Driving uphill can be a tough ask for new and inexperienced drivers. When any object moves upwards, the force of gravity pulls it downwards. Therefore, to keep your car stable and prevent the car from being rolled down the incline, drivers need to exercise a lot of care
When driving on an incline, switching gears, braking and acceleration is different as compared to the usual normal driving. In this guide, we will discuss the following points pertaining to uphill driving:
- Steep Hill Driving Tips
- What Gear to Use When Driving Uphill?
- Hill Assist Control in Cars
Tips on How to Safely Drive on an Incline
How hard should I press the accelerator? In which gear should I drive? These are some of the questions that may arise in the mind of the driver if they are new to driving uphill.
When driving uphill, you should follow these steps:
Doing a Hill Start
The first step when driving on an incline is doing a hill start. Hill Start Assist is a feature that automatically activates to stop your car from rolling back when you press and release the brakes on the incline. If you want to know if your car has a hill start assist feature, apply the brake and press it for about 10 seconds. If the car instantly goes down the hill when you release the brake, your car does not have a hill assist feature. If the car goes down after staying for a few seconds, then your car has the hill assist feature.
Using the Handbrake
Start with your handbrake on. Press the clutch fully and select first gear. Push down gently on the accelerator while bringing the clutch up slowly. Check it’s safe to move, then release the handbrake whilst holding the clutch to about its biting point until the car starts to move forwards.
Using the Emergency Brake
Engage the emergency brake. The emergency brake, in most cars with a manual transmission, is usually found to the right of the driver’s seat in the centre console area or between the front two seats. It could be a pull lever under the dash if you have an older model vehicle or a foot-operated brake on the left of all the other pedals on the driver’s side. If you’re having trouble finding it, look in your car’s owner manual.
Using the Clutch
Step on the clutch with your left foot, put the car in first gear and use your right foot for the accelerator. You don’t need to put a foot on the brake since the emergency brake will hold your car in place. As soon as you feel the car begins to drive forward, release the emergency brake.
Accelerating When Driving Uphill
Continue to accelerate and completely release the clutch. You won’t need to use the emergency brake once you’re more experienced and can rapidly switch your foot from brake to accelerator. One of the most common reasons why your car won’t move uphill is a lack of sufficient revs to move the car off or pulling up the clutch too quickly. Make sure you’re pressing hard enough on the accelerator to get enough revs, and bring the clutch up to its biting point gradually.
Hill Assist Control in Cars
Like hill descent control system enables safe driving down steep roads, hill start assist assists the driver in driving up the slope. Some prominent cars known to have the hill assist control feature include Volkswagen Passat (from 2005 onwards), Volkswagen Jetta (from 2011 onwards) and Volkswagen Phaeton and Touareg (from 2004 onwards).
This concludes our guide about how to drive uphill without rolling back. It is recommended that you practice driving on less steeper slopes before driving on steep hills. If you are interested in cars with a hill start assist feature, check out this huge collection of used cars for sale in the UAE at reasonable rates.
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