Driving Tips From Gurus To Beginners Like Me

[GrandRk]

You are approaching a crossing where signal is green for you. The moment you approach close to that crossing, the signal becomes yellow and then red. So its time to stop !!

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

I just do the second option most of the time (am i burning clutch). This helps me to quickly move my car when signal turns green and avoid people at my back standing on their horns.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

I too follow the second option where signal turns green very quickly or in stop & go situation. My Ritz's biting point is on the higher side [ even in brand new condition],so to start the car quickly I take the second option.

 

[chevrolet]

I always follow option 1,
Even after the signal turns green i wait a 2-3 seconds before moving, i dont care about the morons behind. It saves you from getting t boned from a guy who had jumped the signal seconds after it turned red.

 

[Akash1886]

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

I place the gear in neutral and after complete stop raise the handbrake as to rest both my legs and the clutch. 5 Seconds prior to green signal I dis-engage the hand brake and slot-in 1st gear and get ready.

Regards

Akash

 

[Ashu4u131]

Hi,
I bought my first car, a Hyundai Grand i10, in August, 15, and started driving alone from mid November, taking my car to office daily and occasional visits to other places.
I will admit that I face no problem driving in crowded road, even in market areas. So, I am quite confident with my driving now, specially moving forward, taking turns, U turns, perpendicular parking (still improving ).
But when new situations arise, like, while re-filling fuel, i wanted to check tyre pressure, i had to take a sharp U turn in petrol pump itself. And they made a separator kind of thing for vehicles queuing up. I took U, then reversed a bit, then again moved forward steep right and ended up my rear wheel touching end of separator. They moved the separator to right a bit and i was good to go. So i am still not sure what i had to do there. May be i had to go back a little more, to successfully enter that space.So when these kind of situations arise, i am unsure how to tackle. I dont have that judgement yet.
I have never done parallel parking till date. So i am really scared of that first day i will have to do that, since in my office area, the space you get for your car is very tight.

Does this kind of things happen to all new drivers? because sometimes i feel, after driving regularly for 3 months, i should have better judgement on few things, than i actually have and I get disappointed on myself. Few tips and experiences will definitely help.

PS. I am the first driver in family. So have got none from family to advice.

don't worry buddy just keep driving !!!
likewise am also first driver in family n a new driver to be honest(2.5 months) .
i drive ecosport(purchansed in nov '15) so i have to overcome a different threat called A pillar which all ecosport owners are pretty aware of it n by threat means it completely covers a two-wheeler or a bicycle,if you are not careful you might panick on sudden appearance of a person from that thick blindspot.
i am far from an expert driver but my bike riding experience has made me quite aware of people jumping in from anywhere.
regarding tight spot parkings what is your i10 variant ?
i hope it has reverse parking sensors if not then get aftermarket reverse cam or sensor installed trust me it'll work wonders in those tight parallel parking.
try to be calm and take it easy panicking or worrying won't make things easier.
just be confident in your driving and take your time in tight spot parkings n proceed only when you are comfortable with it never rush in.

You are approaching a crossing where signal is green for you. The moment you approach close to that crossing, the signal becomes yellow and then red. So its time to stop !!

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

.

i prefer 2nd option though gear depends on my position i.e, if i am in front then 1st else i like to be in 2nd gear and move slowly.

 

[GrandRk]

I place the gear in neutral and after complete stop raise the handbrake as to rest both my legs and the clutch. 5 Seconds prior to green signal I dis-engage the hand brake and slot-in 1st gear and get ready.

Regards

Akash

This comes handy when you have timer on signal. But some signals do not have timers and we need to guess its change based on other side traffic movement. This sometimes fails and person like me need couple of seconds to disengage handbrake, depress clutch, push gear lever to 1st and release clutch. This entire activity makes commuters behind me go mad and they start honking madly.

Hence in such scenarios i prefer keeping car in 1st and clutch fully pressed. Is this practice safe for clutch life ?

 

[Akash1886]

But some signals do not have timers and we need to guess its change based on other side traffic movement. This sometimes fails and person like me need couple of seconds to disengage handbrake, depress clutch, push gear lever to 1st and release clutch. This entire activity makes commuters behind me go mad and they start honking madly.

The madness of traffic behind can't be controlled buddy surely and all you can do is to keep calm and improvise on your reflexes.

Hence in such scenarios i prefer keeping car in 1st and clutch fully pressed. Is this practice safe for clutch life ?

No this is not correct. To keep the clutch pressed when stationary reduces the life gradually of it. If you feel your car might roll back, then slightly engage the handbrake.

Regards

Akash

 

[nag2fat]

You are approaching a crossing where signal is green for you. The moment you approach close to that crossing, the signal becomes yellow and then red. So its time to stop !!

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

I just do the second option most of the time (am i burning clutch). This helps me to quickly move my car when signal turns green and avoid people at my back standing on their horns.

I always follow the first option. Don't keep the clutch depressed for a long time. As Akash said, it may reduce the clutch life. So what I do is, keep in neutral, engage hand brakes and when the signal turns green, disengage the handbrake and drive. In stop and go traffic situations untill I completely come to a stop for more than 5 seconds, I come to neutral. Else I will keep the clutch engaged.

 

[vijay_968]

... The moment you approach close to that crossing, the signal becomes yellow and then red. So its time to stop !!

How do you guys stop,
1) Keep gear in Neutral, relax left leg but keep right leg on brake
2) Keep gear in 1st, clutch fully depressed and right leg on brake

I normally would ease my leg off the throttIe, maintain same gear, apply brakes (the force on brakes is decided by the situation) and when the engine gives a hint of protest, I shift to Neutral.

Once stopped, it is "Handbrake + Neutral and stretch those legs" time.

 

[CasualSurfer]

Re: Some tips and encouragement for newbie!!

Hi,
I bought my first car, a Hyundai Grand i10, in August, 15, and started driving alone from mid November, taking my car to office daily and occasional visits to other places.
I have never done parallel parking till date. So i am really scared of that first day i will have to do that, since in my office area, the space you get for your car is very tight.

Hey grand_driver. I got my license in Sept 2015. My first car was the NG Scorpio. Got the car in Oct 15. Have driven 6000kms since. Never had driven cars before, let alone SUVs. Not to boast, but I don't into get into so much trouble parking in tight spaces / during refueling. I am sure it is judgement.

What I did was that I took the car out at every opportunity & made sure that I had taken to all possible small roads / alleys / etc. And also made sure that I did a long drive as soon as I could (within 10-15 days of the car). This in-turn syncs your thinking with the car's capabilities. How much steering input will get you how much turn? How much acceleration input will get you how much movement? How much clutch release will result in how much movement? How much brake press will get you enough bite?

From the start, I reversed ONLY using side view mirrors (and occasionally IRVM). I don't turn back & look at the rear much. But of course, I will survey surroundings (whenever possible) before I reverse & check for shoulder blind spots. This helped me judge distance. Initial days, whenever I had doubt, I will come out of the vehicle & check distances.

With respect to tight turns, it will improve over time. The place where I stay, it is a small road with cars parked on both sides of the road & there's literally very little space to navigate. So I guess, I had to learnt it automatically... And usually the 2/4-wheeler opposite to you will help navigate (turn left / right, come straight, etc). Although you can't believe them completely, but it gives you a sense of direction on how to navigate.

Enjoy your miles! (S)miles will return!

 

[ice_wise]

I follow the 1st method. As soon as I stop, I slot into neutral and engage handbrake. With lights having timers, I move to first gear, clutch depressed (handbrake in one hand and steering in other) 3-4 seconds before and start off in time. Without timers, things are a bit difficult but people have some basic knowledge to wait for the vehicle in front to move. I am decently quick at changing gears though, but a 2 second gap is expected.

Standing on the clutch is not good, for the clutch and the leg. Standing on the brake is a waste of energy and battery. Don't worry about the people honking, let them honk. I don't give a damn.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

I found the most useful way is my adjusting in just a way that only a small portion of the car body is visible in the mirror, rest of the portions will be giving a wide view behind.

Attaching a sample image.
image

While reversing the ORVM will be adjusted to downwards, again in such a way that a portion of rear wheels are visible.

Regards.,

Please see this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIkodlp8HMM

 

[GrandRk]

Speed versus your night visibility in percentage.

 

[GrandRk]

Just a quick question to all which was hovering from few days in my head

You are coming down on a steepest of steepest slope. What would happen to the engine / transmission if vehicle is engaged in reverse gear?

 

[soap]

Just a quick question to all which was hovering from few days in my head

You are coming down on a steepest of steepest slope. What would happen to the engine / transmission if vehicle is engaged in reverse gear?

I dont think one will be able to engage the reverse gear when the vehicle is moving forward. I can say this because I tried with my Fiesta and I was not able to slot into reverse when moving