It has been suggested by many driving school owners that young students especially should learn to drive using a manual.  Approximately 20% of all drivers across the United States have admitted to ‘texting’ while driving in the last month.  With more State Governments enacting legislation regarding the illegal use of cell phones while driving, wouldn’t your child be safer if they were driving a manual?  If they are driving a manual, they will require their full attention just to keep the car from stalling.  This would make it impossible for them to ‘text’ and drive at the same time.  Driving Education for young drivers is the key to keeping our roads safe.

Starting out

• Press the clutch all the way to the floor.
• Put the stick shift into first gear.
• Slowly release the clutch and press the gas (but only rev the RPM’s to a little above idle).
• Continue until you have completely released the clutch.

Up Shifting

• When your RPM’s get passed the normal range, it is time to up shift.  If you are driving uphill, let the RPM’s go a  little higher before up shifting.
  
• Release your foot from the gas and press the clutch all the way to the floor.
  
• Move the stick into the next highest gear.
  
• Release the clutch smoothly.

Downshifting

• Start by completely removing your foot from the gas and then depress the clutch fully.
• Move the stick shift into a lower gear.
• Slowly release the clutch and then use the gas to match the speed of the car.
• Release the clutch fully.

Stopping

• Leave the vehicle in gear when you begin to brake.
• Slow down until the RPM’s are just above idle.
• Press the clutch to the floor and put the car into a neutral position.
• Once the car is in neutral you can release the clutch completely.

Stopping on an Incline

• Begin braking as per normal.
• When you are practically stopped, allow gravity to take over until your car comes to a complete halt.  Make sure to leave your car in first gear.
• As it stops, depress the clutch and rev the engine a little. Release the clutch a small amount and balance the gas with the clutch to hold yourself in one spot. If you begin to roll back, release the clutch a small amount. If you start to creep ahead, depress the clutch a small amount. Do not use this method for long stops as it is hard on the car, but its fine to do this for a short amount of time. It’s recommended that you practice this technique away from traffic.

Tips

• Think about balance between the clutch and the accelerator.  As one goes up, the other goes down.  Especially when starting from a stopped position, release the clutch and depress the gas in unison.
• Slowing down and speeding up is much harder in a manual versus an automatic.  Being aware of the fact that you have to guide the transmission through this will make you a more perspective driver.
  Releasing the clutch slowly and pausing to prevent the clutch lurching into lock will give you a much smoother ride.
• Smaller cars with manual transmissions are much easier to handle compared with larger cars.  If possible, try to learn on a smaller car before moving on to a larger vehicle.

Are you ready to get behind the wheel?  Find a driving school near you at http://www.wannadrive.com or visit our resource page for more information.