Driving Techniques

[StevenRB45]

We are moving towards having to hold the footbrake, so lights always on. Electric vehicles require it when stopping temporarily, some do not have a manual parking brake, and I cannot see owners pushign the P button, then selecting D again to move away.

In fairness...if they set up hill holders to release when you press the accelerator rather than after X seconds that would be solved.

The one in ours you must press the brake firmly after stopping to activate (assume it holds whatever pressure you had in the rear brakes as if you gently roll to a halt you will go backwards once the momentum has gone). In theory that would be fine if it wasn't on a 2 second timer so you must sit on the pedal until it's time to move.

As a result decorative in most situations...I just use the (manual) handbrake which then means no assistance from hill holder as no pressure in rear brakes. But if the 2 second timer wasn't there you could easily use it in lieu of a handbrake. Only useful as is for uphill "peep and creep" and obscured junctions when you spot something coming.

 

[The Panda Nut]

If you put a car in a forward gear and push it forward the engine rotates clockwise. If you put the car in reverse and push it forward the engine rotates anti-clockwise.
Now most Fiat engines can tolerate an anti-clockwise rotation but for some Ferrari engines THIS IS TERMINAL.

Great recommend this practice to Ferrari drivers. Easier than taxing them off the roads! and way funnier.

 

[The Panda Nut]

In fairness...if they set up hill holders to release when you press the accelerator rather than after X seconds that would be solved.

OK. You may well be correct, BUT PLEASE dont humour them and dont encourage them to fit even more of this stuff thats neither needed nor in reality 100% reliable. I may quite like my hill holder, but sure as hell I dont need it and dont want its cost or reliability issues!!! If you pull the handbrake you know the car will stay put unless you release it or it breaks. WHen you want to drive off you just release it and not electroic failures will stop you doing this!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

A hand brake is for use when you are not in the car. The only time its not good practice to use it is if you park up and intend to leave the car for a lengthy period in freezing weather after driving through a flood. If I am parking after driving wet I make sure the brakes are hot by a little left foot braking for the last half a mile so they are dry when put away. Parking in gear is not good practice and largely uneccessry except amybe on a steep hill. If you leave your car without the hand brake applied and it runs away you will be liable for any havoc it creates and rightly so. ALways apply the handbrake when stationary in traffic. It might just save you life and also no claims bonus if hit from behind. People who hold the car on the footbrake at night in traffic are *********!

The guy you’re replying to here was a troll who eventually claimed he was a driving instructor and only posting this stuff to get an “opinion” thankfully he’s not posted in about 3 years.

 

[chris3234]

In fairness...if they set up hill holders to release when you press the accelerator rather than after X seconds that would be solved.

The one in ours you must press the brake firmly after stopping to activate (assume it holds whatever pressure you had in the rear brakes as if you gently roll to a halt you will go backwards once the momentum has gone). In theory that would be fine if it wasn't on a 2 second timer so you must sit on the pedal until it's time to move.

As a result decorative in most situations...I just use the (manual) handbrake which then means no assistance from hill holder as no pressure in rear brakes. But if the 2 second timer wasn't there you could easily use it in lieu of a handbrake. Only useful as is for uphill "peep and creep" and obscured junctions when you spot something coming.

What why would you need to wait 2 seconds before setting off?
It should deactivate as soon as you start setting off

 

[Rocinante]

With the A721 having only one exit lane, I would expect the right lane to be used on approach. Otherwise, the right lane becomes a 'U-turn' only facility, which is rare, unless that choice is busy due to a 'no right turn' a little earlier.
The left lane has two exits, Bellziehill Road or High Wood Gardens. It makes little sense for the left lane to have all three exits, and the right lane for a U-turn only.
However, with all unusual or unmarked junctions, local custom may set its own rules, and it is always safest to 'follow the crowd'. I would expect to use teh right lane for teh third exit, but be prepared to give a little for any combatant locals.
There's a roundabout in Newbury, where after many years of locals fighting, and learners on test struggling to follow the markings, it was repainted to reflect what the locals did. It now works very well.

I use the right hand lane, as I believe this to be the correct lane, as you seem to suggest.
This roundabout, entering from from the right, is from a major roundabout, so the only reason you would want to do a U-turn, is if you came off the wrong exit on the major roundabout.
As for local custom, I would certainly argue there wasn't one, as stated in my query, there was much debate on the subject. At best it was 50/50, but I'd probably say the majority use the right hand lane.
The issue being, if you are in the right hand lane, using the roundabout 'correctly', and someone uses the left hand lane, they effectively give themselves priority by using the wrong lane, as you have to cut across them to get to your exit.

In reality it's not that busy a roundabout, so there aren't really much in the way of issues. Someone posted locally asking people to use the roundabout 'correctly', for which as I said caused a bit of a debate, and when you posted about this thread, I thought I 'd ask the question.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I use the right hand lane, as I believe this to be the correct lane, as you seem to suggest.
This roundabout, entering from from the right, is from a major roundabout, so the only reason you would want to do a U-turn, is if you came off the wrong exit on the major roundabout.
As for local custom, I would certainly argue there wasn't one, as stated in my query, there was much debate on the subject. At best it was 50/50, but I'd probably say the majority use the right hand lane.
The issue being, if you are in the right hand lane, using the roundabout 'correctly', and someone uses the left hand lane, they effectively give themselves priority by using the wrong lane, as you have to cut across them to get to your exit.

In reality it's not that busy a roundabout, so there aren't really much in the way of issues. Someone posted locally asking people to use the roundabout 'correctly', for which as I said caused a bit of a debate, and when you posted about this thread, I thought I 'd ask the question.

Yup, I'd be inclined to use the right lane too but I find so many abuse roundabouts by cutting across lanes when using them and signaling incorrectly - I absolutely despise those who activate their right indicator and then fail to cancel it, let alone make a left signal appropriately, when they are leaving the roundabout, leaving you like a spare ***** sitting there waiting on them coming on round as they leave, with right indicator still winking, at the exit before you. There are a number of big multi lane roundabouts in the Edinburgh area and another hate is folk who don't stay in lane, especially people on my nearside cutting partially into "my" lane just because their car control/spacial awareness is so poor - they're not wanting to come into my lane, it's just that their vehicle positioning is so poor. In my younger days I might have blown my horn or taken up the "challenge", now I tend to just hang back a bit and let them do their thing. Filtering in turn is an amusing concept too which some seem to only be able to view as a challenge to beat the car beside them at any cost! I don't compete, if it means I loose one car's length to the "rude" person cutting me out then what does it matter?
Our local "armageddon" is the Sherrifhall Roundabout. Strangers have been known to go round it 2 or 3 times before ending up in the right lane to exit where they want. Try You Tubing it and you'll see what I mean. The big road going through it is the city bypass which gets very busy at rush hours with local drivers often "on a mission" and not prepared to cut "foreigners" any slack.

 

[StevenRB45]

What why would you need to wait 2 seconds before setting off?
It should deactivate as soon as you start setting off

It does.

The issue is more that if you don't set off for whatever reason it lets go of the brakes after 2 seconds.

This means if you want to use it you have to sit on the footbrake until the road clears like an absolute tube or risk it releasing you to roll backwards if an expected gap closes.

It's probably designed to work with the electric handbrake most of the PSA cars come with these days, with a manual one the programming seems to make very little sense.