Hello I'm Chris. Today we're going to have a look at the five different ways of stalling a car
and more importantly how to never stall again.
Plus, why the reason you might stall could have more to do with a lack of confidence in certain
situations and feeling anxious. I'll give you some tips later to help you manage that.
The first common reason for stalling, stopping without pressing the clutch.
Easy to sort out. Roughly about two car lengths before stopping, press the clutch down.
This will prevent the engine from stalling.
Reason for stalling number two. Moving off in the wrong gear. I'm in 3rd gear. Unless you're moving
off downhill, then moving off in any other gear but 1st is normally going to result in a stall.
Don't forget to change to 1st gear before moving off again.
Reason number three. Changing up to the wrong gear.
This often makes the car either stall or shake quite a lot.
Practice how and when to change gear. If you sometimes make mistakes, for example 4th
instead of 3rd then have a look at our other video on the palming technique as it might help.
Reason number four. Releasing the clutch too soon when moving off.
Hold the clutch still at the biting point for about three seconds after the car starts moving
to make sure that it doesn't stall.
If you can, rest the heel of your left foot on the floor when you're near
or at the biting point as it will help steady your foot and give you better control.
Your choice of footwear plays a big part in driving.
To feel the pedals easier, shoes that have thin soles and aren't too wide are the best.
Reason for stalling number five. Now this is a really common reason why new drivers stall,
especially if you're driving a petrol car and that's not giving it enough gas when moving off.
A lot of new drivers learn in a shiny new diesel car. It's quite easy to move off in a diesel car
without any gas, although it's not a good habit to get into and when they buy their first car which
quite often is an older petrol car they soon find out that it needs a bit more gas to get it going.
At this point, after quite a few stalls and loss of confidence they wonder if they can
drive. But fear not, like most things it just takes a bit of practice. Revving the car up to
about one and a half on the rev counter is a good amount if moving off on a flat road
and a little more if moving off uphill.
To help the car not stall, always remember to set the gas first then biting point.
Get into this habit now in your instructor's car and it will help you for when you drive your car.
So they're the reasons why the car will stall but is the main reason why you stall
down to feeling anxious about roundabouts for example.
Or what the driver behind might be thinking.
To make driving less stressful, you'll normally start your driving lessons in a quiet area
where there isn't too many people around to distract you,
so you can really focus on what you're doing with your feet and gears.
Once you're not stalling in the quiet area, you've got into a good routine when approaching quiet
junctions and feel semi-ready then it must be time to go out into a busier area. Now this move
to busier roads might make you feel anxious. You might also feel more pressure to move off quickly
at a junction and are no longer thinking about the controls like you were in the quiet area.
You have to accept that as a new driver you probably will make mistakes,
it's going to happen. You might stall sometimes in the worst possible place
but it's just all part of the learning process.
Being anxious about a busy roundabout or junction can really distract you from what you need to do.
You then might forget to change to 1st gear and try moving off in 3rd for example as you're
so focused on the scary roundabout and stall. Easier said than done but just try and stay calm.
It's difficult as a new driver not to feel anxious, but try and stay positive as you
approach whatever it is you're approaching. Instead of imagining the worst that might happen,
focus on what you need to do and not how scary it looks. Don't forget you're not on your own,
your instructor's next to you and will help you out if needed. Remember how well you drove in the
quiet area, you do exactly the same with your feet in the busy areas. Don't let whatever's going on
around you distract you. The main thing is to be safe, don't rush your feet and try and stay calm.
Keep in mind the routine that you use when approaching junctions in the quiet area.
The routine for approaching busy junctions is the same.
Try not to worry about drivers behind. Your car's got L plates on it so they know you're learning.
A majority of other drivers are actually quite patient
but if the driver behind does get annoyed then it really doesn't matter,
you're learning, trying your best and you'll never see them again anyway.
You will get used to driving in busy areas and once you've had a few successful roundabouts
and junctions without stalling then your confidence will grow and your anxiety will
hopefully soon fade away. When it comes to the driving test, bear in mind that stalling isn't
necessarily a serious fault. It normally depends on how you affect other road users.
Stalling at a red traffic light might not even be a driving fault.
But stalling in the middle of a busy roundabout and getting in the way of other road users
probably will be a driving test fail.
Persistently stalling on your driving test will
also lead to a serious fault on your control of the car.
If you're unsure about what the correct way of recovering from a stall is
then have a look at our other video.
It seems that everything is going up in price these days but our online driving
course of modules is still free. They're easy to follow and will help you learn how to do all the
driving test manoeuvres and even help you with motorways. There's a link in the description.
Thank you for watching. Please subscribe and like the video if you haven't already.
In the meantime, keep safe on the road and bye for now.