Safe Speed Forums

I noticed the other day that out of the ten cars stopped at traffic lights I appeared to be the only one who put on the handbrake. All the other brake lights were illuminated.

I am starting to get a bit up tight about this particularly at night with these high level lights, I find myself staring at a blaze of red.

This seems to be an increasing trend so I was wondering whether it was me and that is the way people are taught to drive these days.

I put on the hand brake every time I stop at level crossings, junctions and lights etc., am I wrong?

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

it's probably all us foreigners who were never taught this rather strange 'technique'. Brake lights have never bothered me, rear fog lights on the other hand...

I thought it was for safety reasons.

If the person behind you didn't stop in time then with your handbrake on you were less likely to be pushed into the traffic crossing in front of you or worse a pedestrian on a crossing.

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

less likely than with your foot on the brake? How's that then?

Didn't someone mention a few weeks ago that autos suffer less rear-enders and then speculate that this is probably due to them not using the handbrake?

Possibly the fact that when you do get shunted, there isn't much chance of the handbrake responding in a "knee jerk" fashion and releasing the brakes.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, I don't take the vehicle out of gear, the sequence of most traffic lights nowadays is a blip. Having been shunted up the rear a few times, I always leave a large gap. I think that's it is certainly good practise to stick the handbrake on, depends on the driver and the circumstances.

I'm "auto". I tend to only trouble with the handbrake for three reasons:

1) If I have had a fast (ie brake-heating) stop. I don't want to leave hot pads planted on the disk so immediately release the brake, let it roll a tad more and put the handbrake on.

2) If the hill is so severe that when I am going to start off it would (without handbrake or toe & heel) roll back.

3) It is dark or raining and someone has come up behind me and has (or is clearly going to) stop. Note - I wait until I'm certain the vehicle is going to stop or come to a stop behind me, THEN get rid of the brake lights.

Irritates me as well, especially when they have a third high intensity brake light right at eye level at the top of the rear window.

I always use the handbrake. But then I'm becoming a bit of a dinosaur myself. My wife has an automatic, and I can see that it could become a habit to use the foot brake to stop the car creeping forwards.

The other problem with using the foot brake on a hill is that it increases the chance that you'll run back as you move off.

What are learners taught to do? I distantly remember having problems working out how to balance the clutch and accelerator whilst making a hand signal with the right hand and holding the hand brake with the left hand when pulling away!

Brian

Worse than that I think is the drivers who ride the clutch. Mostly women who are stationary on a slight incline. I was next to one the other day who war rolling backward then forward again the whole time. The clutch must have been wrecked.

I also whe neutral on the motor bike. You are supposed to be stationary with your foot on the rear brake and your left foot down. It can be a bit tricky on a hill start when you have to lift your left foot to shift into gear.

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Speed camera policy Kills

My first car (which I had and rode around in our back yard a lot while I was officially learning to drive) was a mini. Goodness knows how many miles on it; a very inefficient handbrake and a crash box (synchro hubs long since worn out).

I used to annoy my driving instructor in his Hillman Avenger by heeling and toeing on hill starts with hand signals and double-declutching when I was changing dow for the odd overtake I think the hill starts used to annoy him more than anything else - the throttle was so awkward in that car with just the right half of the foot that it used to give a goodly rev while I found the biting point of the clutch

I also suspect that as people probably only have their foot lightly resting on the brake when a rear shunt occurs and they are thrown backwards in the seat (or the car goes forwards under them) their foot is lifted off the brake and the car is free to roll forward.

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

I always use the handbrake if I am stopped for more than a few seconds.

As for rear end shunts, I keep an eye on my rear and if someone is coming up to fast I can flash the brake lights which is more likely to get their attention than having them on permanently. At the same time I can get ready to get out of the way.

Once I am happy that the vehicle behind(and maybe the one behind that one) have stopped then I will release the footbrake - the handbrake will have already been applied. If I'm familiar with the light sequence I will also often knock it into neutral.

I don't particularly enjoy sitting in a queue of traffic at night staring at a forest of brake lights seeing as though the evening rush hour will soon be in darkness once more.

I drive an auto at the moment and will happily sit there with my foot on the brake until someone comes up behind me. Then I put the handbrake on and release the footbrake.
Two reasons

1/. I like to think I am a courteous driver.

2/. Not sensible to have the driver behind you with lesser eyesight than he could have because your high level brake light has affected his night vision temporarily.

Probem is I have to push the footbrake to put it back into gear.

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as regards being shunted, doesn't the handbrake only operate the rear brakes wheras the footbrake all four discs, so will offer more resistance to the impact?

the autos suffering less shunts thing is largely put down to the visability of the brake lights being on sending out a positive signal to approaching drivers.

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Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

I am sure people don't have their feet on the brake pedal hard enough to stop forward movement and by the time they react the car has moved forward. At least the rear wheels are locked on and the driver will also stab at the brakes in an instintive reaction as well.

If they happen to look in the mirror and decide they are going to get shunted then you can hit the brake pedal.

Because the car is moving forward then pressure will be released on the brake pedal.

Certainly it might help if you were last in a queue to let anybody approaching know that you are in stationary traffic but it isn't necessary to sit there in the middle of a queue with your foot on the brake instead of putting the handbrake on.

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Shooting is good for you and too good for some people.

Yes,

I went on a driving course some years back and the instructor reckoned that research had shown that autos tended to have fewer rear end shuts at the lights, this was supposedly due to the fact that the brake lights are on.

makes sense really.

It does make sense, but if drivers kept their foot on the brake until they were confidant that the car(s) behind had stopped and then released we would have the best of both worlds.

I drive an auto. The drivers manual supplied with the car actually recommends sitting with your foot on the brake for lights etc, only suggesting going into neutral and using the handbrake (or parking brake as it refers to it) for "more prolonged intervals"

Prof Beard

When I stop at lights or in jam where I think or know ist going to be longer than half-one second or so - car ist whacked into neutral und hand brake applied . Both feet relaxed OFF pedals. Und gap - I have to see full rear of car in front - rear tyres. Und a gap if first at traffic lights etc. So that I can inch if think some nutter will rear end me. I also feather the brake light to approaching cars if stopped last car at these lights - this mean they see the lights as they approach me.

Und I never ride the clutch or roll my car at any one time. But am not "most wimmin" nor ist my sister und girly-girl cousins in female -in-laws! We wear the trousers in this family anyway!

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