30/05/2017
LESSON 4 (PART IIb): THE PEDALS
The pedals are one of the most essential parts of the vehicle and I dare say that without them it will be difficult if not impossible to move the vehicle. They lie a little above the floor of the vehicle far below the steering wheel. In an automatic transmitted vehicle they are two but, three in a manual transmitted one.
They are the clutch, the brake and the accelerator as labelled in the picture below. Study it carefully before you sit to move the vehicle.
The clutch
It disengages the gear box and allow for you to be able to select or change gear. When your engine is switched off, the gear lever is flexible even without the aid of the clutch pedal. However, it gets hard and immovable as soon as you start the engine or your vehicle is in motion.
You must therefore press it fully down before selecting or changing from one gear to another. It is non negotiable! It is also used to stop smoothly. In stopping a manual transmitted vehicle, you must first disengage the gear box by selecting neutral gear or pressing down the clutch pedal fully. If you do not do that, you will stall the vehicle rather than stop. The left foot is used to operate the clutch pedal.
The brake
This is the pedal that you press to slow down or come to a complete halt. Stopping can be in three folds, thus obligatory, mandatory or emergency. We will study them in subsequent topics. You must learn how to use the brake pedal and the nature of the brakes of the particular vehicle you are to drive before driving along on the road. It is in the middle of the clutch pedal (left) and accelerator pedal (right).
The accelerator
By far, it dictates the pace of the moving vehicle. The harder you press it, the faster the vehicle goes. It is linked to the carburetor which distributes fuel to the appropriate chambers of the engine. You must therefore note that trying to speed at once by pressing the accelerator pedal hard without allowing for the engine to pull up on its own consumes excessive fuel. It is to the right of the brake pedal and shares the right foot with the brake pedal because you cannot move and stop simultaneously.
- For learner drivers, it is common to mistake one pedal for the other in your first few lessons. However, you can easily remember them by reading ABC from right to left for accelerator pedal (A), brake pedal (B) and clutch pedal (C) respectively.
Thank you and catch you in our next lesson. Until then, remember to stay safe. Bye!
Cc
National Road Safety Commission
Safe Road Usage
Bagna Driving Academy
