When driving an automatic car....................................?

Question

If stopping at the traffic lights do I :
1) put the car into N > handbrake on and R foot on the floor
2) put the car into D> handbrake on and R foot on the brake
3) put the car into P> handbrake on and R foot on the floor.
My husband says:- keep car in D> R foot on the brake and handbrake on.
I feel this is dangerous, in case one's foot slips off the brake !?
Please help me settle a very heated discussion. Many thanks.

I would love to hear from a "CURRENT WORKING" British driving instructor please. Thx sofar!!!

Thx paul w, appreciate your 2 options.

Answer 1

Keep the car in D with your foot on the brake. There is no need to put on the emergency brake.

Answer 2

My God, how on earth have all these people passed a driving test??
As an ex driving instructor, who used to teach in both manual and automatic cars, I can tell you that the correct practise in the UK is as follows:
Approach the lights, brake. when you have stopped, apply handbrake and select neutral. Once lights change, select drive, apply footbrake, release handbrake, go.
If a driver sits with only the footbrake applied, with the car in drive, they will fail the test.
Maybe the fact most people do what some of the incorrect answers suggest is the reason why many autos wear prematurely and also seem to suffer from seizure of their handbrake mechanism.

Edit: OK Paul W, you spotted my typo, now corrected. No need to get so snooty about it, everyone thinks we're wrong anyway!

Answer 3

Many cars are only available in automatic here, and some cars that come with a manual transmission are not stocked by most dealers. Smaller cars, and sporty cars are more likely to be available with a manual transmission. Many larger and luxury vehicles do not even have that option. In the last 30 years, fewer and fewer drivers have learned how to drive the manual transmissions. In fact, there are even tractor trailers and fire engines that have automatic transmissions now. They are easier to drive, and there is less chance of an inexperienced driver destroying the clutch by not shifting correctly. I can drive either, and all my personal vehicles have automatic transmissions. They are easier to drive in traffic (and where I live there is traffic at all times, including 3 AM) All rental car companies (with the exception of specialty rentals) have all automatic vehicles. Even consumer truck rental companies have all automatic vehicles. Anyone can drive an automatic, there are quite a few who cannot drive a manual.

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Answer 4

Don't need to put the car in P at traffic lights. I drive an automatic and it won't go anywhere even if you lift off the brake. Try it on a hill - in drive the car will not roll down if you are in D and you have your foot off the brake.

You don't ever need the handbrake with an automatic.

Sorry, your husband is right (apart from the handbrake bit)!

Answer 5

There're are two issues here, one about whether to select neutral and the other about the brakes.

With regard to the neutral issue, keep it in Drive; going in and out of neutral causes more wear than is necessary.

Regarding the brakes, the principal is that if you have time to put the handbrake on then do so. You should not sit with your foot on the brake as this a) can eventually cause disc warping, and b) the glare from your brake lights inconveniences drivers behind you.

Having said that, it's a good defensive idea to dab your footbrake anyway to show your brake lights until you're sure the driver behind you has noticed that you've stopped!

Answer 6

If you keep your foot on the brake when there is a car immediately behind you, you are blinding the person behind with your brake lights, which is an offence in the UK. (You must not use your lights in any way which may cause annoyance to other road users).
If you keep the car in drive your are causing increased load on the engine, so using more fuel.
The correct procedure is the same as in a manual car - handbrake on and select neutral. Anything else is just lazyness.

Answer 7

Depending on the time you are stationery you can either;
Sit with the car in drive with the handbrake on or with the car in neutral with the handbrake on.
Never sit with your foot on the brake. Brake discs generate a lot of heat and sitting with the footbrake on will, in time, warp the discs as they cool.
When moving off, footbrake ON, select drive, release the hanbrake then release the footbrake.
Both the above methods are acceptable on the driving test.

Further to the above, you will notice that you can move the selector from neutral to drive and back again without having to press the selector-lock on the lever or negotiating a gate.
It's built like that for this purpose. In fact, on most cars you can move it from reverse to neutral to drive and back to neutral without pressing any buttons, reverse from neutral is locked so you can't mistakenly put it into reverse when moving off from traffic lights!


6/11/07, biggi, I am!


Evelyn the modified dog...Sorry mate, it just wound me up that nobody knows how to drive these things. Snootyness removed!!!

Answer 8

The advantage of solution 2 is that you can move off promptly with no need to move the selector lever, but should your foot leave the brake pedal accidentally you will either stall the engine or move off unexpectedly!
Solution 1 is the safest option. One selects park when the car has stopped and after the ignition is turned off. Not apprpriate when at traffic lights! When in park the engine acts as a brake and the vehicle cannot be moved at all.

Answer 9

At a traffic light:
1. Keep the car in drive.
2. Keep your right foot on the brake.
3. Don't even think of touching the handbrake!

Answer 10

Car in drive . Foot on brake. hands on steering wheel. Handbrake is for parking , not driving. Your foot should not slip off the brake pedal unless you have a motor control disease , or you dropped your smoke when reaching for your coffee with your cell phone stuck on your shoulder talking to your friend while eating a sandwich

Answer 11

the two ppl who said put it in neutral are obviously stark raving bonkers and more than likely have never drove a car in there life a completely wrong way and very dangerous automatics are designed to to be driven without resorting to neutral and under no circumstances would it damage the gearbox . the correct way as stated is leave in D with foot on brakeand the handbrake should never ever be applied unless the engine is turned off