Quote:
Originally Posted by fridayfrs
Interesting. That isn't at all how my father taught me. He wouldn't allow me on the road if I needed the hand brake. Not slighting anyone that uses this technique. His drivers test was much worse than anything a state official could throw at me. I'm glad I learned as I did. I had to hold the car on a steep incline slipping the clutch before getting to go solo. I use the hand brake when I park the car and of course leave it in gear. It's such a habit I do it in the garage too. Oh well to each their own..
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Respectfully, I don't agree with you and your father - the handbrake is a standard piece of equipment, a tool that is very well suited to assist uphill starts and I see no reason not to use it for the purpose. Holding a vehicle on an incline using the clutch (same as doing it in AT car using the accelerator) is in my opinion bad technique which strains the clutch (or transmission) and may lead to premature wear or damage. It's discouraged not only by the FRS manual, but probably any car manual I have read.
Back to driver's ed. As some of you may have figured it out already from the kinds of errors I make writing in English, I am originally from Poland. Driver's exams used to be really tough in Poland when I took mine around 1990. US (VA) exam that I had to take a few years ago was a joke in comparison. Since 1990 the exams in Poland have become even tougher. One of multiple specific requirements now is starting on a steep uphill, with mandatory use of handbrake, you fail if the car stalls or rolls back more than 20 centimeters. MT of course.
So, apparently, the issue is treated very differently in different places and by different people.