First time in the driver seat

When it comes to driving and time to learn how to drive for the first time there is a few things first to do before starting and to move off.

The first time behind the wheel is always scary but with patience and guidance the proses is easy and you will start driving soon.

When it is your first time behind the wheel the first thing that you have to learn is the components of the vehicle and to understand what is the function of these components are.

It is important that you know each function of the components before starting your vehicle.

On your first driving lesson you will be learned the "cockpit drill" this will learn you how to adjust your seat adjusting the mirrors, also learn you to safely move off and to safely stop.

Butt before we get to the "cockpit drill" lets have a look at the components of a vehicle.

When your first lessons is with a vehicle that is operated manually it means that such vehicle will have a clutch pedal and a gear lever that you should manually operate in order to move off.

In a manual vehicle the clutch pedal will be a verry important component, it is the one component in the vehicle that makes everything works.

What is a clutch pedal and why is it so important in a manual vehicle ?

The clutch pedal function is to disconnect the transmission from the engine, in order for this to happen you should press the clutch pedal completely, when the clutch pedal is pressed it separates the engine from the gearbox.

The reason why it separates the gearbox from the engine is because the gearbox is the one that makes the wheels turn, the front wheels of a vehicle "if it is a front wheel drive" will be joint with a inner cv joint and a outer cv joint these cv joints will have a shaft between them this is then connected with the gearbox.

When you press the clutch pedal it separate the engine from the gearbox so that you can select a gear, when you start releasing the clutch the engine and gearbox joins and the wheels will start moving.

"Now that the car is moving it means that the gearbox is pulling the wheels"

When it comes to stopping the vehicle you should remember that you should press the clutch pedal to stop the gearbox from moving the wheels if you don't and only using your brake pedal the vehicle will stall.

The reason why this will happen is because the foot brake only stops the wheels and not separating the gearbox from the engine, if you don't press the clutch pedal the gearbox will keep pulling the wheels, and the car will stall.

The same for the hand brake the hand brake again only works on the rear wheels of your vehicle, the foot brake pedal works on all wheels and stopping all wheels from moving, while the hand brake only keeps the back wheels locked.

The hand brakes function is to ensure that your vehicle does not move while stationary, meaning that when your vehicle is in neutral and your foot brake is not pressed.

Now to come back to the clutch pedal, the clutch pedal is essential and plays a big role in driving a manual vehicle without the clutch pedal you will not be able to move off, to stop properly and will not be able to change gears at all, its important to know this before start learning how to drive if you know how a vehicle works then the learning proses is much easier to maneuver and to understand.

know that you understand the functions of the clutch pedal, brake pedal and hand brake, you can begin with the "cock pit drill".

when you start with your first driving lesson you will first be instructed to adjust your seat correctly, so that you are comfortable and be able to reach all components.

for your first time in the driver seat you will probably learn:

1.  how to move off and how to stop a vehicle.

2.  how to start a vehicle and what to do before starting the vehicle.

3. how to operate the hand brake.

Before starting your vehicle you should always ensure that the hand brake is up, and that the vehicle is in neutral.

When starting the vehicle for the first time you will turn the ignition in a clockwise direction the first turn will switch on the instrument cluster on the dashboard, showing you all the warning lights.

The second turn will start the vehicle, once the vehicle has started you should release the key and not keep it turned, when you keep the key turned while the engine runs it will damage your vehicles starter.

When vehicle is started all the warning lights will go off except the one of the hand brake, because your hand brake is up.

Now that the vehicle is started it does not mean it is just going to move by it own, you are the operator of the vehicle and the vehicle will do what you want it to do.

It is just like when you start ridding a bicycle for the first time, you are operating the bicycle to start moving the only difference is, is that you are the engine when you start to pedal the bicycle starts to move.

Before you start to learn how to move off with the vehicle you must know how to operate the hand brake.

To release the hand brake from holding the back wheels, you should press the button of the hand brake lift it up slightly until you hear a click noise, and then lower the hand brake.

When pulling up the hand brake press the button and pull up the hand brake until it can't go further, and then release the button, you should not pull up the hand brake without using the mechanism ( button ) 

this will damage your hand brakes teeth that are grabbing to hold the hand brake in place.

Next how to know if your gear is in neutral, before you can start the vehicle you must ensure that the vehicle is in neutral, place your hand on the gear lever and push it to the left and then to the right, when the lever can go all the way to the left and to the right then the vehicle is in neutral.

When moving off for the first time with a vehicle you will be instructed to make sure the vehicle's hand brake is up and that the vehicle is in neutral, turn the ignition and start the vehicle.

once the vehicle is started press the clutch pedal down fully, keep the clutch pedal down and then select gear number one, start to release the clutch pedal slowly up ( do not release clutch pedal fast this will cause vehicle to stall ) while you releasing the clutch pedal you will notice a change on the vehicle's idling, this means that the vehicle is starting to take the power of the engine and that the engine and gearbox is joining, you should not release the clutch pedal fully, you only release it until you can feel there is a change on the idling of the vehicle you will also notice that the vehicle's front part ( hood ) is rising slightly this indicates that the vehicle is ready to move, keep your foot steady on the clutch pedal when you notice the vehicle's front is rising, this is called clutch control, you are controlling the clutch by holding your foot steady on the pedal, remember that the only thing keeping you from moving now is the hand brake, the hand brake keeps the back wheels locked from moving, when you release the handbrake keep your foot steady on the clutch pedal and the vehicle will move off smoothly.

once the vehicle starts to move do not take foot immediately off from the clutch pedal, wait until the vehicle have motion then you can release the clutch fully.

The most important thing to learn in driving is to know how to move off and how to stop a vehicle, the rest is in between.