A DRIVING instructor has revealed THREE ways your shifting gears wrong – and how to correct them.
The expert shared his helpful advice for those crunching the gearbox, and stalling their car when they hit the road.
In a useful video posted on YouTube, the motor whizz explained a common error is forcing the gear stick into first instead of third.
This happens when the driver pushes too hard in a straight line up from second.
To correct the mistake, make sure you “gently” push the gear stick up, “let it go for a moment”, then push to the right and up again.
Another frequent error this driving instructor finds is a clunky shift from third to second gear which ends up landing into fourth by mistake.
This can lead the car to shake and stall, which could hold up traffic or possibly cause an accident.
To avoid this glitch, make sure to “gently push down” from third, “let it go for a moment”, push to the left and pull down.
Key points to remember throughout are “not to force” and “not to rush”.
In his final lesson, the instructor demonstrated how some drivers fall into a trap, shifting from fourth to fifth, and ending up in third instead.
When this happens, the car can lurch forward, leaving the driver at risk of a collision.
To ensure a smooth transition from fourth to fifth, “gently push up to the middle”, “using palm method push to the right”, “then gently push up” again.
Learner drivers hailed the simple advice.
“Nice, easy to learn”, posed one grateful student.
“Thank you, its easy to understand,” penned another,
“Wow, very interesting,” agreed a third.
It comes as another driving instructor offered five tips you should never forget.
Seb Goldin, CEO of RED Driving has shared his golden rules, from always allowing extra reaction time, to remembering the street light rule.
And, another teacher revealed the exact morning routine to follow to help pass your test.
Abdur, of the YouTube channel DrivingTV, gave his top tips to help nervous candidates on the big day.
According to the driving guru, it’s essential that new drivers are mentally prepared on the day of the test.
Plus, one driving instructor has become the first in the UK to specialise in potholes.
Matthew Worthington, 35, offers“pothole avoidance lessons” after his students became anxious when trying to navigate them.
Meanwhile, thousands of learner drivers stand the serious risk of having their licence being cancelled before even passing their test – don’t be caught out.
Top THREE common mistakes
A driving instructor shared three common gear shift mistakes and how to correct them
- Forcing the gear stick too hard from second and it ends up in fourth instead of third
- Pushing down too forcefully from third gear into second rather than fourth
- Shifting from fourth gear into fifth and ending up in third