Use your handbrake, kn*bhead!

I don't tend to worry about what the car drivers in front are doing. I have two strategies:

1) Filter to the front of the queue, Bingo-Bango no more problem.
2) Don't look at the lights in front of you. Look at the traffic lights over the top of the cars. This also gives you some information which may be necessary in order to move off when the lights change.

My car's automatic and when you apply the brake to a standstill, if you push the footbrake down even further and then release it, the car remains stationary without applying the handbrake. All you need to do to move off is accelerate - lazy or what?? Not sure if the brake lights stay on though.

If I used the handbrake all the time in London, I would never get anywhere!

I find that 'riding the clutch' is a bit of an art form.

Well, when I had driving lessons, I used the handbrake all the time, even if it was ok to just use the footbrake. Bit more control, you see

And I'm sure id keep on doing it that way if I had a car

but I dont, so i dont ride the clutch. I ride my bike instead

Matt

Lights: How long am I there for? If a couple of seconds (ie, lights were red when I first saw them, small junction, probably changing soon), foot brake. If they changed to red in front of me, usually handbrake. Also, is the road level or am I on a hill? If I'm on flat ground, neutral & no brakes at all (yes, potential hazard, sue me!).

Junctions/Hill starts: Usually handbrake, as you generally never know how long you'll be waiting, but if it's quiet barely stop, so no point in handbrake then!!

[Stu]

Originally Posted by glsuk1970

My car's automatic and when you apply the brake to a standstill, if you push the footbrake down even further and then release it, the car remains stationary without applying the handbrake. All you need to do to move off is accelerate - lazy or what?? Not sure if the brake lights stay on though.

Wow what car is that? is it supposed to do that? never heard of that before.

For me, if I could rip out my handbrake I would, never ever use it.

Originally Posted by Stu

Wow what car is that? is it supposed to do that? never heard of that before.

For me, if I could rip out my handbrake I would, never ever use it.

What? Not even when parked up & you go to the shops?? *makes a mental note to push Stu's car somewhere to hide it*

About the auto-stop car, quite a few automatic cars do that now. It was a progression from the technology used to make manual gearboxes on cars without a clutch pedal etc.

I forget what it was, but my brothers old car (was a manual gearbox), you stop for more than 4seconds, it applies the handbrake (without moving the lever). You drive away & it releases the brake. No faffing with pressing the brake harder when stopped etc, just auto-magical.

Originally Posted by glsuk1970

My car's automatic and when you apply the brake to a standstill, if you push the footbrake down even further and then release it, the car remains stationary without applying the handbrake. All you need to do to move off is accelerate - lazy or what?? Not sure if the brake lights stay on though.

That would be an impreza then ? (coz mine does it too!)

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by jamesw1024

Sorry to buck the trend but I did a Prodrive driving day - part of it is a talk by a police driver. He said that statistically automatics are involved in fewer rear shunts at traffic lights, simply because they tend to sit with their foot on the brake. He advised us to do the same.

So now I put the handbrake on but still use the footbrake too - by order of the police

This kind of makes sense.

Brake lights tell you that a car is slowing or stationary, so means that if you are approaching from the rear, you know that YOU will need to slow/stop.

So a good thing in my book, having given it a couple of minutes thought