When I took my test around 1970 the examiner was impressed that I was able to double-declutch into first gear (no synchromesh)* as I slowed at the traffic light. In those days the shoe brakes weren't brilliant - in fact I once had a brake shoe fall off (my own fault - didn't replace the retaining pin) - and had to double-declutch down the gears to stop because, with a rear shoe gone, even the handbrake didn't work!
However, I taught my sons to drove as a previous poster suggested: brake firmly to begin with but gradually release the pressure and declutch as you come to a stop (and before the engine stalls). It requires anticipation and practice and you must be ready to select the appropriate gear if the lights go to green before you've stopped. Done correctly, it feels smooth and certainly shouldn't cause passenger panic! Then handbrake on, into neutral and release the clutch but be ready to select first gear to move off in a timely (but smooth) manner.
* I should explain that, without synchromesh, it wasn't always possible to select first gear when stationary. It often required raising and dipping the clutch several times to get the gears into perfect alignment so you could thrust the lever forward. Hence the need to get the gearbox into 1st gear while still moving (but very slowly).
I took my test in 2008 and was taught to slow down by lifting off the accelerator and gradually braking where necessary, but not changing gear. I still break to a standstill from 4th gear, apply the handbreak (or just keep my foot on the brake if it's flat ground and I know the lights are about to turn green) and then change to neutral, before going into 1st gear to move off again. I would never change down gears to slow down except a switch from 4th to 3rd or 2nd if the lights change to green before I've completely stopped. I wouldn't carry on at full speed and slam on the brakes either though, I was taught not to do that!
the reason behind using the brakes to slow and not the gears is to show your brake lights allowing other motorists you are slowing, using gears to slow will not activate the brake lights.
And in comparison to a new engine or gear box, break pads are relative cheap to replace.
About 10 years ago I got the chance to go out on a police skidpan with an advanced instructor for an afternoon (it was great fun, gives you lots of good driving skills too, would always say worthwhile taking up an offer if others get a chance).
We got onto 'power driving' as he called it on the roads (in other words how do you get to where you need to be safely and fast). I asked this very question. I was told years ago it was due to the mechanics of a car - block gear changes did not suit some gearboxes, so people were taught to slow down with both gears and brakes. These days I believe the current thinking is step down gears if you do not think you are coming to a halt, but if you are coming to a halt stay in gear as long as possible without stalling the engine (for efficiency) as you are braking, then clutch down for the stop.
I understand part of the current driving test looks at driving efficiently these days too.
I'm pretty sure the way i was taught is to change down gears on approach to the traffic lights if they are red, and if they are green you carry on in whatever gear you are in but do not speed up and do not shift up and be prepared to stop.
Approaching lights on red with a queue of traffic I will change down to third and take my foot off the accelerator at the right time to drift to a gentle halt behind the last car.
As long as the car is in any gear then these days the fuel supply to the engine is totally cut off. And a decent gearbox will last 20 years so no problem there.
If I have to come to a complete stop, which sometimes happens, I apply the handbrake. Although most modern drivers seem to ride the clutch and keep inching forwards at lights it still takes an age for them all to start up again.
I've been driven by people who drive upto lights queues as if they weren't there and brake at the last moment - that obviously wastes fuel apart from causing concern to nervous passengers. Silly habit.
I was taught to drive in the early 2000s and similarly to Andrue's driving method, my instructor favoured lifting off the throttle early, which is something I've continued to do. My instructor used to make jokes about 'premature braking' as I remember. He made a good point though.
My instructor used to say "Brakes are for stopping and correcting your mistakes"
I was taught (last year) to use the brake to slow down approaching a red light staying in whatever gear I am in, and then select appropriate gear when I reach the lights, so if I need to stop brake to a stop, put the handbrake on and go into first and then put hand on the handbrake ready to set off again. If the lights go green before coming to a stop select the appropriate gear for the current speed.
Progressive braking I think they called it, and I was also encouraged to use selective gear changing up as well as down, 3rd to 5th mainly, when appropriate.
As a pedestrian I notice how some drivers stop suddenly like this at a zebra crossing. They screech to a halt and then stare at you as if wondering why you didn't start to cross before they stopped. If you make it obvious that you are slowing down I will cross and be over before you get to the crossing and you won't have to stop at all.
I usually stick the gear into netural and coast to a halt. It's a throwback from my student days, I think, when I was trying to save money on fuel. I still do it, 15 years on. I do sometimes wonder whether I am actually saving on anything, though.
I was taught (last year) to use the brake to slow down approaching a red light staying in whatever gear I am in, and then select appropriate gear when I reach the lights, so if I need to stop brake to a stop, put the handbrake on and go into first and then put hand on the handbrake ready to set off again. If the lights go green before coming to a stop select the appropriate gear for the current speed.
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I've read this thing of selecting first gear with the handbrake on before and it totally mystifies me. Why don't they teach to just select neutral instead? We ain't talking about Formula One starting grids here - where that is appropriate.
Even if you are first in the queue it is possible to select first and release the handbrake before the lights actually go green. If you are 8 cars back then it is normally about 20 seconds before the car in front moves.
I usually stick the gear into netural and coast to a halt. It's a throwback from my student days, I think, when I was trying to save money on fuel. I still do it, 15 years on. I do sometimes wonder whether I am actually saving on anything, though.
You probably aren't saving anything, unless you have the same car you had in your student days - and it was old when you bought it.
In the old days when cars were simple and had a carburettor then closing the throttle left it effectively 'open' a little bit with enough fuel for tickover. Putting the car into a lower gear increases engine revs and may well have drawn more fuel through the carb.
These days, with the electronic management systems and fuel injectors, if you take your foot off the pedal then it cuts off all the fuel whilst in gear. If it is put into neutral to coast then it has to supply tickover fuel to prevent the engine stopping - thus using more fuel.
Back 10 years ago when I was getting lessons my instructor told me to adjust to road conditions and select the appropriate gear for them and hardly use the brake only use it when you need to slow down quickly or to stop compleatly.
On approach to traffic lights it all depends on the surrounding conditions, if road is clear/free flowing and you are sure you can get through lights without any issues then continue in 4th (rarely I get to do this) most of the time the flow of traffic and road conditions make me come down to 3rd and approach ready to stop.
I will slowely come down the gears depending on the road conditions and I'm prepared to stop if needed.
I have seen a change in recent years though locally with some of the younger drivers stopping suddenly at lights or blitzing through them whenit is clearly unsafe to do so. There is also a local driving instructor who must teach his pupils that you only use the brakes to stop/slow everytime I see his car out at lights it is often involved in heavy brakeing at traffic light approaches.
I think it is changed times in the world of driving, the other big thing I have notice is the number of people who love inspecting the contents of your boot from their driving seat a few times I have had this and its scary how close some people get to you now. Had one the other day where there must have been less than a half a cars length between the rear of my car and her front bumper and this was on a 60mph road and I was doing just below the limit, if I wan't fast enough she could have overtaken as the road is wide enough to allow it but no my bumper and boot was more interesting.
I've read this thing of selecting first gear with the handbrake on before and it totally mystifies me. Why don't they teach to just select neutral instead? We ain't talking about Formula One starting grids here - where that is appropriate.
Even if you are first in the queue it is possible to select first and release the handbrake before the lights actually go green. If you are 8 cars back then it is normally about 20 seconds before the car in front moves.
I would wait in neutral if the lights had just changed to red when I reach them and I'm going to be waiting a while, but what's the benefit of being in neutral? You may as well be ready to go if you aren't going to be waiting long?
Yes, they are taught differently nowadays, alas. "Gears are for going, brakes are for stopping" is the watchword now. Personally I think it's rubbish, as to my mind you should always be in the correct gear. But I drive for a living, so what would I know?
I learned to drive using no fewer than five instructors last year (holiday instructor, one left the profession and so on), and all of them advocated rolling gear changes, and the cars I was driving were the very latest ones.
Rolling gear changes help keep traffic moving in my opinion - yes, you have to stop entirely and very suddenly sometimes, but mostly if you look ahead you can save yourself going all the way down to first if you slow down approaching stopped cars. I'm always seeing cars racing up to stopped junctions and preforming sudden stops at the end. Then when I pootle up to the junction in 2nd, the lights go green and I'm ready to continue, provided the ones who raced up to sit still can get going...
Yes, they are taught differently nowadays, alas. "Gears are for going, brakes are for stopping" is the watchword now. Personally I think it's rubbish, as to my mind you should always be in the correct gear. But I drive for a living, so what would I know?
If this is what people are being taught then no wonder traffic flow is so erratic at times with people being caught in the wrong gear when the lights change as they're slowing down and not having a clue what to do.
I don't think 5-4-3-2-1 is necessary or sensible but 5-1 is just wrong.
We have found that when he approaches traffic lights he travels up to the car in front in 4th gear then suddenly brakes
The kid next doorn learnt to drive last year and it seems they are now taught to get up to speed as quickly as possible and presumbly down as quickly as possible.
Sounds ludicrous a) from a fuel consumption point of view and b) you really don;t want a new driver who has very little road craft or ingrained feel of traffic flow accelerating quickly whenever they pull away.
It all just seem counter intuitive...although it does annoy me 'older' drivers crawl away from the line and slowly go up the gears...
I was always taught to decelerate through the gears.
So if the traffic lights are green and i'm on a 30mph road I will carry on in third but be prepared to stop.
If I am approaching lights that are red I will change down from 4-3-1 or 3-1, often skipping 2nd and going straight from 3rd to 1st.
Decelerating through the gears allows you to slow down with enough time to come to a safe stop with enough distance between you and the car in front.
Reading through this thread has been confusing as it seems driving examiners on tests will give you faults for decelerating through the gears. Now i'm confused.
Approaching roundabouts requires you to change down through the gears otherwise you're not prepared to stop. Changing down from 3-2 if you can carry on or 3-2-1 if you have to stop is necessary surely.
My driving instructor told me that the old way of teaching was to go down gears when stopping. Nowadays with modern cars there is no reason to go down gears when stopping. That shouldn't prevent you slowing down to a gradual stop, just ensure the clutch is at the appropriate level when stopping.
One the car has come to a complete stop, I was taught to always put the handbrake on. I would do this and then change gears, as the changing into first gear is getting ready to go after the lights change.
Decelerating through gears doesn' give you anything extra - applying the brake is what slows you down.The argument could be that by decelerating through the gears creates more effort for you and more distraction at a time when you should be concentrating on what you are slowing down to.
Comments
However, I taught my sons to drove as a previous poster suggested: brake firmly to begin with but gradually release the pressure and declutch as you come to a stop (and before the engine stalls). It requires anticipation and practice and you must be ready to select the appropriate gear if the lights go to green before you've stopped. Done correctly, it feels smooth and certainly shouldn't cause passenger panic! Then handbrake on, into neutral and release the clutch but be ready to select first gear to move off in a timely (but smooth) manner.
* I should explain that, without synchromesh, it wasn't always possible to select first gear when stationary. It often required raising and dipping the clutch several times to get the gears into perfect alignment so you could thrust the lever forward. Hence the need to get the gearbox into 1st gear while still moving (but very slowly).
And in comparison to a new engine or gear box, break pads are relative cheap to replace.
We got onto 'power driving' as he called it on the roads (in other words how do you get to where you need to be safely and fast). I asked this very question. I was told years ago it was due to the mechanics of a car - block gear changes did not suit some gearboxes, so people were taught to slow down with both gears and brakes. These days I believe the current thinking is step down gears if you do not think you are coming to a halt, but if you are coming to a halt stay in gear as long as possible without stalling the engine (for efficiency) as you are braking, then clutch down for the stop.
I understand part of the current driving test looks at driving efficiently these days too.
Why ?
As long as the car is in any gear then these days the fuel supply to the engine is totally cut off. And a decent gearbox will last 20 years so no problem there.
If I have to come to a complete stop, which sometimes happens, I apply the handbrake. Although most modern drivers seem to ride the clutch and keep inching forwards at lights it still takes an age for them all to start up again.
I've been driven by people who drive upto lights queues as if they weren't there and brake at the last moment - that obviously wastes fuel apart from causing concern to nervous passengers. Silly habit.
I got told after passing that I should continue in the gear I am in and change down once I have stopped.
Just putting that out there, as it seems to be something that is taught. (This was 5 years ago right enough but still)
Progressive braking I think they called it, and I was also encouraged to use selective gear changing up as well as down, 3rd to 5th mainly, when appropriate.
I've read this thing of selecting first gear with the handbrake on before and it totally mystifies me. Why don't they teach to just select neutral instead? We ain't talking about Formula One starting grids here - where that is appropriate.
Even if you are first in the queue it is possible to select first and release the handbrake before the lights actually go green. If you are 8 cars back then it is normally about 20 seconds before the car in front moves.
You probably aren't saving anything, unless you have the same car you had in your student days - and it was old when you bought it.
In the old days when cars were simple and had a carburettor then closing the throttle left it effectively 'open' a little bit with enough fuel for tickover. Putting the car into a lower gear increases engine revs and may well have drawn more fuel through the carb.
These days, with the electronic management systems and fuel injectors, if you take your foot off the pedal then it cuts off all the fuel whilst in gear. If it is put into neutral to coast then it has to supply tickover fuel to prevent the engine stopping - thus using more fuel.
On approach to traffic lights it all depends on the surrounding conditions, if road is clear/free flowing and you are sure you can get through lights without any issues then continue in 4th (rarely I get to do this) most of the time the flow of traffic and road conditions make me come down to 3rd and approach ready to stop.
I will slowely come down the gears depending on the road conditions and I'm prepared to stop if needed.
I have seen a change in recent years though locally with some of the younger drivers stopping suddenly at lights or blitzing through them whenit is clearly unsafe to do so. There is also a local driving instructor who must teach his pupils that you only use the brakes to stop/slow everytime I see his car out at lights it is often involved in heavy brakeing at traffic light approaches.
I think it is changed times in the world of driving, the other big thing I have notice is the number of people who love inspecting the contents of your boot from their driving seat a few times I have had this and its scary how close some people get to you now. Had one the other day where there must have been less than a half a cars length between the rear of my car and her front bumper and this was on a 60mph road and I was doing just below the limit, if I wan't fast enough she could have overtaken as the road is wide enough to allow it but no my bumper and boot was more interesting.
I would wait in neutral if the lights had just changed to red when I reach them and I'm going to be waiting a while, but what's the benefit of being in neutral? You may as well be ready to go if you aren't going to be waiting long?
I learned to drive using no fewer than five instructors last year (holiday instructor, one left the profession and so on), and all of them advocated rolling gear changes, and the cars I was driving were the very latest ones.
Rolling gear changes help keep traffic moving in my opinion - yes, you have to stop entirely and very suddenly sometimes, but mostly if you look ahead you can save yourself going all the way down to first if you slow down approaching stopped cars. I'm always seeing cars racing up to stopped junctions and preforming sudden stops at the end. Then when I pootle up to the junction in 2nd, the lights go green and I'm ready to continue, provided the ones who raced up to sit still can get going...
If this is what people are being taught then no wonder traffic flow is so erratic at times with people being caught in the wrong gear when the lights change as they're slowing down and not having a clue what to do.
I don't think 5-4-3-2-1 is necessary or sensible but 5-1 is just wrong.
The kid next doorn learnt to drive last year and it seems they are now taught to get up to speed as quickly as possible and presumbly down as quickly as possible.
Sounds ludicrous a) from a fuel consumption point of view and b) you really don;t want a new driver who has very little road craft or ingrained feel of traffic flow accelerating quickly whenever they pull away.
It all just seem counter intuitive...although it does annoy me 'older' drivers crawl away from the line and slowly go up the gears...
So if the traffic lights are green and i'm on a 30mph road I will carry on in third but be prepared to stop.
If I am approaching lights that are red I will change down from 4-3-1 or 3-1, often skipping 2nd and going straight from 3rd to 1st.
Decelerating through the gears allows you to slow down with enough time to come to a safe stop with enough distance between you and the car in front.
Reading through this thread has been confusing as it seems driving examiners on tests will give you faults for decelerating through the gears. Now i'm confused.
Approaching roundabouts requires you to change down through the gears otherwise you're not prepared to stop. Changing down from 3-2 if you can carry on or 3-2-1 if you have to stop is necessary surely.
One the car has come to a complete stop, I was taught to always put the handbrake on. I would do this and then change gears, as the changing into first gear is getting ready to go after the lights change.