Basic Knowledge of Driving an Automatic Car for Beginners, Wrong Position of Transmission Lever Can Be Fatal
Currently, the population of automatic or automatic transmission cars is getting bigger on the road. The ease of operation due to the absence of a clutch pedal attracts many people. Plus, urban roads are quite congested, making automatic transmission the choice of many people.
The problem is, not everyone understands how to operate an automatic car because of the different characteristics of a manual transmission which makes it difficult to drive a transmission car without a clutch pedal. Including novice drivers who can only drive an automatic car but don't yet understand how.
Many accidents occur due to the wrong driver driving an automatic transmission car. So that this doesn't happen to you or your child who is learning to drive an automatic car, here are some tips you can learn.
1. Learn the Basic Operations of the Automatic Transmission Lever
The flow of the automatic transmission lever consists of P, R, N, D along with L, or 3, 2, and 1. You have to understand the function of the code on the automatic transmission lever so you don't make a mistake. For example, when you want to go forward or D, instead move the lever to R or backward. There have been cases of cars falling from parking buildings due to this error.
2. The car will definitely run when the lever is in D or R
Usually people who are just learning to drive an automatic car will be surprised because the car immediately moves slowly as soon as the lever moves to D or R because the engine and transmission are directly connected. This can cause panic.
The problem is, panic will make your brain work outside of consciousness, resulting in doing strange things. Such as swerving the steering wheel, activating both feet in the position of the left foot on the brake pedal, and most fatally pressing the gas pedal all the way which makes the car go fast.
3. You have to step on the brake pedal when changing gears
When the car is stopped, you must press the brake pedal when shifting gears, especially from and to P, R, N, and D. Because the engine and transmission are immediately connected, the car starts immediately if the brake pedal is not pressed.
Get used to pressing the brake pedal when moving the automatic transmission lever. This includes pulling the parking brake when the car is stopped for a long time, such as when parking. Except when the car is running, you can shift between D, L, 1, 2, and 3 without needing to step on the brake pedal.
4. Know the effects of insufficient engine braking
Automatic car drivers will panic when they have to brake with precision and in a short time because there is no engine braking effect. Actually there is still an engine brake, but the effect is not as strong as a manual car.
Because you don't know, panic will arise when you need the engine brake effect, so it will do something unexpected. Including when passing downhill roads because you must be able to utilize normal braking and the limited engine brake effect.
5. Rest the Left Foot
Don't use your left foot to step on the brake pedal because you are not used to it and it will be difficult to predict the amount of pressure. As a result, apart from making you feel nauseous when braking because the pressure is not smooth enough, it is also dangerous when emergency braking because you are not used to measuring the strength of your foot.
