without having to take lesson 1, that’s fine.
In this lesson you will learn:
How to prepare the car to move off.
Precautions to take before moving away.
How to move the car away.
Steering in a straight line.
How to find a safe place to stop.
Precautions to take before stopping.
How to stop.
Securing the car after stopping.
Preparing to move off.
Do your cockpit drill as in lesson 1. Start the car. Press the clutch pedal to the floor and select 1st gear. Press the gas pedal slightly so the engine noise increases a little and then hold the gas steady. Very slowly raise the clutch pedal until you hear a slight change in engine note. When you hear this change hold the clutch still.
The clutch is now at the ‘biting point’. Remember this phrase, we will use it often. The biting point is the point at which the engine is just starting to connect to the wheels .
Whilst holding the biting point, look over your left shoulder, check your left exterior mirror, look ahead and check the interior mirror, check your right exterior mirror, look over your right shoulder. This is known as a 360 degree check and you should always do it before moving away. Of course, these observations assume you are moving away from the left hand side of the road, if you are moving off from the right (which you shouldn’t do for this lesson) the observations would start over the right shoulder and finish over the left shoulder.
Consider whether you need a signal. You will need to signal if to do so will help another road user - remember that includes pedestrians and cyclists. If you can see the road is completely clear, you needn’t signal. (For more on signaling, click HERE).
Moving away:
When you are sure it is clear and safe to move away, release the handbrake and slowly raise the clutch a little more. Have both hands on the steering wheel. As you raise the clutch the car will slowly begin to move. Continue to slowly raise the clutch until it is completely released. The car will now be slowly moving away.
Steer slightly away from the curb. You only need very small steering movements. Try to keep the vehicle about a metre from the curb and moving in a straight line.
If you feel confident enough, press the gas pedal very gently and the car will increase speed slightly.
Finding a safe place to stop:
For this lesson your mentor will probably have decided where you are going to stop before you move away. However, you need to understand how to find a safe stopping place as you will need to need to know for any future lessons. The Highway Code gives good instances of safe and unsafe places. As a general rule, you are looking for a place where you will be easily seen by other road users and which is safe for them to pass. Also, you mustn’t cause an obstruction such as stopping across or opposite a driveway or junction.
Precautions before stopping:
Having picked your place to stop, you must check it is safe to move in. Before slowing down or moving the car in towards the curb, we must check behind that it is safe to do so. Check your interior mirror to see if there is any traffic close behind and check your external left mirror to see if there are any road users likely to be affected by moving in. (For more information on use of mirrors, click here).
(As you will be practicing this lesson somewhere quiet, you may not see the necessity for all these observations of mirrors etc.. But it is very important to get in the habit of doing it so that, when you are on busy roads, you automatically do the right thing.)
Having checked your mirrors, decide if you need to signal left. Remember, you will need to signal if to do so will help another road user - that may apply just as much to vehicles or pedestrians in front of you as behind. If the road is completely clear, you needn’t signal.
Take your foot off the gas and gently steer towards the curb to allow the car to drift in. Try to keep parallel to the curb.
You are aiming to stop without scraping the wheels on the curb and just an inch or two out. Gently press the brake pedal and, just before the car stops, make sure you press the clutch pedal right to the floor.
Securing the car:
When the car has stopped keep your foot on the brake and keep the clutch down. Pull on the handbrake and move the gear lever to the neutral position. (You must pull the handbrake on before neutral to make sure the car is secure before taking it out of gear). Now you may release the clutch and brake pedals. Switch the engine off if you wish.
Lesson 2 conclusion.
Well done! You have now moved the car and stopped it. You have learned how to prepare and make the necessary precautions before moving off. You can now move the car away, find a safe place to stop, make the necessary precautions and move in and stop.
On your first attempt it may have been a little jerky, but don’t let this bother you. As with all things to do with learning to drive, practice makes perfect. The more you practice, the better you will get. Now you have done this manoeuvre once, practice again and again for the rest of the lesson. You should find it gets easier each time.
