Subject 3 Moving Off and Stopping

Subject 3 - Moving Off and Stopping

By now you will be familiar with the Cockpit Drill and the layout of all the controls of the vehicle. Now it is time to actually use some of them.

On this lesson Kevin will explain in more detail and give you the oppotunity to use the foot pedals, steering wheel, signal control (indicators), handbrake and gear selector (gears), as well as the mirrors.

By the end of this lesson you should know how to move off safely and stop the car reasonably close to the kerb, under full control and in a safe manner.
You will be introduced to two new routines, POM and MSM.

This will be the 2nd time you get to move the car, following Subject 2 Using The Foot Controls.

Don't be nervous, Kevin has dual controls and will talk you through everything you need to do and when you need to do it in an easy to follow, logical fashion. So enjoy your first taste of actually driving a car by yourself, safe in the knowledge that Kevin is beside you to guide you every inch of the way.

POM routine

The POM routine is the method that we PREPARE the car, carry out effective OBSERVATIONS and finally MOVE the car off from a stationary position.

Kevin will already have shown you how to carry out the safety routine prior to starting the engine, Explained what his instructions mean and would have given you the chance to practice following those instructions.
you will also have prior understanding of two important reference points that you will be using on this lesson, the Parking Reference and the Normal Driving Position Reference.
Kevin will drive you to a quiet road, and on the way will demonstrate, with full commentary every time he needs to move off or stop the car. This is for your benefit, so please watch what he does with his eyes, his hands and his feet as he is demonstrating for you in real time what you will be practicing on the lesson.
Feel free to ask any questions or clarifications that you might wish that are related to what he is saying.

Prepare
This is the sequence of actions that we need to do so that the car can physically move. You will already have some practical experience of this routine, which is the same as for subject 2, Using The Foot Controls.

1. Depress the clutch fully to the floor.
2. Using the Palming Method, move the Gears left and then forward to select 1st gear just as you practiced on your previous lesson.
Once 1st gear is engaged, place the left hand on the handbrake with the thumb covering the release button.
3. "Set Gas" by gently squezing the Gas Pedal the approximate thickness of 2 pound coins. The engine sound will change and become a steady "purr" with the rev counter registering between 1,200 and 1,500 revs per minute.
4. "Find the bite" by raising the clutch pedal swiftly to approx 1 inch off the floor, then incrementally by the thickness of a pound coin at a time until you can hear the engine tone lower slightly. you will also be able to see the rev counter needle drop by about 200 rev per minute.
If the bonnet of the car appears to lift, or you hear the brakes "creaking" at the back of the car, then this is indicating that the clutch has been raised beyond the bite. Gently depress the clutch back down about £1 coin thickness, or until the bonnet lowers to it's normal position and the creaking stops. Be guided by Kevin, and use your experience gained during Subject 2, Using The foot Controls.
Congratulations, the car is now fully Prepared and ready to move.

Observations.
Kevin will already have explained the differences in the glass of the mirrors, what blind spots are and where they are. You will have practiced using them correctly and have an understanding on how to look in them and what to look for during subject 1, Introduction To the Car And The Controls.

There are 6 areas to Observe prior to physically moving the car, and based on what we see in those 6 areas we can make a decision on wether it is safe to move off and if a Signal is required.
When parked at the kerbside on the left of the carriageway, we carry out effective observations by following a left to right methodical routine, that Kevin may refer to as imitating a windscreen wiper.

1. Look to the area on the left of the car, through the passenger door window. Look for driveways and paths or any area that pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders or animals may be able to approach the area to the front of your car, and thus potentially put them in danger should the car move off.
2.Left door Mirror. look for any road user that may be approaching from the rear left of the vehicle such as cyclists.
3. look through the windscreen and assess the road ahead. Is there cars parked on either side of the road, and if so, formulate a plan on how to negotiate passing them safely. Are there vehicles moving towards you, pedestrians in the road or on the pavements, is the road ahead clear, any side roads or junctions ahead, etc etc.
4. Look in the interior mirror for vehicles or road users approaching from the rear.
5.look in the right door mirror for any activity to the right rear of the vehicle.
6.Look into the right blind spot region by looking out the drivers side door and rear door windows. Again look for driveways and paths as well as road junctions for any activity that may effect a decision to move off.
Based on the information you have gathered during the observations you can make a decision on wether it is safe and prudent to move off and wether a signal will be of benifit to any other road user.
Be guided by Kevin. Throughout the process of Observations he will be helping you gather relevent information and assisting you on making correct decisions.

Move Off.
Release the handbrake by depressing the button and fully lower the handle.
Return your hand to the steering wheel so that you are holding the wheel at the 10 to 2 or quarter to three position.
Keep the gas still but raise the clutch the thickness of a £1 coin which will cause the car to creep forward. At the same time pull the steering wheel down with your right hand to the 4 O'clock position so the car steers away from the kerb.
Once the front of the car has reached approx 1 metre distance from the kerb (use the washer jet and kerb reference that Kevin explained earlier on your lesson), push the steering up with the right hand to 2 O'clock until the car becomes parallel with the kerb then pull the steering wheel down with the right hand to 3 O'clock to straighten the front wheels.
Raise the clutch another £1 coin's width which will result in the car accelerating gently. Hold the clutch at this position until the car has moved approx 1 cars' length by which time you can raise the clutch smoothly all the way up.

Congratulations on successfully moving off from the kerb and positioning the car into the Normal Driving Position.

MSM Routine

The MSM routine is the method that we use to move back into a parking position beside the kerb, stop smoothly and accurately followed by securing the vehicle so that it is safely parked.

MSM stands for MIRRORS - SIGNALS - MANOEUVRE.

Before we can steer or slow the vehicle we should check to make sure that we do so in a safe and convenient manner, and in such a way that following traffic, or other road users, are not startled or endangered by our intended manoeuvre.

Mirrors.

Look into the rear view mirror well in advance of our intended stopping position. Assess how close and at what speed and position is the vehicle behind.

If the vehicle is not too close look in the LEFT door mirror to check to see if a cyclist or other road user is approaching or already between the car and the kerb.

(if you cannot see the tyres of the following vehicle then it is too close for us to stop normally, likewise if a cyclist or other road user is between the car and kerb be guided by Kevin who will guide you on how to stop safely).

Signals.

Based on the information we have gathered from looking in the mirrors, as well as forward observations at or near where we intend to stop, we should make a decision on wether a left signal is required to inform other road users of our intention to pull up.

Signals should be used only if they would not be misleading, AND would assist other road users in understanding our intention. Operate the signal control by extending your fingers of the left hand and pushing the Turn Signal stalk down.

Manoeuvre.

Steering.

Pull the steering wheel down with the left hand to the 8 O'clock position until the parking reference point (centre of the windscreen and centre of wiper hinge) is just about to line up with the kerb.

Then push the steering wheel up with the left hand to the 10 O'clock position until the car becomes parallel with the kerb before pulling the steering wheel down with the left hand to the 9 O'clock position.

Braking.

Apply £1 of footbrake so that the car begins to slow.

Once the car has begun to slow apply £1 more of footbrake (this is called progressive braking). About 1 car length from where you intend to stop, release the footbrake by £1 and at the same time fully depress the clutch. The car will come to a smooth and gentle stop.

Once The car has come to a full stop, keep the clutch fully depressed and keep £1 of pressure on the footbrake.

Apply the Handbrake, move the gears to neutral, cancel the signal (if it was applied), gentle release the clutch, ensuring as you do so that the bite cannot be felt ( thus checking the gears are in neutral. If the bite is felt, then lower the clutch and move the gears to neutral before again trying to raise the clutch gently).

Gently release the footbrake ensuring the handbrake is applied sufficently to hold the vehicle still (if the car begins to roll as you release the footbrake, reapply the footbrake, raise the handbrake more, before gently raising the footbrake again to check the handbrake is holding the vehicle securely.

Congratulations, you have successfully positioned and secured the vehicle in a parked position beside the kerb.

N.B.

In reality, the braking may be started before the steering, depending on the speed of the vehicle and the kerbside space available.

It is also benificial to check the correct parking position before allowing the car to fully stop by checking the left door mirror for the distance of the car from the kerb as well as checking the rear view mirror for the parking reference of the kerb appearing just beside the rear head restraint.

Be guided by Kevin as to when and how to check for the reference points and at what speed and position to check them.

BEECHAMS DRIVING SCHOOL

Driving Lessons in Walthamstow and Chingford