It's all a matter of habit surely. I've had to parallel park almost every day for the best part of a decade and it's just second nature.
Printable View
It's all a matter of habit surely. I've had to parallel park almost every day for the best part of a decade and it's just second nature.
Don't you take months worth of classes? How the fuck can you not park?
I can park. In lessons they just don't use packed inner-city streets to teach you.
I used to live in a pretty steep downslope, so I had to learn proper parallel parking using the handbrake and whatnot, it was quite the ordeal. Not to mention my first car was an Opel Agila, which has one of the shittiest transmissions I've encountered in a car (some of it was due to wear and tear, but a lot of it was by "construction").
They always find a spot between 2 cars, which has enough room for a bus, on a quiet road.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pepe
It teaches the mechanics without any of the stress which is stupid.
You would rather the alternative?
To start, no.
But one you've got the technique down they should teach you how to park in a town centre.
Is parking really a problem for you lot? Weirdos.
Yeah but we can go into a kebab shop.
We don't all live in highland villages.
He can go in, he just needs to take an extra bag for teeth and bits of his face.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry
Parking is like the easiest bit of driving ffs.
Motorways are the easiest bit.
Parking tight is the hardest bit of driving. Anything that involves going in a straight line for ages is the easiest bit.
Apparently not to some morons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spikey M
The hardest bits are rush hours in unfamiliar huge cities, and that's mostly city centre or some sort of bypass/internal motorway.
That Spikey story is proper lol. Getting stuck stalling on a hill? After you've passed? :cab:
Congrats on passing anyway. And on surviving so far.
Surely on the hill starts, if worst comes to worst you just floor the right foot.
I was insecure on stuff for about a month after passing, but now it all comes pretty easily. The main danger on the roads - around here anyway - is mothers driving 4x4s. I got one hooting at me and angrily gesticulating this morning because I wouldn't try and ping past a huge construction vehicle which was driving across two lanes, and I'm sure this delayed her hugely important journey.
Oh yeah Spike what kind of car have you got?
I learnt in a car with hill start assist. I thought all cars went the same way on hills.Quote:
Originally Posted by CJay
2003 Fiesta.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magic
Petrol/diesel?
Petrol. 1.4
What the fuck is 'hill assist'? :D
Petrol clutches are always more difficult to grasp, diesel's you can normally pull away without even using the accelerator.
"The hill-start assist is a variant of hill-holder used by some semi-automatic, clutchless transmissions as well as newer manual transmissions. The system prevents the car from rolling away when trying to pull away on an up or down gradient, simulating a "handbrake hill start" manual drivers will be familiar with. The system engages automatically when a gradient of 3% or more is detected; it then acts to hold the car stationary for two seconds after the brake is released giving the driver time to apply the throttle."
It did also pull away with just the clutch.
Why you would have that when the vast majority of new drivers won't be able to buy a car with that in it is beyond me.
Because they want to have higher success numbers and a better car helps with that I assume.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spikey M
The Mrs has hill assist. Just means the brake holds for 3 seconds/you accelerate, after you let it off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magic
I'm not sure if the one I learnt in had that. I never had a problem with hill starts.
The hardest part of driving is being at a small roundabout with someone coming from the right, their turning left without indicating, and you resisting the urge to follow them home and smash their windows.
I remember rolling backwards down the main street of a big town and going straight through a junction so I wouldn't have to stop on a hill in my first week of driving, but once you get it it's a piece of piss.
All sorted now anyway, pretty simple to put the throttle down, just throws you when you haven't had to previously. Especially when the cunt starts rolling backwards.
Not indicating at roundabouts should mean instant and permanent loss of licence.Quote:
Originally Posted by wullie
I was always able to sit still on a hill using the clutch.
I've never used my handbrake on a hill outside of driving lessons too.
Using the clutch to maintain position on a hill? Fuck me. :face:
Handbrake > bite > handbrake off > accelerate.
Simple! If you're really good you can pop the handbrake and move away without rolling back like a true pro.
You could hold it on the clutch for a couple of seconds in crawling traffic, but if you're doing it at red lights that's just bad driving.
I said I can do it, I don't though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magic
I just use the regular brake.
My current method is: clutch to bite > revs to 2000 > handbreak off > clutch up whilst flooring it and terrifying any pedestrians.
I hate 'auto' things but I've been using my auto-hold recently, which is pretty funky.
You can always spot a learner:
1. Car tilts back because clutch is wanting to pull but handbrake still on
2. Loud engine revving noise as revs exceed 4k RPM
3. Launch control F&F 7 activated and pull off like a GTR
4. Bogs down because misses gear or takes ages to engage
5. Hedge
Dropped the courtesy back off with '3 miles to 0' amount of petrol in it. :cool:
I've never even looked at my rev counter. I must just be a natural talent. A natural talent who passed his test at 28.
Lol @ you when they have to top it up and charge you about £3 a litre because of 'service'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baz
I think one of the oddest things I've seen are drivers riding back and forward on the clutch at a red light that's not going to change for an age. Just take it out of gear and put the handbrake on you utter twat.
Shouldn't be allowed near a car.
My first car didn't even have one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
Speedometer on the left and a clock on the right.
Same. 4 gears. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry
It wasn't a mk2 Polo, was it?
The first car I drove only had one wing mirror.
I once drove a rental car, which they basically never gave out but we needed a car, they were fully booked and one of us knew the owner so we struck sort of a deal with him about this one. It was an Opel Corsa, where the clock was stuck on 1992 so it must have been older than that or around that age. The clutch was definitely not the original one as it extended up to very close to the wheel (like a truck clutch or something), the driver mirror was shattered in 7-8 pieces and was held together with some sort of tape. Steering the wheel needed proper strength (but ok most old cars are like that), one of the windows needed you to punch the door for it to start going up and down (manually ofc, nothing electrical). Was quite the experience, especially coupled with the fact it was in Crete and a big part of the highway has no lighting or any sort of reflectors. Thankfully the car had the one important thing, strong lights.
A 1995 1.1 Peugeot 106 Aztec.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magic
The moment I got up to 100mph on it was amazing and very short. It was shaking like a bastard, I thought it was going to turn to rubble.
Company car innit. Arnold Clark'll pay.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magic
I got up to 90mph in my 1992 VW Polo 1.0 before I bottled it. In 4th lol. Of course speedo said 90, it was probably more like 35mph.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry
I drove my dads 3 wheeler around a field when I was about 8. Checkmate, Atheitits.