About a month before Diwali the auto
companies were in full force offering new cars and extolling the latest
fitments that were being offered.
One feature used by more than one
manufacturer was ‘Hill Hold’.What does this mean? And how does it help the
driver?
Example, if you are crawling up a hill in
stop and go mode, like at a toll booth, there is every chance that at some
stage you may roll back. You will bump the car behind you and this could start
an altercation. Hill hold prevents just that. It will not allow your car to
slide back or forward.
None of the old cars had this feature.
So here is the procedure for moving off
uphill and from a red light. It is a recommended procedure around the world. It
is a must!
If you don’t follow this procedure while
sitting for a driving test you may get a rebuke from the instructor, “read your
manual, come in three months”!
This is the proper procedure and there cannot
be a deviation.
Get into your car, close the door properly.
So often you see a half closed door. Start the car, lower the window, put on
seat belt, check the lights on the dashboard. As the engine warms up adjust
your mirrors, AC, radio and whatever else. Once on the road do not fiddle
around with these controls, concentrate on driving.
Next put the car into gear and then, only
then, release the handbrake.
Had you been on a uphill slope, this will
prevent you from slipping backwards.
All this was a manual operation. Many cars
today are equipped with ‘hill hold control’. Without going into this manual
procedure, the car will automatically ‘hold’ and not slide back while stopped
on a slope.
Waiting at a red light, your car should be in
neutral, foot on footbrake, handbrake on.
Why? In case you get hit from the rear, the
car will stay put, hopefully! Depends on the impact force!
If the car was in gear, your foot depressing
the clutch and you got bumped, your reaction may allow the foot to slip off the
clutch pedal and the car will jump forward. Ramming the car in front!
In Switzerland if you are the first car at a
red light next to the stop line , the Zebra Crossing is ahead of you. A
policeman may peer into the car. He checks if handbrake is on, foot on the
footbrake, car in neutral. Why? In case of a rear-ender, the car will shoot
forward, and could knock down a frail old lady on the Zebra Crossing.
A Swiss driving license is one of the most
difficult to get. They are extremely strict in issuing licenses. And even
stricter in enforcing road rules! Informatively, I have held a Swiss driving
license and passed on a first test!
How difficult is it to get a Swiss driving
license? In Switzerland if you fail your driving test four times, you need to
get “a positive psychological assessment on your ability to drive”, before you
can appear for another test. I think this is a polite way of declaring you
mentally retarded! The point is clear. If you cannot pass a test in four
attempts, you should not be on the road!