Is it legal for a learner to be in first gear whilst waiting at traffic lights?
Answers:
Being in 1st gear is not illegal. When I was learning to drive (5 yrs ago) I was told by my driving instructor that when at traffric lights if I am not first in line I should put handbrake on and sit in neutral. If i was first in the queue then it would be ok to sit in 1st gear at bite point as it showed you were able to control the car too. The driving instructor wants to see that you are in control.
Highway code says neutral and so does conventional testing rules. However there is no law in the UK regarding this.
I thought you had to be in neutral?!
you have to be in neutral with the handbrake on thats what i was taught anyway
Legality aside being in first gear with the clutch depressed wears out the clutch faster.
You are ment to be in neutral with handbrake on, but i tend to be in gear with my foot on the footbrake !!
but then my car is an Automatic ! lol
you would have to be in neutral with your hand break on but dont know if theres a law agaist it
are you with a licenced instructor or learning with a parent or friend. an instructor tells you which gear to be in at traffic lights and that you should have on your handbrake.
You don't say where you're from, so we have no clue as to the laws that might apply.
Agree w/ the poster, that your throwout bearing will wear out faster if you sit there w/ the clutch depressed while in first gear.
In addition, if you are in involved in an accident while sitting there, and your foot slips off of the clutch and brake (bonus points if you panic and hit the gas pedal) then you've got another problem as well (seen it happen).
Finally, do whatever the instructor and examiner wants you to do in order to pass that driving test.
In the US motor vehicle laws are by state, so it depends on what state the vehicle is being operated in. The fact that we're talking about a learner's permit may bring the laws of the issuing state into the issue, if operating outside the issuing state.
My guess is that few if any states have laws regarding this, and even if they do exist, it would be exceedingly difficult for a police officer to observe and prosecute this, and even were one to observe it, he would not be likely to worry about it unless the driver were doing something else illegal.
Thus, almost certainly (though it depends on the case) the answer to your question is yes, it is legal. However, as has been noted it's better practice to keep the car in neutral, so that is what should be done, though for mechanical rather than legal reasons.
Think the only time you have to put car in neutral and put handbrake on is at a stop sign.
you can leave it in 1st but you must pull the handbrake in if you take more than 3 seconds standing still anywhere. You really dont want to if you stand for along time coz the pedal can get really heavy! :)
You have to be in neutral, my sister went through this with her instructor, I told her that he was teaching her wrong and he admitted that your supposed to be in neutral with hand brake on.
your not supposed to leave it in gear for safety reasons and for your car
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