Saturday Sep 04

Facts & Procedures

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Start up Procedure

Have your foot on the brake when you turn the ignition key. Car should be in Park.

Shut down Procedure

 

Park Brake on, Select Neutral, Take your foot off the foot brake to test the hand brake is holding, replace your foot on the brake peddle and Select Park.

Steering

 

Practice both Push Pull and hand over hand methods.

Scanning

 

For good observation, look at least 5 sec ahead. Distance-Surface-Sides-Mirrors-Instruments

Head checks

 

This procedure is as simple as looking over your shoulder into the blind spot next to your car. Whenever you indicate you should follow it up with a head check in the same direction you indicated, prior to changing direction. During this time we are looking for pedestrians, cars leaving the curb, cyclists or any thing unexpected.

Leaving and Returning to Kerb

Check Mirrors, Indicate, Head check

Reversing, Reverse Parallel Park, 3 Point Turns

  • Be aware of the safety issues.
  • Indicate.
  • Do a 360 degree Head check.
  • Focus on speed and steering, whilst looking out the back window, when reversing.

3 Second Gap

  • A good distance between vehicles is 3 sec.
  • 1.5 sec for reaction time.
  • 1.5 sec for braking time.
  • When the vehicle in front of you passes a stationary object, eg : sign post, you count up the seconds until you pass it. If there is less than 3 sec back off.

Roundabouts

  • Always indicate Left out of a roundabout.
  • Only indicate into a roundabout when turning Left or Right.
  • Always stay in the same lane. If you started in the right hand lane, you follow that lane around the roundabout and exit into the right hand lane. The same applies for the left lane.

Intersections

Don’t ever assume that other traffic will stop or has stopped. (Even when they have the red light.)
As approaching an intersection make sure you scan for any vehicles coming towards it. Continue this action until you are exiting the intersection. It is good practice to Set up the brakes as well.
When stopping at Lights, Stop signs, or Give ways make sure you stop completely before the line. At Stop signs wait for 2 seconds. If stopping behind another vehicle you must be able to see where the tyres touch the ground.

Set up the Brakes

Resting your foot on the brake peddle is what we call Setting up the brakes. This does three things.

  • It prepares the brakes for work, lessening the likelihood of locking up.
  • It takes away any reaction time taken to get to the brake peddle.
  • It brings on the brake lights, letting the people behind know that you may need to stop. Preventing rear end collisions.

Hill Starts

This can differ from Auto to Manual.
Auto can use the hand brake or the foot brake to prevent roll back.
Manual will need to use the hand brake unless they have very good clutch control. On steeper hills it is always preferable to use the hand brake.Get a fast idle, find friction point and as you ease off the hand brake slowly increase the idle and eventually (after a few meters) ease out the clutch.
Remember that the goal is not to have any Roll Back.

Reverse parallel parking

This can be done in 5 stages, but it is preferred that it be done in 4. As approaching the car you wish to park behind, indicate and head check as you would if doing a curb side stop.

  • A good 360 degree head check is necessary before moving straight backwoods. Remember to keep looking through the back window when reversing.
  • Do a head check to the right, to check for traffic, before the front of the car turns out.
  • When the back corner of the parked car is level with half way along the back window it is time to turn the steering to full lock to the left, to achieve a 45 degree angle to the parked car.
  • Then straighten the steering as you continue a short way back to the curb.
  • Using the curb you can see through the back window, steer to the right to bring the car parallel to the curb.