The Emergency Stop
As part of your practical driving test you may be asked to complete an Emergency Stop. This is not a manoeuvre, it is an additional task and you have a one in 3 chances of getting it in your test.
At 4front Driving School we describe a situation to our students that delivers a senario. Imagine a child had stepped out in-front of your moving vehicle. You would need to react almost instantly to avoid harming the child, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt but safe stop.
To represent an emergency situation the examiner will say they will raise his/her hand and call out STOP! At which point you need to react.
To do this you are expected to hit the brake pedal as quickly and firmly as possible to bringing the vehicle to a stop as quickly and as safely as possible. Don’t be afraid to hit the pedal hard, it is designed to deal with this kind of abuse.
You are expected to apply the clutch after the brake pedal and not before to stop the engine stalling or cutting out, but if you apply it to early then the car will travel further.
In a real emergency situation, if you apply the clutch after the brake and do this correctly then this will also save time, help you control the vehicle and help you out if you have to move on quickly.
When you hit the brake pedal to complete the emergency stop there is no time to look in your mirrors before hand, so you are not expected too in your test. You are expected however to be a safe driver who will keep looking around, checking your mirrors on regular intervals throughout the time you are driving so that you are aware of everything and everyone around you.
Do not attempt to signal and keep both hands on the steering wheel for maximum control.
Once you have come to a stop, apply the parking brake, and select neutral. The examiner will say something like, “thank you, I won’t be asking you to do that again, When you are ready please drive on.”
If the engine has stalled, try not to get flustered and simply restart the car.
Now it’s time to get the car ready in first gear, remove the parking brake and observe all mirrors and over both shoulders checking all blind spots, making sure there are no cars, bikes or other road users passing you.
Want to read up on manoeuvres?
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