Gears

Introduction
On this lesson you will recap last lesson skills and drills
  • Cockpit drill
  • Hand and foot controls
  • Moving off and stopping (including improving parking closer to the Curb) on a quiet road on the left hand side
  • Improve P.O.M when moving off and using M.S.M (S & G) when stopping
  • Improve knowledge of the use of mirrors and signals at the appropriate times
  • Co-ordination of (A, B, C) the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals
  • Improve clutch control
The new Goals agreed for this lesson plan will be-

Gear changes up and down
  1. Different methods of  gear changes up and down when using the gear stick (block and selective gears)
  2. Understand when to change gears up and down without engine breaking.
  3. Understand the difference between block and selective gear changes.
Risk responsibility's 

You and your instructor will agree the below support giving you ether full talk through, prompt or independent. This is important to ensure that you the student and the instructor understands who has the more responsibility on the control of the training vehicle.

Lesson plan from last lesson:- 
  • Cockpit drill
  • Hand/foot controls
  • P.O.M, P.O.S.M, M.S.M, moving off and stopping
 Agree risk responsibility

Intervention

Agree if the lesson is instructor lead lesson or a client centred lesson and if it is client lead if the instructor has to intervein verbally, take control of the training vehicle by ether using the dual control or take the wheel. the lesson plan may need to be changed until the fault is fixed.

Lesson aims and strategies

The aim of today’s lesson is to understand how and when to change gears up and down, using the palming method when changing gear  and gear changes in sequence while maintaining a straight course on the road (look well ahead whilst changing gear). 

Objectives

Your objective will to be as independent as possible from what you had learnt on your previous lesson skills and drills.  

Demonstration drive

On the drive to the training area your instructor will give you a talk about the use of L.A.D.A and M.S.M (when to use your mirrors and use of signals). 

Controls

  • You needed to show you can use all the car’s primary controls smoothly and at the correct time. This includes the:
  • accelerator
  • clutch
  • gears
  • brake
  • handbrake or parking brake
  • steering
  • Your examiner will have monitored this throughout the test.


Examples of faults

  • Some of the most common faults for this area include:
  • over-steering when making a turn, and mounting the pavement
  • keeping the clutch pedal held down (coasting) reducing your control of the car
  • selecting the wrong gear causing a sudden reduction in your speed, forcing vehicles behind you to slow down
  • pressing the brake too hard, or not hard enough
  • Your examiner may have explained the specific details of any faults you made.


How you can improve in this area

  • If you made faults in this area during your test, or if you want to improve in this area, you should:
  • check rules 117 to 126 of The Highway Code
  • read section 3 of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Driving: the Essential Skills’ (2022 edition)
  • If you need to rebook the test, spend time practising and improving this skill with your driving instructor or supervising driver. Use the time to familiarise yourself with the car’s primary controls.



Subject brief

During this lesson you will learn how to:-
  • Control your vehicle as it increases and decreasing speed. 
  • Make appropriate gear changes up and down as you increase and decrease the speed of your vehicle. 
  • Understand block and selective gear changes.
Neutral

Before you start your vehicle always make sure your handbrake is on and your gear stick is in neutral.
As you can see in the picture below neutral is between the middle of 1 to 5. 
The gear stick is spring loaded and will always return back to the position between 3 and 4.
Click here to see how a clutch works

Palming method


Palming method of gear changes will be taught on this lesson (explained more on your lesson).

Success with smooth and precise gear changes will ensure a correct gear change and reduce any implication of a wrong gear change resulting in stalling the training vehicle. The consequence of a wrong gear change could be at worse case scenario of stalling is a potential rear end collision. The key factor of success is keeping your left arm relaxed, then only use movement in your left wrist.

Best method of moving the gear stick in a steady, gentle movement using the palming method.

1st gear


To ensure palming is achieved ensure your thumb is pointing down and the gear stick and your left hand is cupping the top of the gear knob of your gear stick.

Push the gear stick from the neutral position over to left then gently push the stick into 1st gear.

2nd gear


From 1st gear again use the palming method (thumb is pointing down and your left hand is cupping the top of the gear knob of your gear stick) push the gear stick firmly to the left again then pull the gear stick into 2nd gear.

3rd gear


From 2nd gear place your hand on your gear knob (knuckles facing up), then gently push the gear into neutral and let the spring in the gear selector and let the gear stick naturally slide over to 3rd gear gate then push it gently into 3rd gear.

4th gear


From 3rd gear place your hand on your gear stick (knuckles facing up, then gently pull the gear stick down into neutral an down into 4th gear.

5th gear


From 4th gear place your hand on your gear stick (knuckles facing up) then gently push the gear stick gently up into neutral, then rotate your hand so your left hand is now cupping your gear knob thumb facing up,  pushing the gear stick across to the right and push it up into 5th gears.

6th gear


From 5th gear place your hand on your gear stick then gently push the gear stick gently towards the 5th/6th gear wall then gently pull the gear stick down past neutral and into 6th gear.

What is the difference with selective and block gear changes?


There are two methods of changing your gears:- 


Block gear changing and selective gear changes.


Block gear changes


Block gear changes was taught by driving instructors until the 1990's, the issue with block gear changes method is that you go up and down every gear using every one!!! i.e. 1-2-3-4-5 (going up every gear is not the problem as that's normal even now a days) but 5-4-3-2-1 is the issue is this ether make you coast or engine brake.

Highway code rule 160

Coasting


Coasting is keeping your clutch down once you have changed gear, if you do not bring your clutch up once you have changed gears you are free wheeling and you could loose control of your vehicle. 

Highway code rule 122
Engine braking

Engine braking is slowing down with your gears and not your brakes, the 1st problem here is that you are not activating your brake lights so this is not giving the vehicles behind any information that you are slowing down.  The 2nd problem is that you are slowing down with your clutch and gears and not your brakes.  This is a cost efficient issue as brakes are £60-£80 and a clutch can cost over £900+ on modern vehicles.
A simple rule is to use the gears to go and the brakes to slow.

Selective gear changes 

The best way to break this down is with the three diagrams below:-

   1. Going from 1st gear to 2nd gear then 3rd (then 4th, 5th then 6th.
   2. Going from 1st gear to 2nd gear to 4th then 5th gear (missing gear 3 gear out).
   3. Going from 1st gear to 3rd gear then to 5th gear Missing 2nd and 4th gear out).

You only really miss gears out up when your entering a faster road or aim to overtake safely.


Speed ratio


The best way to advise you when to change gear is every 10MPH (on a town road) you change gears up or down. So put a naught at the end of you gear numbers on your gear stick (so 1st is 10mph, 2nd is 20mph, 3rd is 30mph and so on).

Selective gears down

Best way to break this down is with the three diagrams below:-

   1. Going from 3rd gear to 2nd gear then 1st.
   2. Going from 5th gear to 4th gear to 2nd then 1st gear.
   3. Going from 5th gear to 3rd gear then to 1st gear.
I'm going to give you two examples here selective gear changes down

Example one

You are approaching a traffic light, the traffic lights have just turned to red, you will need to stop at the traffic light stop line. On a 30MPH road you will be probably be in 3rd or 4th  gear. so you would go from 4th gear to 3rd gear then to 1st gear once you have stopped. This will ensure you plan to go once it goes back to green.

Example two

Your approaching a roundabout your in 4th gear, you would slow down and go to 2nd gear then if clear and safe to go carry on with your journey. But if the roundabout was busy you would go 4th gear (maybe to 3rd gear) to 2nd gear then to 1st (always plan to go).

Correct gear changes will save you money

Changing gears correctly save fuel consumption and unnecessary wear on your vehicle so this means saving you MONEY!  Correct gear changes down will give you better control of your vehicle.

For example - If you are climbing a steep hill in 5th gear you would change down to gears 3rd or 4th to prevent the vehicle from struggling and also prevent damage to the engine and gearbox. This means that you may sometimes miss out gears, this method is called selective gear changes.

There are also times when you might selectively change to a lower gear (5th to 3rd) for better acceleration or for more pulling power followed by a change to 4th then back to 5th gear when you have reached your intended cruising speed.  Example - You are in a lay-by and you will need to build up speed quickly to merge into the faster moving traffic. You may be in 1st then 2nd gear then go straight into 4th gear.

The gear changing rule

The basic gear changing rule is gears to go - brakes to slow.  
When you want to slow down remember to use the foot brake not your clutch and gears. “It’s cheaper to replace brake pads than a clutch”.

How to change gears up

The key to remember is to see-saw you feet.
You have just done your P.O.M routine and pulled away in 1st gear moving to your normal driving position.  Now it time to change to 2nd gear

Changing from 1st to 2nd gear
  • Come off the gas pedal
  • put the clutch pedal down
  • palm the gear and pull the gear stick into 2nd gear
  • Raise the clutch up
  • Apply the gas (pedal)
The same applies to 2nd to 3rd gear and 3rd to 4th gear.

Coming down the gearbox

The success here is to ensure you reduce your speed with your footbrake then move the gears down.  Rote learning is key for development so repetitive routine will help with you reducing your support from your instructor.

3rd to 2nd gear
  • Come off the gas pedal
  • put the clutch pedal down
  • palm the gear and pull the gear stick into 2nd gear
  • Raise the clutch up
  • Allow the speed and gear ratio meet ( 2nd gear will do 10MPH with no gas)
UK driving skills information on gears

Extra information that could be asked on the next three briefs


Once you have built your confidence up and being prompt with gear changes your instructor may challenge you to start working on your M.S.M routine in more detail.


Mirrors


Use your mirrors efficiently and using your mirrors is very important :-

Always check your mirrors before you:-

  • Every 6 to 10 seconds
  • Speed up and down
  • Change direction
  • Changing seed

A high majority of unsuccessful students not passing their driving test is due to lack of mirrors (and use off), you also have to be careful not to take your eyes off the road ahead for too long.

Top 10 reasons for failing your driving test
When driving use quick glances when looking in your mirrors, remember to move your head not just YOU’RE EYES.
Looking too long in your mirrors will make you steer the way you are looking, so hand/eye coordination will improve in time. 

Look in your mirrors for the below information: – 
  • Who’s behind you? 
  • How close are they? 
  • How fast are they travelling?  
Is a vehicle signalling to overtake you? 

If a vehicle was behind you and then have disappeared from your mirrors, the question is where have they gone? 
  • Have they turn of on the junction you have passed
  • Have the started to overtake you
  • In that case was it safe for them to start to overtake
Once you have collated this information, ask yourself is it safe for you to continue with what you was going to do? 

Use of signals 


Signals should use to help or warn other road users, cyclists and pedestrians of your intended actions. 


The timing of your signal is important as too early or even too late may become misleading.


Different signals on your vehicle?

Other signals on your vehicles


  • Head lights - Warns other driver's of your presents
  • Brake lights - Warns driver's behind you are slowing down
  • Reverse lights - Warns driver's behind you are reversing
  • Hazard warning lights - warns all road users you have broken down
  • Horn - Warns all road users, pedestrian's and cyclists of your presences

Hand signals


Braking and indicating can also be given by hand (shown below). 

These can be used if you break down or are being towed to a garage or even if an indicator bulb blows. 

Recap from your lest lesson
Manoeuvre
Road position of your vehicle 

Road position and parking on the left hand side of the road is very important.
This would of been discussed on your 1st lesson, so let’s recap it.

Parked up on the left hand side of the road

Use references on your front window to help you know where your two front wheels are, this will stop you from hitting or mounting the curb and going over the centre white line when you are going to cross the road and turn right.

Parked up reference

Parking reference you will find the curb is positioned roughly just right of the middle of your windscreen (red arrow on below picture)
I use points on the windscreen wipers  to help students with referent points
(each vehicle could be a little different in view and also the height and position of your student in the driver's seat).

Parking on the left

When you want to park back on the left hand side slightly move your steering wheel to the left and aim the curb between the two arrows then straighten the vehicle to the curb.
Driving position

Driving position reference will be more to the centre of your front window. 
You can clearly see the green arrow has moved from the pavement to the curb edge and the red arrow is a metre onto the road.
Position turning right main road or side road

Position the white centre line in the set position like the black arrow in the below diagram, its about 6 inches from the bottom corner of the driver's window.
Learning techniques and strategies

Practice moving off and stopping and gear changes up and start to look for the reference points in your front windscreen and door mirrors

Once you have practiced moving off, stopping, changing gear's up and down a few times your instructor will reduce his/her support transferring his responsibility over to you.

Lesson Planning
  • Agree learning goals and needs of todays lesson
  • Agree appropriate lesson structure (full, partially or independent level of instruction)
  • Practice in a suitable training area
  • Agreed if needed to adapt the lesson plan to help the pupil work towards their new learning goals if any verbal or physical intervention was made by the instructor
Risk Management

Fully understood how the responsibility for risk of the lesson would be shared on the lesson plan between instructor and student
  • Directional instructions will be given in ADI format (Alert, direction and identify manor) given to the pupil clear and given in good time
  • Agree if the students made a minor, serious or dangerous error on your lesson it will be broken down using F.I.S.H (fault, implications, solution & help) this method of feedback helps pupils understand what fault is being made and how to strategies on how correct the faults.

Teaching & Learning Strategies
Like mentioned earlier every student is induvial and each and everyone of you will progress at different rates so driving will adapt their lesson plan to help you achieve your driving goals.
  • Your driving instructor will adapt their teaching style to suite your ability and ability
Your driving instructor will continue to encourage you on your lesson and analyse any problems made and allow you to take responsibility for your own learning goals by giving you technical information to improve your techniques. Your technical feed back from your instructor will be ether given on the move or if feel needed by pulling you up on the side of the road somewhere safe, legal and convenient.

At the end of your lesson 
  • At the end of each lesson you will have a debrief with your instructor giving you the opportunity to reflect on your performance on your lesson then you can set up new goals for your next driving lesson.
  • This will also give you the opportunity to research any new topics that will be brought into on your next agreed lesson