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Every person who is learning to drive or sometimes an experienced driver driving a vehicle has a major doubt to stop their vehicle, ‘should we press the clutch first then brake or brake first then clutch?’. The solution is here, but we need to understand certain parameters before that.
What is stalling or sudden stopping of your vehicle during low speeds?
At low speeds, driving in the gear that is too high for low speeds will let your vehicle engine die. To drive the vehicle at slow speeds you need to use lower gears to avoid stalling or sudden breakage of car motion. Also if you need to stop you must use the clutch pedal before a certain period to disengage the power transmission avoiding engine death or stalling phenomenon.
Why should we not use Clutch or Brake pedal unnecessarily?
The use of a clutch is very important for the smooth functioning of a manually geared vehicle but unnecessary use of a clutch pedal adversely affects the life of clutch plates and the performance of the vehicle. Using unwanted clutch results in the following situations.
- Clutch slipping results in loss of power due to poor transmission
- Trouble shifting gear which causes inconvenience
- Sharp chirping noise makes an irritative and uncomfortable driving experience
- Shuddering results in the shaking behaviour of the vehicle
Similarly, for brakes, we should not use them unnecessarily for a certain reason.
- repetitive braking reduce the life of tyres
- unwanted loss of power transmission
Sequential operation of clutch and brake in various conditions:
The operation depends on two conditions, Vehicle speed and roadway conditions you are driving on.
- Driving at higher speeds: If you are driving above or around 40kmph (i.e. 25 mph), you need to stop your vehicle. After releasing the accelerator or gas pedal the first step is preferably applying brakes and after that clutch just to prevent stalling. Generally, you should apply the clutch pedal before a distance of around two car lengths to avoid stalling.
- Driving at slower speeds: If you are driving below or around 20kmph (i.e. 12 mph), you need to stop your vehicle. After releasing the accelerator or gas pedal the first step is preferably applying the clutch pedal and then brakes. Because at such lower speeds the car will suddenly start stalling on reduction of further speed. You can also apply the clutch and brake pedal simultaneously without any effect or stall.
- Uphill driving: During an uphill drive, when the driver wishes to stop no brakes are required because uphill naturally works as a brake. You just need to release the accelerator and wait to slow down. Before stalling, apply the clutch and stop the car. As soon as the car stops you need to apply brakes to avoid the reverse motion of the car on uphill driving.
- Downhill driving: During a downhill drive, there is no certain thumb rule for application of Brakes or Clutch but, if you disengage the engine transmission at such roadway conditions the vehicle will start coasting (increase in the speed without power application) which tends to increase the speed and needs more braking action the usual to stop the car. So it is preferable to apply brakes first irrespective of speed and then clutch just before stalling conditions.
- Just to slow down and not stop: For slowing down the vehicle, there is no need to apply a clutch pedal unless you need to change the gear, just release the accelerator and apply the brake until needed.
- Sudden braking: A driver should simultaneously press the clutch and brake for sudden braking in an emergency.
So these were the certain conditions with its solution a driver should keep in mind while stopping or slowing a car for better life and performance of your car engine and its functional parts. Review your experience while driving and suggest some more conditions for which you need advice. Thank you.
Written by: Meet Shah(Instagram: @meet8600)
Vociferous Writers (Instagram: @vociferouswriters)
