Practice - How to do Hill Starts and Driving on Hills in an Automatic Car

(Music) In many parts of the country, driving on hills is something that you will have to do all the time. That's OK. It's exactly the same as driving on the flat, except you have to take one thing into account - - gravity. The pre-start checks are much the same as for on the flat. It's particularly important to check the handbrake is on and the car is in park. Before you start, make sure that the handbrake is on AND that your foot is on the brake. Moving off on a hill is the same as moving off on the flat. With most automatics you can put the car in drive, and simply push the accelerator to move forward. You might want to signal at the start, particularly if the indicator controls are on the left hand side of the steering column. This is so you can use your left hand for the handbrake. To begin, pull the handbrake up slightly and press the release button, then hold it, don't let the handbrake go yet.. Press the accelerator down a little, you should feel the car pulling against the handbrake... If you haven't already, signal now. Check your mirrors and over your shoulder. Slowly release the handbrake all the way, add a little accelerator if necessary, and you will be away. As soon as you have managed one hill start, pull over, and repeat, repeat, repeat. (Okay Kade, so this time you are pointing downhill so when you release the handbrake you will feel the car will want to roll forward) If you are starting facing downhill you have gravity on your side. Once you've put the car in drive, you may not need to touch the accelerator at all, to move forward. (you will feel then that the car wants to go, so keep your foot on the footbrake) After you have let off the handbrake, you can use your footbrake to control your speed. Use the footbrake first before releasing the handbrake. Accelerate if necessary. When you're driving on hills you need less or no acceleration to go down, but you need to give it more accelerator to go up. Braking downhill will also take longer to take effect. Automatic cars will have options where you can manually select Low and Second gears (and sometimes Third) to provide engine braking when you're going downhill. You should only need to use these on steeper hills or when you're towing something. Engine braking is important on long downhill sections to reduce the chances of brake failure. When it's time to stop, as always check in your mirror for anything behind you. Indicate left, and keeping your eyes high, look ahead to where you are going to stop. Picture exactly where you are going to end up. Remember, if you are going downhill, it will take longer to stop. When stopping, take your foot off the accelerator, gently apply the brake, and leave the car in drive until you've come to a complete stop and have applied the handbrake. If you are leaving the car parked on a hill, remember to leave the handbrake on, the car in Park, and angle the front wheels into the kerb - left if you're facing downhill and right if you're facing uphill. (Music)