Do you use your brakes - or gears?

[SEiGHT]

I use gears and lift off the accelerator as I approach a junction etc. However most of the people I know steam right up to a junction then slam on the brakes at the last minute.

It's all down to observation. If you are the sort of driver who looks where they are going, takes account of road conditions and other drivers, can look ahead of the car in front rather than at its bumper etc. then brake usage can be reduced a lot.

As for wearing out parts, so far my Renault has done 155k miles, it's on 3rd set of pads and still has original gearbox/clutch etc. so I think this is a bit of an old wive's tale.

[Fat Albert]

On the road I use brakes to slow and then take the correct gear for the speed to continue. (One thing at a time - with both hands on the wheel when braking)

The advanced technique is definatly Brakes/Gear/Acceleration

Clearly you should never drive on the road to same limits as you would on the track, however, should you have, in an emergency, to approach the adhesion limit on the road, please please please DON'T follow the above advice, the repeated weight transfers involved will unsettle the car, lower ultimate adhesion and might contribute to an avoidable accident.

Learn to brake and change gear at the same time using heel & toe and use it and engine braking all the time, cos it needs to be automatic when the unexpected occurs and disaster must be avoided.

Sawing at the wheel or the throttle might be fun but if you get away with it it's because you're going slower than you could if you were smooth.

[Buzz Billsberry]

Both braking and selecting the appropriate gear trying not to stop at juctions etc so I can just whip out....U know a tarmac terrorist!

Buzz

[Mike]

agree with a mixture of both. braking while using gears aswell so your in the right gear to take off again, if the traffic starts moving again beofre you stop.

mike