Driving Test

[Ewan]

i nearly hit a old guy that was trying to make his way across the street on a zebra crossing while he had green my co-driver pushed the break so hard that i had to restart my car. however, i covered that quite good and it was a crossing where we both had green. than i took a guys right of way(sp) and parked with like 20 kmh (parallel). i still made it because i was the last and the guy that tested me on the back seat was hungry.

also i did some spin courses later where your co-driver pulls the hand brake at random points, was quite interesting to try to get the car back under control. and sort of impossible at speeds above 50 kmh. it was on a special surface that emulates properties the of snow tho

ps: i was not arrested for driving issues yet. B)

In England, if the examiner has to tell you to do something or has to take control of the car in ANY way (i.e. using brake or grabbing steering wheel) then it is an automatic fail

When I say tell you to do something, I don't mean "turn left" or w/e, but if he has to tell you to stop, or say "you can't make it through there" etc it's a fail.

[Jeansi]

ewan, why put the hand brake on when changing gears? wtf??

As far as I know, most cars DO in fact have a foot brake too. :turned:

[Ewan]

Most roads have a camber, that's where the road slopes at the edges so water runs there and doesn't puddlify in the middle.

Often, to get up the camber, you'll need to use a little bit of accelerator while not totally lifting off the clutch. As you don't have three feet, there's no way to keep your foot on the footbreak to stop yourself rolling into the curb (hit curb = fail) without using the handbrake. It's also just what you have to do, a long with the stupidly thorough observations. As many people have said, no one actually does this once they have passed; you're learning to pass your driving test, not learning to drive.

We also have to put on our handbrake at all stop signs and at all red lights.

[Galleleo]

There is no use at all for a handbrake during the 3 point turn. And as for that rolling into the curb because it's slighty downhill, that's called the slope test, you are supposed to be able to drive away without rolling backwards, using the footbrake here and it's quite easy. I find driving a car very very easy, I failed my exam once because I was too "easy going" (for lack of a better term atm), I didn't watch as much in my mirrors as they wanted too etc, but I already see everything around me in an instant and I don't need to look every 10 secs, I never had an accident, never came close to an accident. Driving a car is easy and fun.

[Ewan]

I'm not saying it's necessary for driving, just that that's how we have to do ti in our tests.

[geekbot]

This thread has gone on way too long.

I will continue it. So now that we got all the 3-point, e-brake, blah blah, figured out...please answer the real question- which is why can't you just replace all of Ewan's "hand-brake on" with "step on the foot brake"?

Obviously in real life you don't use it at all- but what's the "supposed answer" or the "reason why they tell you it's better to do it this way for purposes of the test"? Or is there just no reason at all? Because if there's no reason, I cry for you all.

[Ewan]

Most roads have a camber, that's where the road slopes at the edges so water runs there and doesn't puddlify in the middle.

Often, to get up the camber, you'll need to use a little bit of accelerator while not totally lifting off the clutch. As you don't have three feet, there's no way to keep your foot on the footbreak to stop yourself rolling into the curb (hit curb = fail) without using the handbrake. It's also just what you have to do, a long with the stupidly thorough observations. As many people have said, no one actually does this once they have passed; you're learning to pass your driving test, not learning to drive.

We also have to put on our handbrake at all stop signs and at all red lights.

..

[Ewan]

you are supposed to be able to drive away without rolling backwards, using the footbrake here and it's quite easy.

Last time I checked, you need accelerator and clutch to pull away, unless you do it using clutch control until you're going fast enough to take it off the brake, but that would give you a stupidly slow pull away. If you're using accelerator and clutch, how do you also use the footbrake?

[Fluffz]

In England, if the examiner has to tell you to do something or has to take control of the car in ANY way then it is an automatic fail

our co-driver isnt the examiner. the examiner is sitting in the back of the car and if that guy had to grab your wheel or something i am totaly sure it would be a fail too. however to make that happen you somehow must knock your co-driver out first. since i didnt ran over the guy the examiner must have thought i have seen him and therefore it was ok. and he was hungry

[Jeansi]

Last time I checked, you need accelerator and clutch to pull away, unless you do it using clutch control until you're going fast enough to take it off the brake, but that would give you a stupidly slow pull away. If you're using accelerator and clutch, how do you also use the footbrake?

1. Lift the clutch until it touches a lil bit
2. Take off the brake and quickly put it on the accelerator
3. OFF YOU GO!

[Ewan]

Yes that does work, but that's not how we're meant to do it in the test.

[kites]

Well if your not a complete retard to observe the street signs you wouldn't have to learn it in the first place.

[Galleleo]

Sorry, but you have weird tests, we get learned that when we drive off, we lift the clutch until the car starts rolling, then slowly give some gas and at the same time let the clutch come up more, we don't give gas before we let the clutch come up. First clutch until the point the engine catches on and the car starts rolling then you start giving gas, so in the meanwhile you can easily keep your foot on the footbrake and because the car is already having some traction forward, you have enough time to change from footbrake to gas. Without the car ever moving backwards.

[Fluffz]

you can easily keep your foot on the footbrake and because the car is already having some traction forward, you have enough time to change from footbrake to gas.

nah, u have to give gas before u keep the clutch comming, also imagine a ferrari stopped right behind you on a street with a 30% slope. a good situation to use the hand break

[Galleleo]

Dude, I have my driver's licence, you can let the clutch come up until the car starts rolling, slowly but it goes forward and then you have to start giving gas. And why would you put you car infront of a parked ferrari on a hill just so you can drive off right after again using footbrake? Either you park before it and you put it on handbrake, or you don't go stand infront of a parked car.