Vehicle Controls and Safe Driving Technique
Know the controls
Before you move, know the clutch, brake, accelerator, gear lever, handbrake, steering and indicators. In a manual car the clutch connects engine to wheels; the biting point is where the car begins to creep. The handbrake holds the car when parked and on hill starts.
The cockpit drill
Use a consistent pre-drive routine: doors, seat, steering, seatbelt, mirrors, ignition. Adjust the seat so the clutch can be fully depressed with a slight bend in the knee, and the mirrors so you see a sliver of your own car.
Smooth driving technique
- Pull away: clutch to biting point, slight accelerator, release handbrake, ease off clutch.
- Gear choice: low gears for power and hills, high gears for economy and cruising. Change up as the engine note rises.
- Braking: progressive pressure; brake in a straight line before a bend, then accelerate gently through it.
- Steering: pull-push method keeps both hands on the wheel; do not let the wheel spin back.
- Hill start: handbrake on, biting point, accelerator, release handbrake as the car strains forward.
Traps
- Coasting (clutch down or neutral) reduces control - never coast downhill.
- Riding the clutch wears it out and reduces control.
- Braking hard into a bend unsettles the car; brake before it.
Rule of thumb
"Mirror, signal, manoeuvre" before every change of speed or direction, and "brake before the bend, power through it."
Worked example: On a steep uphill start, hold the handbrake, find the biting point until the bonnet lifts slightly, add accelerator, then release the handbrake - the car moves forward without rolling back.