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I was taught to change down when slowing down so that you were always in the right gear for the speed you were travelling at and so you can accelerate if you need to if circumstances change.

I understand that new drivers are taught 'gears for go' 'brakes to slow'. That seems dangerous to me. I heard one instructor actually say that was because it was cheaper to replace brake linings rather than a clutch.


I tend to select the gear I want to negotiate a roundabout at the speed I am expecting rather than decide I need to accelerate while on the roundabout and then have to change down.

Was I taught wrongly or have modern cars changed drivers habits?

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

hi Brookwood
i passed my test in the 70s and was taught the same way as you slowing down through gears etc.i did the IAM course and the observer picked me up on that very fact.he told me that cars now have better braking systems and its cheaper to replace brakes than a gearbox.
goldy[/quote]

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Audere Est Facere.....To Dare Is To Do

I too was taught that when slowing, even from higher speeds, that you essentially do all of the slowing with the brakes - there is no such thing as 'engine braking'. For instance, if coming to a complete stop from say 30, you will brake until you NEED to dip the clutch to prevent a stall. Why? I don't know. It is 'unsympathetic' to the engine & clutch to engine brake, and downshift to slow your speed. Unless you pre-match your revs by feathering the accelerator whilst the clutch is in, but it is satisfying to hear the engine blip on over-run in a downshift! (It can be even done it in an automatic using the range limiter - probably not a great idea though)

Perhaps they do not teach this, because it involves matching current speed, to predicted revs at a lower gear. eg. Imagine a learner dumping the average car into 2nd at 60 odd by accident when being taught this method!....goodbye engine...... simpler & safer to teach the other method. I wasn't even taught to engine brake on steep hills - just foot brake. (Even though 'staying in a lower gear' is advised.)

Most poeple ditch the basic 'skills' required for a pass these days. The two hand shuffle - whilst used religiously by hardcore IAM's & other 'advanced' drivers, is cumbersome for day-to-day driving.
(Waiting on the "if you can't feed the wheel when negotiating a corner, you're going too fast")

Skills are something learnt & honed on a continuous basis, but only by those who WANT to improve.

All I can say is thankfully most people are taught in tiny little Micras & Fiestas. They are fantastic for NOT insulating you against the world. Can you immagine the 'tank commanders' that would result if Land Rovers were standard issue!!

I can't remmeber what I was taught!!! bugger I was just about to say engine braking but....aaargh!

oh yes, it was basically foot brake then seleect the appropriate gear for the new speed. I think it becomes a parallel activiy with experience.

it's all about getting the observation correct. Slowing to the right speed with both hands on the wheel for better control, shifting to the correct gear and then cornering. Any emergency moves indicate a (rather bad) failure of observation. Have a read of Roadcraft for the full story.

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That's interesting. So what I heard is true then. Of course brakes are better so are gearboxes and clutches. Doesn't safety count more than cost? Aren't you safer in the right gear for the speed you are doing.

I am more interested in being able to accelerate out of trouble if I need to.

I think my wife was taught the Brakes thing but she is frequently in the wrong gear and having to change down suddenly when she needs the acceleration and sometimes only finding out when the car doesn't pick up speed.

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

That suggests she needs to brush up on her anticipation a bit - perhaps she should try doing the IAM course

If you are, say, travelling along a rural main road in fifth gear and approaching a bend for which you assess you will need third, then the entire braking period is only going to last a second or so. Surely it is better to have a single smooth braking application and engage third at the end of it, rather than split the braking phase into two, and very briefly engage fourth in the middle of it.

If braking to a halt for a set of red lights, do you religiously change down through every gear from fifth to second?

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I certainly remember being taught not to decelerate through each gear, 5th to 2nd was a common drill.

also accelerating 1st to 3rd to 5th. That has certainly stuck although its more 1st, 3rd,6th now!!

It was put to that the reason for doing this is to maintain better control of the car when braking.

I took this as meaning that if you are slowing down, then you are more likely to need to accelerate or swerve around an obstacle, if something happens. For example, if you are slowing in lane 2 in a town, and the cars are stopped in lane 1, there may be a pedestrian/child crossing between cars in lane 1, who might step out in front of you. I guess that the idea was, with pre-ABS systems, that if you are in a lower gear than really needed at a particular point, then gears + brakes = faster braking (Tyres permitting). Swerving under hard braking in a car without ABS is not a good idea. However, with ABS, you can brake hard and swerve at the same time. For this manoeuvre, it is far better to have both hands on the wheel. Changing less often when slowing down means you are more likely to have both hands on the wheel at a crucial point. [Of course, swerving in such circumstances is not always a good idea, as it may depend on oncoming traffic etc., and better observation/anticipation might help to avoid getting to this point in the first place. Also this manoeuvre is not generally instinctive and is best practiced in a safe place first].

So coming up to a roundabout on a NSL road, you might be in 5th gear. Brake up to the roundabout and then, if clear, you can drop straight into (usually)second before accelerating away. If not clear, then stop and straight into 1st. Changing down a gear or 2 to go round a bend is completely different, and the correct gear for going round a bend should always be selected prior to entering the bend. So changing down a gear or two for a sharp bend prior to a roundabout is always appropriate.

I must admit, I have changed my style to this as a result of taking an IAM course, and did find that it took quite a bit of getting used to.

Yes, so have I - it's something I never really thought about before. But the idea of having a single braking action and a single downchange for each manouevre certainly does seem to make sense.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I was taught to slow using the gears back in the 1960s, and I didn't much like that approach even then, but did it as I had a driving test to pass.
These days I tend to prefer to brake first then change down, although with my current 6 speed box and turbodiesel combination, I will either have to change down or drop the clutch if I need to brake to less than about 40mph (about 1000 rpm in 6th), and often end up with doing something like

Brake down to 40mph
change from 6th to 3rd
complete the braking, then change down to 2nd if necessary

Of course I might prefer to have more revs to keep "on the turbo" if I anticipate needing to accelerate briskly.

But another technique is to lift off perhaps half a mile before the bend or roundabout and let my speed decay slowly to reduce the need to brake. There is very little engine braking in 6th, and very little aerodynamic braking either with today's low drag cars, and good anticipation reduces wear and tear on the car and fuel consumption.

It is always a good idea to try to anticipate the need to change speed. On motorways for example, I rarely brake at all, although I often see other drivers braking frequently. All this needs is a sensible gap ahead of you and looking far enough ahead. You can then smooth out most of the speed changes with the accelerator alone.

Yes, I used to find this when I first switched to 'brakes for slow' as a requisite for the IAM test.
I think it boils down to the demand for a greater appreciation of the performance of your own car (which gear is best for which speed) and the situation into which you are arriving (this looks like a 2nd gear roundabout). I've become much better at it with practice.

You describe pretty much what I have always done. Usually it's 5th to 3rd for your NSL roundabout example, 5th to 4th for a bend that merits a slowing-down, and 5th or 4th straight to 2nd for a corner such as a side road.

The trick being to do the single gear change just as you finish braking, and before you turn into the hazard. (Changing gear late, when you're partway through the roundabout/corner, is not good for your car control or the balance of the vehicle.) With practice it makes for relaxing and rapid progress.

Going down through the gears is usually unnecessary unless you have a sequential gearbox. I think the "engine braking" thing came about because earlier cars had drum brakes that were prone to fade, so going down through the 'box saved the brakes and gave you a sporting chance of having some braking capability left at the end should you need it.

(Edit: removed erroneous phrase implying I was advocating left foot braking.)

That would then suggest the driver is freewheeling which is illegal. Under normal circumstances I too was taught to brake using engine and run down the gears. In fact you have to on a motorcycle else the back wheel would come out from under you very quickly as you attempted to accelerate.

John F


You make this sound like Left foot braking?

Besides racing applications of this technique (so no delay between braking & back on gas). I thought nearly everybody was a Right Foot Brake, basically pivoting their heel between the pedals, with Left for the Clutch only. Which gives the option of gear changes whilst braking. Or am I the weirdo here?

My apologies, I'm the weirdo. Ignore the bit about freeing up your left foot for the clutch (though the principle is the same). Left foot braking has its place and its devotees (especially amongst automatic gearbox users) but it's a separate subject.

not normally recommended for road use though.



no, it suggests the driver isn't changing gears while braking - they are still in gear though.

But then they'd stall wouldn't they?

The clutch is then depressed just before it occurs.

Imagine: Brake, brake, brake, brake (speed dropping to low to remain in high gear) clutch & brake, stopped, out of gear or change to 2nd to pull away.

I was taught that way.

Logically it appears a but iffy, but I suppose that full control over the direction & braking will be maintained - rather than 'leaners' or IAM's flailing around with one arm changing gear and therefore out of full, two-handed control of the direction for a teencie-weencie moment.

ps. Despite my tongue-in-cheek ribbing of them, I'm neither pro nor anti IAM. The driving skills are excellent to live by, but it's the rare IAM nazi - "WE are right you can't drive properly" that I get ticked off at!

But whatever gear you are in, you will have to depress the clutch just before you stop, otherwise you will stall. Even if you're coming to a stop from fifth, I reckon the distance covered with the clutch down is well under a car's length, which can hardly be classed as freewheeling.

If you are an advocate of changing down through the box, and you are approaching a set of traffic lights where you know it is 100% certain you will need to stop, what is the sequence of actions? Which intermediate gears do you actually engage?

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed