OT: Mature driver review

Scott · 2026-07-28T08:42:15+00:00

I recently undertook a mature driver review with IAM Roadsmart, whichI found both informative and reassuring. Manual vehicle - Nissan Micra2008. The main topic of discussion was about use of clutch and gears. 1. I have over the years acquired a habit of going into neutral inadvance of a stop at low speed and relying on the brakes to controlthe vehicle. The assessor considered this to be bad practice as (a)loss of control and (b) losing the benefit of engine braking. Herecommends staying in gear for as long as possible then using theclutch at the last moment. My dad used to say that engines areexpensive and brake pads are cheap and therefore you should protectthe engine from risk of labouring by disengaging the clutch earlier.2. The assessor thought I was over-cautious in gear selection - that Icould be in 4th year or 5th gear at lower speeds for fuel economy.Again, I always believed (especially with an older and relativelylow-powered vehicle) that it was important to avoid straining theengine. My self-created rule of thumb is that there should always be abit of power in reserve as evidenced that at any time it should bepossible to tap the accelerator and get a small amount ofacceleration. The assessor felt there was no need for this and if youneed acceleration, you should make a quick gear change.Recognising that it is very difficult to comment without being a frontor a back seat driver, I would be interested in comments of the groupand a bit of discussion on the subject.

N

NY 1 month ago

My clutch hydraulics failed as I was setting off at traffic lights facing uphill. I put the car into first and as I was letting the pedal up and starting to move, the hydraulics failed so the clutch was let in very suddenly which stalled the engine. The weight of my car, acting through the wheels and transmission, meant that I couldn't get the car into neutral to allow it to roll backwards out of the way, and the gradient was too steep for the starter motor to pull me uphill across the junction.

I was stuck, in gear, in the middle of a traffic light junction, so I wasn't very popular!!! Eventually, by working the pedal, I managed to get it to interact with the clutch so I could get the car into neutral and then (with the cooperation of other drivers) could roll back off the junction and to the side of the road.

The RAC man got me to the local Peugeot garage with 5 mins to spare before it closed, and then came up with an excuse for being able to take us home about 20 miles.

The clutch itself was fine; it was only the hydraulic interface between the cable and clutch which had failed due to a blown seal. About 180,000 miles later the clutch is still fine - the bite point is a bit higher that it was, but it still engages fine without any slippage. I've never had a car that's done 195,000 miles (the car had about 15,000 on the clock when I bought it second hand) on the same clutch. Does the fact that it's a diesel engine make it easier on the clutch (lower engine speed when engaging first so less slippage) or cause more wear (higher engine torque being transmitted through the clutch)?

Vote

N

Nick Finnigan 1 month ago

Which is understandable for a modern turbo engine with 75bhp available at

2000 rpm.

Which might only get 75bhp above 4,000 rpm, so keeping the revs high when accelerating or cruising should not be a worry.

Vote

N

Nick Finnigan 1 month ago

That would be challenging driving down to Broadbottom, or other places where second gear is needed, but not immediately.

Vote

J

Jeff Layman 1 month ago

Do road trains ever reverse?

Vote

S

Scott 1 month ago

Thanks. I'm thinking along the same lines myself.

Vote

R

Rod Speed 1 month ago

Yes they do

Vote

A

Andy Burns 1 month ago

Don't know whether they class a "B double" as a road train?

Surprised I managed to re-find this video I watched years ago, lots of aussie ones on youtube too ...

Vote

J

Jeff Layman 1 month ago

A silent /and/ completely invisible video? ;-)

Vote

A

Andy Burns 1 month ago

oops

formatting link

for others just search for B double reverse, though a lot seem to be from a truck driving simulator (with ATS in the title)

Vote

R

Rod Speed 1 month ago

Andy Burns snipped-for-privacy@andyburns.uk wrote

No we don't

But even with triples and quads, you still have to back up to the loading ramp, particularly with cattle and horses

Vote

R

Rod Speed 1 month ago

Jeff Layman snipped-for-privacy@invalid.invalid wrote

Yep Take a look at this video, 'road train reverse for loading cattle' https://share.google/QR7MSGVybxxw589J3

Vote

W

wasbit 1 month ago

Oh yes, & way beyond my capability.

Vote

A

Andrew 1 month ago

Except, a vehicle with its left hand indicator on is not expected to suddenly veer to the right. Anyone (like a motor cyclist) overtaking would have a nasty fright.

Vote

J

JNugent 1 month ago

It's a long time ago, but in 1975, driving from London to Liverpool via Western Avenue one evening, the car's clutch cable snapped at the Brewmaster traffic lights. My companions headed for the pub while I rang the AA. The patrolman turned up, confirmed the broken cable and immediately fitted a new one, with the parts costing me about £3.50. I gave him a fiver and we were soon on our way.

The car was a Mk1 Escort 1100, 1973 L-reg.

I didn't fancy driving north through Oxfordshire and Warwickshire having to double declutch.

Vote

N

NY 1 month ago

Having never driven a car (the oldest was my mum's 1975 Renault 6) which had dodgy/no synchromesh on any forward gear, I've never been taught how to double declutch and so I've never built up the muscle memory to blip the throttle to exactly the right speed during the brief clutch-up phase between the two clutch-down movements, such that the gear will engage.

I can do clutchless gearchanges - more easily on my old Peugeot than on my wife's newer Honda - in which you come off the power, push the gear lever into neutral and let the engine revs increase or decrease until gentle pressure on the gear lever allows it to slip into the new gear. But that is different: you have instant feedback as to when it works, rather than having to do it "offline" and get it right first time rather than being able to gradually change the revs until the gear engages.

I would have thought that the harder part of driving any distance without being able to disengage the clutch is how handle coming to a complete halt: you need to go into neutral just before the car stops, to avoid stalling in gear, and then hope that you can get it into first with the engine off, and then start the car in-gear. Or else hope that you can manage without ever coming to a complete halt...

Vote