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Old 6th April 2022, 08:14   #30
polinsteve
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dashnine View Post
No, that's not the point (again). You're decelerating / braking from 60 mph to a stop, but something happens, the lights change, you decide to overtake the slowing car in front, etc. You're at 40mph - what gear are you in to accelerate?

5th with the clutch dipped? Gear change to 3rd.
2nd ready to pull away? Gear change to 3rd.

Both cases involve a delay, or a missed opportunity to react quickly.

Decelerate through the gears - you're already in third and good to go.
The premise of good driving revolves around the basics: All round observation, awareness drawn from those observations and anticipation using all information.
With your "What if something happens" point, we can extrapolate that. Firstly, it is rare indeed for an event to occur without warning. Secondly, before responding to an event situation awareness is critical before even thinking of accelerating. In the rarest of events where a hazard pointed to accelerating out of it, a competent driver assesses the circumstances by way of observation and awareness. Gear selection should, in tandem, be actioned for a worst case scenario. With awareness there will be no missed opportunities.
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