diaryofadrivinginstructor

[diaryofadrivinginstructor]

CLUTCH UP!

Good afternoon,

I was on a lesson yesterday and my student drifted around a corner with the clutch down (in the UK we call this “coasting”) and it got me thinking of the topic for today.

Aside from me saying “clutch up!” I also asked “why did you do that?” And “Did you have full control of the car going around that corner?”

The answer was “I don’t know why I did that, I forgot” and “I don’t know? I forgot”

That’s fine. It’s normal, people switch off when talk gets too technical and some just aren’t interested in how a car works. Most people use a car to get from point A to point B faster (and drier) than riding a bicycle.

So let’s break this down and make it easier. To understand why it was wrong, we need to understand what the clutch does. And attached to this, what the gas pedal does. (I know “gas” is an American term but I use it because it is short. I am not saying “accelerator” every time I am going to talk about it because 1. Ain’t nobody got time for that. 2. I can’t be bothered 3. I need to be able to says things quickly and get my point across in a concise way)

So…

What does the “gas/accelerator” do?

Mostly people say “it makes the car go faster”

Well yes…in an automatic…but in a manual car not quite…a few extra steps needed…

I am going to answer this in a basic way. Because we don’t need to be mechanics to drive. But some basic knowledge helps.

Ok so the “gas pedal” puts fuel into the engine. The fuel burns and makes the engine run faster. (Less basic-Fuel and air is compressed and then ignited in the engine and the force of the explosions pushes pistons which turn the engine and create a powertrain.)

What does the clutch do?

Basic answer- The clutch when up connects the engine to the wheels (via the gear box).

So what does the gears do? Well these determine the strength and the speed you can go.

Gear 1 - the strongest but slowest gear. 0-10mph) Used for moving off from stationary, my car weighs 1.2ton. That’s heavy!

Gear2 - still strong but a bit faster. (6-20mph) Used to move off in ice or on a downward slope but mostly for picking up speed to get to gear 3.

Gear 3 - not very strong but the car is jogging now. (13-38mph)

Gear 4- hardly any strength at all but running now. (35-48mph)

Gear 5/6- no strength but keeping the car at sprinting speed. (45mph+)

The speeds I used on these gears are approximate and based on my manual teaching car. They vary on each car.

So if the clutch is down- the engine is not connected to the wheels. You are not in control, the car is a skateboard with a steering wheel. You have no control of the speed and less control of the car overall. If too fast you lose the ability to control steering, could swerve off road etc. too slow and you could stop. Going around a corner you want the speed to be consistent. No picking up speed or slowing down on a corner please!

If the clutch is up- (and in a gear) the engine is connected to the wheels and making them turn! You are in control. However your speed and strength are dependant on the gear. So choose wisely.

🤔

Very often when starting off people will push on the gas with the clutch down and I can see the look of confusion as they try to figure out why it is not going faster.

So …why is coasting round a corner bad?

You have less overall control of the car. 🚗

P.s- for those inwardly going “well that all just sounds complicated”. There is an alternative. Automatic gearbox. The car uses its electrically engineered cleverness passed down through decades of car building to determine when to change gear for you and, Electric cars have no gearbox at all. 😲

I enjoy driving manual, auto and electric cars. It just takes a bit longer to learn the gears in manual. 😊

I hope you found this easy to follow and not too complicated.

[diaryofadrivinginstructor]

So, you had your first lesson. Did it go as you expected? Was it better or worse than expectation? I hope you say better!

As an instructor I want my pupils to enjoy lessons. I want learning to happen on every lesson, I want you to thrive, but it is not always that simple!

Every person is different, every student is different, and sometimes… well…I don’t get it right first time. But I will try again! Some people learn best through listening, some through doing, some through demonstration. Sometimes pupils just don’t understand what we are trying to get across.

I had one pupil who just could not anticipate what the cars were going to do on a roundabout, so couldn’t judge when it was safe to enter the roundabout. I tried videos, demonstrations, explanations, having a go, my toy cars (yes I have little tiny cars that I love and I use them as visual aids!) but nothing worked. I had to think outside of the box. So we parked up the car in safe place and walked to the roundabout. We stood on the path by the side of the roundabout and I asked my pupil to look out for cars exiting by where we were standing. He had a lightbulb moment and noticed that the cars exiting the roundabout stopped “hugging” the roundabout and started to move away from the roundabout itself and pick up speed in preparation to exit the roundabout. The people were also looking toward the exit they were intending to take (didn’t they indicate you might say…well not always!) From then on we never had a problem judging when it was safe to enter the roundabout.

What I am trying to say is that just because you don’t get something straight away it doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It is our job to find a way that makes it understandable and interesting to YOU. Whatever the reason you have found certain subjects hard to understand or anxiety inducing, difficult to focus on or just boring, it is my job, and every other instructors job to make it more accessible to you. Don’t give up. 😊

[diaryofadrivinginstructor]

Dual Controls….

Dual controls are something that driving instructors have in our cars. They are an extra set of pedals that we have in the passenger footwell. So yes, you have pedals and we have pedals! Weird huh!? Well those pedals will be a brake and clutch pedal if you are learning manual, and just a brake pedal if you are learning automatic or electric.

That is not all that dual control means though. It is basically any way i can help you from the passenger seat. So changing gear, stopping, clutch control, steering, sun visor, indicators, the horn. We can do so much from the passenger seat.

However, i want you to know that if we use them we will tell you. so…if i brake for you, i will tell you that i braked and why. this is important. if you dont know why i am intervening then how can you learn not to have the same situation arise again. additionally if i am to lean onto or reach into your side of the car for any reason i want you to know why. That is your space, i should not be there unless i absolutely have to be. and if i do i will provide you with an explanation why. I want you to feel comfortable in your space, because if you are comfortable you are more likely to learn.

If you feel uncomfortable with your driving instructor it is ok to get a new one. You are spending 1 - 2 hours (in my car i do 2 hour lessons because of the rural location and the nearest test centre commute time) alone in the car with your instructor every week. You must trust that they will keep you safe.

This is where i must say i feel sorry for male instructors, they get a bad reputation due to a bad few and i know they have to work twice as hard to not seem imposing or …weird?. i will add at this point that ALL UK Driving instructors have to be DBS checked. This means we are subjected to extra checks to ensure we are safe around young and vulnerable people. I do hear stories from both sides. However my resounding advice is always to trust your gut. if you don’t feel comfortable with your instructor whether male or female, find a new instructor! Rapport is important. Safety is important.

[diaryofadrivinginstructor]

Hi!

I’m Nina and i am a driving instructor in the UK.

I just wanted to make a little blog to help those learning to drive and to share some stories from my own or my pupils driving.

The road can seem long when learning to drive. Some will get to test in 20hours tuition, other in 100hours or more! Everyone is different. And every journey is different.

Many people feel scared when they first get in the drivers seat for the first time. It is perfectly normal!

The first lesson will be about getting a feel for the car. That doesn’t necessarily mean driving. Some people want to know everything about the controls, how gears work, what do the buttons do. Others…well they want to drive! They want to get on and get moving.

For this i love the first lesson. Meeting a new person, seeing their face when they sit in the drivers seat for the first time. The joy when they move the car for the first time. When they get all the way up to 6mph for the first time and they feel like they are going so fast they could be on an F1 race track!

My advice…wear comfy shoes that are not too bulky and comfy clothes that are not restrictive. Have a good breakfast (because that first lesson your brain will be working so hard!) and most importantly. Enjoy it. 😊