Uphill Start .. Very Very Embarassing

Hi Neal,

I am also a new Driver (for Car only) and I was also having the same problem.  Actually I was learning driving all by myself, hence I searched on net and I found the correct guidelines.  You should practice starting the car with handbreak (Parking-Break) at uphill or downhill.  It will take a little practice and I am sure you will become master in it. I did so and now I am comfortable. 

There are many online Driving Schools, which provide useful guidelines if you are new to Car driving.

Thanks.

Amogh, Hira, there are several threads on the forums that explain in detail the method to start from standstill on an uphill slope. I myself learnt the trick from those threads. So please go through them, and if there is something unique you want to clarify, then you can use this thread to post that query here.

Welcome you both to CW forums! Hope you enjoy participating here!

Hi, Mr. Krishna,

Thanks for welcoming us.  Of course there are several threads in this forum, which provide immense help to new driver and I too came across many.  You seem to be an apt car driver.  You can guide us in learning good technique to drive car.  Actually, I am posted in remote area and nearest car driving school is 25 kms away from my residence. So, it is not possible to join.  I bought new Beat LS on 4th Mar 10 and started learning driving all by myself.  All my colleague posted here are either do not know driving or novice driver.  Hence I took help from net and started learning.  Now I am able to drive in any crowded area or on highway.

However, I have some doubts in driving technique.  If I have to apply break suddenly, can I apply the same without pressing clutch as we do in Bike, and after slowing we can press the clutch to avoid stalling. In this way we can decrease the reaction time.  Since I have been driving M/Cycle for the last 15 years or so, I developed some habits, which may be good for Bike but not in the case of Car.  I don't want to learn driving on error and trial method,  hence I am learning slowly.  I would be grateful to you if you could tell me some more good driving technique.

Thanks once again.

You are right here, it is a matter of breaking the long developed habit.

Most of us have this handicap. I had used a two wheeler from 1990 to 2007, so about 18 years experience of riding two wheels was behind me, when I started using a car - Yes, my total experience of using a car is about 3.5 years, 40k km. However, I have learnt a lot from CW. You can too.

Not using clutch for anything other than changing gears or starting from standstill is a very good practice. I too go the ingrained two-wheeler way sometimes when I am not conscious about it, but as far as possible I try to use the brakes without using clutch.

One thing you can start doing is, choosing your gears such that the running RPM is maintained between 1500 and 2000. I have seen best mileage being returned by the car when you touch the throttle just lightly and maintain 1500 RPM. However, with these conditions (usually in top gear) the speed achieved is only 50 KMPH, so people choose to go upto 2000, with some penalty in FE (Fuel efficiency/Mileage).

If the RPM starts to go below 1500, choose the lower gear, and lay off the clutch. If you keep doing this all the way to first gear, (below which you can't go anyways) you can even crawl through traffic in first gear without using clutch. But sometimes, you do need to use it.

Maintaining the 1500-2000 rpm helps you in good effective AC as well, because AC compressor runs on engine speed and not vehicle speed.

Thanks Mr. Krishna for your expert advice.  I will certainly follow this technique.

One more thing I would like to know - if one is driving on four-lane highway at a speed anywhere between 50 to 70 kmph, which side one should drive - extreme left or extreme right on ones lane? I mean - what etiquette says and what is best and safe?

Thanks once again.

Hi,  the outer most lane (Left most) is generally for the slow moving traffic and the inner most is for high speed traffic. So to avoid getting hit from behind by a high speed vehicle, try to be on the left side. On a four lane highway, the speed between 50 to 70 is considered slow. However, people often violate this rule, especially small tempos and trucks. So, if you are in 4 lane highway...the second lane from left is ideal for you.

Though you must have learnt the techniques thoroughly by now, I will tell what I did; I learnt the car initially fro a driving school but that was the very basic, and no real tricks as such. Before taking my car to office, I took it out on Noida roads on Saturday and Sunday and just drove idly here and there. My point was that the more I drive, the more confident I would be. Same logic applies on slopes. I went to the end of a road that was closed after that point. From there, there was slope connecting that point to another elevated road, but it was cut off through rails. So in effect, i was having a slope where there would be no traffic at all. I tried a number of times taking my car up, stopping it, first by combination of brake and clutch and then using the clutch alone. Once I was confident of stopping the  car with slight brake and then keeping it still using only the clutch, I grew more confident about starting my car from stand still on a slope and not worrying about it rolling back wards. It is just a matter or practice and confidence. You too can do so on a lonely slope, empty parkings, less used roads etc. and you will be fine.

Well said Himanshu.

Hi Himanshu,

I have also learnt the uphill driving in the same way.  But I tried all the three technique and found that clutch balancing technique was simplest one.  Now I am very comfortable in uphill or downhill (while reversing).