Jag57

There is nothing wrong with asking questions. After all ,isn't this what forums are all about ? The question was presented honestly and deserves an honest discussion . As to the question of downshifting , my son just asked me the same question . Having ridden motorcycles and manual cars for many years , I would have to say that the situation dictates the shift pattern . For example ,in a panic stop from 5th , your concern would the stop . On a motorcycle I would de-clutch ,apply full brakes and down shift through the gears. You would want to be in 1st gear at the completion of the stop . If you did not come to a full stop , you would engage the clutch at the appropriate speed . Same principle with a car except you don't have to bang trough all the gears. With a car , depending on rate of deceleration , you could pick any combination of shifts. A controlled deceleration would be 6-5-4-3-2-1. A panic stop could be 6-3-1 or any combination. As stated above, the car should always be in gear so that you have control of the car . As for putting the car in neutral at a stoplight , a lot of people will do this out of habit or laziness . But you are not in control of the car. As taught in motorcycle safety courses , you leave the bike in gear at a stoplight incase you need to get out of a bad situation fast. You look in your mirrors and see a car fast approaching , you don't want to be trying to get in gear , then get out of the way. Hope this helps.

mex1cola

Just to add in, over here you would fail your driving test for putting the car in neutral (neutral coasting) anytime before the car is at a complete stop. This includes coming up to lights etc, the car should be in gear until it has totally stopped and the handbrake ("E-Brake") is on. (Although using the brake pedal instead of the handbrake is acceptable in some situations, e.g. 1st at lights.)

Holding down the clutch for any longer that it takes for a quick gear change, or keeping your foot rested on or over the clutch pedal when not in use, is also a fail, it is called coasting. It is only accepted in 1st gear, for example in heavy traffic, in which case it is called "clutch control".

Woodson

Absolutely 100% correct. My point is that the questions should be asked first.

As for training and licensing requirements, that's why in Canada and the US there are so many horrible drivers on the road. Learn how to press the gas and brake and away you go.

fatjoe10

Seems like what's on decline is the quality of this forum given some of the replies. It's quickly becoming a disease, but then again, it's the internet. Moving on

If I have to do a panic stop I do "both feet in" and threshold brake. When times comes to reapply power, I quickly shift back to the gear I need depending on speed of course.

When I drive, I never let the car roll in neutral. I made it a habit to slow down to the point that it requires me to use power to get around the turn. I tried so hard to learn to never lift off the gas that not using neutral became second nature.

kolyan2k

You've been driving them WRONG

sure, when i come to complete stop at a set of lights, sometimes i through in N and roll for a bit.....but usually i do it when i am already stopped.