#jessian

Pedals

On the first day of driving school, I was thought the functions of the switches and levers in the car. First, there are three pedals, from left to right are the clutch, brake, and the gas. On your right, there is a hand break and gear shift, you can easily tell one from the other because the gearshift has numbers on it (some cars don’t have a hand break, but instead a foot brake that functions similarly, it is located at the fourth pedal from your right.). 

Wiper and Light signal controls

And in front of you is the steering wheel and two levers. The lever on the right is for the wind shield and on the left is the controls for the headlights and turn signals (some cars have the positions switched).

What now?

The clutch and the gear shift are features exclusive to manual cars, it is what differentiates an automatic from a manual. The clutch functions as a safety device that prevents the engine from stopping when the car is not moving, stepping on it also allows you to turn on the engine with your car key. The gear shift allows you to change gears and to drive in reverse. However you are only able to move the gearshift when you step on the clutch.

As a beginner, I encountered many problems beginners face when driving a car. Not being able to start your car smoothly and not being able to shift gears properly are one of the many problems that manual transmission drivers, such as myself, come across when they are not experienced.

This lack of experience can result to your engine dying, preventing the car from moving and causing inconvenience to you and other motorists. But with time and practice, I too will soon overcome barriers like these and hopefully, barriers in school as well.