[Music] Hello I'm Chris. Today I'm going to show you three different ways to tackle
junctions on hills. If you're learning how to drive a manual car, then this video is for you.
Before attempting hill starts, make sure you're comfortable with where the biting
point is in your car as you'll need to get it relatively quickly. You know when you've got
the biting point as the back of the car will dip down and the front will raise slightly.
To help prevent stalling, always set the gas before getting a biting point. On an uphill start,
try and keep the revs a little above one and a half.
But it's not precise. If you don't get the biting point when doing a hill start then the car will
roll back. But if you raise the clutch too much, then the car will either stall or zoom off.
This Ford Puma that I'm driving has hill start assist and it won't allow me to turn it off.
When you stop on an uphill and release the foot brake, the car stops you rolling back
for about three seconds. This is meant to give you time to get the gas and biting point. [Music]
But take any longer and you'll still roll back.
But as your car might not have this feature I'm still not going to use hill start assist.
The first technique I'm going to show you involves the parking brake.
You might think that it's a big hassle and takes ages to apply the parking brake,
like this, and release it. And for some new drivers it can take a minute,
but let me show you how quick you can apply the parking brake, prepare to go,
release the parking brake and make hill starts really easy.
All the junctions I'm going to show you today have give-way lines
and I don't have to stop completely, as long as it's definitely clear and safe. But I will
be stopping to show you some hill starts. I'll show you this first junction in slow motion.
As you approach the stop, off gas,
brake lightly as the hill will slow you down quickly, clutch down, first gear.
Once you've stopped. Parking brake on. If you're only here for a second,
then leave your hand on it to save time. Make sure it's safe. Gas,
biting point, release the parking brake, a little more gas as you keep the clutch steady.
Then slowly release the clutch with more gas.
Here's the junction again at normal speed. The benefit of using the parking brake is
that it allows you to prepare the car to go again.
Brake lightly as the hill slows you down. Clutch, first gear, steer left slightly, parking brake,
gas, biting point, safe to go, release parking brake. A little more gas, clutch steady, gently
raise the clutch with more gas. It all happens so fast and it does take a bit of practice.
Remember to lower the clutch slightly about the thickness of a pound coin if you emerge
out of the junction a little quick or raise it slightly to increase speed.
The hill will slow the car down, but if you feel like you're stopping too early,
release the foot brake, then set the gas and biting point to creep forward.
Don't forget, to avoid stalling, always press the gas before biting point and don't release
the clutch too soon. Hold on to it for about three seconds as you move off.
When you do a hill start, try not to think about rolling back
or stalling. Otherwise you'll be distracted and it might not work out well.
My favourite way of dealing with a junction on a hill is, well, try not to do a hill start in
the first place. Instead, not coming to a complete stop, unless I had to. Then using clutch control
to creep really slowly. This does take a bit of clutch control practice, so let me show you.
Approach the junction slowly so you've got time to observe. Don't forget that
the hill is slowing the car down, so you might not need to brake too much.
Release the gas pedal, brake lightly, clutch down,
first gear. Now gas and biting point to creep slowly.
Observe lots for others and be ready to stop. Then gently raise the clutch with more gas to go.
Off gas lightly, brake, clutch down, first gear, gas, biting point,
creep and observe loads, be ready to stop. Then gas and gently raise the clutch.
Don't forget that the hill is acting kind of as a brake.
At the speed I'm driving, I don't need to brake very much on the approach.
First gear, brake lightly,
gas, biting point, raise the clutch slightly to creep faster or lower it a little to slow down.
Make sure you build up momentum before changing gear when driving uphill as gravity will slow you
down as you're changing gear, otherwise you'll lose too much speed and the car will struggle.
A lot of accidents happen at junctions, so always be ready to stop
good effective observations are so important.
[Music]
Gas, then biting point. Little movements with the clutch. Lower it slightly to slow down,
raise it a little to speed up, then gently release the clutch all the way with gas to go faster.
The other way to do a hill start is stopping and not using the parking brake. Instead, you'll have
to be quick with your feet. Setting the gas and biting point before the car rolls back.
To do this, I'll have to switch to a different car as I'll be able to turn off hill start
assist and show this way of doing a hill start. I've stopped at another junction.
Now I could raise the clutch to the biting point with the foot brake still on
and this might work for you, but there is more chance of stalling, especially if I was in an
older petrol car. Instead, I'll quickly set the gas and get the biting point before it rolls back.
As you could see, you've got to be quite quick with the pedals.
If you're not confident doing this, then just use the parking brake as it's so much easier.
Off the brake, gas, biting point, feet steady for a couple of seconds.
More gas as the clutch slowly comes up.
You certainly need to be fast with your feet but in control.
You don't want the car to roll back, zoom off or stall.
One last junction. Gas, biting point, but don't raise the clutch all the way too soon. [Music]
So there's some different ways to tackle junctions on hills.
If you're looking for an online driving course, then have a look at our free driving modules on
our website. You will learn all about the different driving test manoeuvres,
how to tackle junctions and roundabouts, plus much more. You don't even need to register.
There's a link in the description. As always, thanks a lot for watching. Please subscribe if
you haven't already and in the meantime take care on the road and bye for now!
[Music]