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Exercise 2 Moving off and Stopping

This lesson would be given to a learner in the field as a natural progression from exercise 1. However, if this is given as part of the part 3 test then you will need to check up on what the examiner has had explained to him. He will explain briefly what was said, so listen carefully. The introduction to the lesson will go something on these lines.

"I would like you to imagine that I had one lesson last week, the instructor explained the safety aspects of entering the vehicle and the lay out and function of the main controls. We did not manage to move off and I am not sure when to use the mirrors. Will you explain the use of the mirrors and teach me to move off and stop as if I had never done it before?"

We know what the pupil needs to know about the mirrors, so if we find out what was explained and take that away from what needs to be known, then that will leave what needs to be taught. In my experience outside the examiner's office is not the ideal place to begin teaching a person to drive for the first time. Therefore I would begin by inviting the examiner to sit in the front passenger seat and I would sit in the driving seat.

I would begin by introducing myself using my forename and ask if it was all right to address him using his first name. He will probably reply by saying something on the lines, "You may call me what you like but in the second half of the test I shall be a different character so I will need a different name."

I would now explain that we were not in an ideal place to teach him how to drive for the first time, so after I have explained the mirrors I shall drive the car to a more suitable place. On the way there I shall explain what I am doing with the controls so that when he sits behind the wheel the controls should be less strange.

Now we will find out what he has been told about the mirrors by asking questions until we receive a negative answer, then we shall know where to begin the instruction. Did your instructor explain how to adjust all the mirrors? Did he explain about the angles of view and the blind spots? Did he explain about the different types of glass such as convex and flat glass? If you have received affirmative answers then explain the use of the mirrors, if not fill in the gaps.

EXPLANATION OF MIRRORS

The mirrors are the driver's third eye, he must always be aware of the situation behind so that he can plan his manoeuvres safely. We always use the mirrors (all three of them) before we carry out any manoeuvre. A manoeuvre is any change of speed or direction or both. Therefore we use the mirrors:

1. WELL BEFORE moving off either from the kerb or in traffic
2. WELL BEFORE accelerating or slowing down or stopping
3. WELL BEFORE changing direction that is: before changing lanes to either the right or left, before turning right or left, before deviating to overtake,
4. WELL BEFORE giving any signal
5. WELL BEFORE we or any of our passengers open a car door.

We have a mnemonic code MSM which helps us to remember. It stands for: mirror signal manoeuvre we split manoeuvre into three components which are: position speed look. You will be hearing a lot more about this as the course progresses.

The mirrors should always be used effectively which means looking early and then after signalling checking again to see if other road users are acting on your signal, because your signals do not entitle you to do anything. Signals merely give other road users a signal of your intention, they are not commands, it is still up to you to ensure that it is safe.

DRIVING TO THE PLACE FOR THE INITIAL DRIVE

Explain you have already been driving the car so the seat and the mirrors are set correctly for you. Invite the examiner to put his seat belt on as you fit your own. Ask him if he remembers the precautions before starting the engine, if he does, start the engine, if not show him how we do it and explain the reasons. Now you must explain every action as you do it. Explain the engine is running but it is not turning the wheels so we must press the clutch fully down and engage first gear (if that is appropriate for the circumstances, if not engage second and explain a down hill start.) Now we have a preliminary look in the mirrors to see if it looks as if we may be able to move off. If the conditions are reasonable move on to the next stage and set the accelerator. Now lift the handbrake press in the button but do not release the brake. Invite the examiner to listen to the engine and point out the change in tone as the clutch comes up to the bite. At this point hold the clutch still, check the nearside mirror, the interior mirror, the road ahead, the offside mirror and the blind spot. Consider if a signal is necessary or not, when safe release the handbrake. When the car begins moving forward hold the clutch still a few seconds until the wheels have had a chance to start turning, then let the clutch out the remainder of it's travel. Now explain that the right foot is controlling the speed, as you press the accelerator the road speed increases as the engine speeds up. Now the engine is telling us it is ready for another gear so we are going to engage second gear. Clutch down foot off the gas, change to second gear, lightly press the accelerator as we did for moving off, clutch up to the bite pause, (but for less time because the wheels are already turning) then release the clutch completely. Repeat this as you go through the gears. When you see the need to slow down bring in the MSM routine and your use of the controls such as I am coming off the accelerator and applying the brake. I have now lost most of my speed so I am changing down directly to the most appropriate gear to restore the power for accelerating. The examiner will give you directions to a suitable place and when you come to stop by the kerb, go through the MSM routine. I have checked the mirrors, I do or do not need to give a signal (depending on the circumstances) I am now positioning the vehicle towards the kerb, I am coming off the accelerator and pressing the brake to reduce speed and I am looking to see that I am in a convenient place. Just before the vehicle stops I press the clutch to prevent the engine from stalling. I must now make the vehicle secure by applying the handbrake and putting the gear in neutral. As I remove my feet from the pedals I look outside to see if there is any movement. If there is any movement I re-apply the foot brake and pull the handbrake on another notch.

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PUPIL'S FIRST DRIVE

Now we invite the pupil to sit in the driving seat and watch how he comes round and that he shows awareness of potential danger from passing traffic. Once in the car we take the pupil through the cockpit drill. We must now take stock of what the pupil has experienced and what he hasn't experienced. Until now all he has received is an explanation and a demonstration of starting and stopping, he hasn't felt the effects of the controls and he doesn't know how to judge the width of the vehicle and position it close to the kerb so we must go through these items and revise the stopping procedure before we get him to move off. Begin by letting him feel the accelerator and then the footbrake. Then ask him to move his foot from one pedal to the other without looking down. Allow him to press the clutch and go through the gear positions. Then apply the footbrake and try releasing and re-applying the handbrake. We are now ready to revise the stopping procedure. Tell your pupil that very shortly we shall be starting the engine and moving off down the road but before we do that you would like to go through the stopping procedure, because it could happen that we may need to stop the moment we have moved off. Tell him to imagine he is driving down the road and you have just asked him to pull up on the left at a convenient place. The first thing to do is look in the mirrors and consider whether or not we need to give a signal to help any other road user. If we need a signal then we shall give the turning left signal but if it will not help anyone we shall not give it. So that is mirror and signal the next thing is position. We need to place the nearside wheels close to the kerb but the problem is, we cannot see the wheels. We overcome this by watching the bodywork of the car in relation to the kerb. Now look at the kerb and follow it back towards the car and tell me where it disappears at the bottom of the windscreen., is it in the left corner, the right corner or somewhere near the middle of the windscreen? You will be told somewhere near the centre and a point will be recognized which can be used as a reference point. You now explain that when we are moving along the road we shall be further away from the kerb and if the pupil looked at the kerb, not that you want him to, he would notice the kerb would be appearing more to the left. So when we want to position near the kerb, we look at the kerb and steer gently towards it until the kerb moves back to it's present position. You will then know the front of the car is close to the kerb and you must drive a few feet further adjusting the steering as necessary until the rear of the car is close to the kerb. As we are moving towards the kerb we release the accelerator and apply the footbrake gently. Just before the car stops we depress the clutch to prevent the engine stalling. Finally apply the handbrake and put the gear into neutral. Ask are you ready to try that if I help you? No doubt you will receive an affirmative answer. Invite the pupil to take the precautions before starting the engine then start the engine. Now let him try the accelerator and correct any heavy movements until gentle control is achieved. Remind the pupil that the accelerator will be very sensitive in the lower gears. Next tell him to depress the clutch and engage first gear, have a preliminary look in the mirrors to see if it appears to be reasonably quiet, if it is then set the accelerator. Next prepare the handbrake by lifting the handbrake and pressing the button, bring the clutch up to the bite and hold it quite still. Look in all three mirrors, the road ahead and over his right shoulder to check the blind spot. You must watch to see the pupil does exactly what you have told him, make your assessment of whether or not it is safe and ask the pupil if he thinks it is safe. Ask if we need to give a signal. If the pupil's assessments are in accord with your own and you think it is safe to move, tell him to release the handbrake. The vehicle should now start to move and as it does so encourage him to move out slightly from the kerb then straighten up. Once the vehicle is travelling in a straight line, ask the pupil to check the mirrors then squeeze the accelerator gently, now check the mirrors again and ease back off the gas. This should now be followed by another gentle squeeze on the gas (using the mirrors correctly) and then talk him into stopping by the kerb. Tell him we are now going to pull up by the kerb, check your mirrors, do we need a signal? now steer gently towards the kerb until the kerb comes back to the point we previously chose, bring your right foot over to the brake and apply it gently, just before we stop depress the clutch. Now instruct the pupil to make the car secure and rest his feet. Give him a few moments to gather his thoughts then ask him how he feels. When he feels ready have another try. It is important that you do not use the dual controls unless there is a real emergency, otherwise your pupil will not gain the true feeling of the controls. During the first lesson with a live pupil in the field, you should arrange to do moving off, on the level, uphill and downhill. On the part three test the examiner will pick the route so you will have to make the best of what is available. I will now outline the procedures for teaching both uphill and downhill starts. Remember to teach the pupil to understand what he is doing, by using the question and answer technique you will gain valuable feed back from your pupil and you will be able to give him accurate feed back.

MOVING OFF UPHILL

Having stopped on an uphill gradient ask the pupil what would happen if we released the handbrake. You should get the reply, it would roll backwards. You confirm that would happen and say, well you know the engine is capable of moving us forward up the hill because it brought us to this point. Pupil will confirm. Then it stands to reason there must be a balance between rolling backwards and driving forwards, would you agree? Pupil will agree. Then say the balance is the biting point so whenever you are moving off uphill you must ensure the clutch is at the biting point before you release the handbrake. Come on we will have a go. This time as they come to set the accelerator mention the fact that the engine is going to work harder this time because we are moving off uphill. Therefore we give it a little more gas and we allow the clutch to bite a little harder. Help the pupil verbally until successful. The gradient should not be too steep to begin with and after a couple of successful starts have been made, slipping the clutch should be explained and practised.

MOVING OFF DOWNHILL

The vehicle should be parked on a downhill then the pupil should be asked, what would happen if we released the handbrake. No doubt the pupil will tell you it would roll forward. You would confirm and say, well, being as that is the way we want to go, the engine will not need to work so hard this time will it? The pupil should confirm. Tell the pupil that the procedure for moving off downhill is slightly different and you will talk them through it.

Tell the pupil to depress the clutch and select the most appropriate gear. Have regard for the gradient, if it is steep enough for second gear use it, if not first gear. Tell the pupil to apply the foot brake hard and release the handbrake. Now to check all three mirrors the road ahead and the blind spot. Ask is it safe? If the pupil says yes and you concur, tell them to release the footbrake, move their foot over to the gas and bring the clutch up to the bite. When the vehicle is under way you can say, well that was easy wasn't it.

If you should get this exercise on the part three test, you will find the time will pass very quickly and after a few stops and starts the examiner will say that's the end of that exercise I will now give you a couple of minutes to think about the next etc.

One of the things we must realize is the fact that the examiner is restricted by time so he is unable to go too far from the office, this sometimes results in the route being used not being ideal for the exercise. For example instead of having a long straight road free of traffic you may have to use a housing estate and have to negotiate some junctions. You must realize a pupil at this stage (which is the role being played by the examiner) would be unable to judge speed on approach and would be very nervous being put into such a predicament. If this should happen then take away the approach speed by asking the pupil to pull up on the left a few yards from the junction. Explain to the pupil that at the end of the road we may have to stop to give way to vehicles on the other road, do not worry I will talk you through telling you exactly what to do. Then do just that from where you are parked. Talk the pupil into moving off in first gear and make sure the pupil covers and uses the footbrake and slips the clutch as necessary.

During all lessons remember your prime duty is to keep your pupil and other road users safe. Remember the examiner is role playing a learner driver, forget he is a skilled driver. Watch him very carefully and do not trust him to do the right thing, you are there to ensure he does the right thing. You may not be able to prevent all the faults but you will be expected to deal with them correctly as soon as possible for maximum impact. Identify, analyse, explain, then give the remedial action to prevent future recurrence. Remember if the examiner is not driving like the expert he is, then he is doing it to get a reaction from you. This applies on every exercise so act as you would with a real learner driver.

With all instruction in phase 1 do not expect the pupil to be able to drive unaided. Remember you are instructing on something new so it would be wrong to expect a pupil to do it on his or her own until they have been shown and have practiced it a few times. Remember the amount of instruction you should give will always be adjusted to meet the needs of the pupil.

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