Quote:
Originally Posted by Army
Great conversation dropnosky and LarryBible!
I have a theory about the speed at which people learn clutch control:-
I think it is due to hills. I learnt to drive in East Anglia where it is flat. Within two months of passing my test I moved to Devon where it is hilly. For the first week I struggled! However, after that I picked up clutch control and now shift smoother than most automatics...
I'm now living in the Netherlands where they say that the driving test is harder than the one I took in the UK (but they would wouldn't they). However, having seen how most people drive here they have no understanding what so ever about clutch control - here it is flatter than flat. For example for the first day of snow here you are better off staying at home. It is not uncommon to see people shifting through the gears trying to get traction.
Once I refused to help to push one chap in a BMW who was doing an indicated 100kph whilst standing still. It would have helped the traffic flow - but really what a total %%%^^%%% head.
By the way automatic gearbox drivers do you know how to get traction in snow or on slippy surfaces to stop the same effect?
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This makes sense, I didn't really learn clutch control until I moved into an apartment with no parking space on the side of a fairly steep hill. After a few weeks of trying to parallel park and creeping around looking for a space in the immediate area, I became far more skilled on the nuances of the clutch. At the expense of a few bumps though.
I also finally learned how to effectively use my parking brake along with the clutch to help application on really steep areas and no room.