What is up with the UK obsession with the handbrake?!?!

No, you hold the car in place with your right foot on the regular brake.  When the light changes, put your left foot on the clutch, shift into first, take your right foot off the brake and quickly but smoothly give it some gas and release the clutch with your left foot.

Just a different way of doing things that bothers you because you learned differently.  Personally, I think the UK method is more cumbersome, but that's probably because I learned to drive in America.

If your break foot slips you could roll back, always safer to use handbrake.  Probably not necessary but they teach you the safest method.

If your break foot slips you could roll back, always safer to use handbrake.  Probably not necessary but they teach you the safest method.

I'm sure we could play "Hypothetical Failures that Prove UK Driving Methods Superior" all day long.  Seeing as there doesn't seem to have been an epidemic of "foot slipping roll-back" accidents in the United States, I'm going to keep driving the way I originally learned.

To me, the issue that the OP brings up is the important one.  If you spend 20 years driving one way, it's going to be an adjustment to drive a different way.  For Americans getting licensed in the UK there are enough obstacles to overcome - other side of the road, other side of the car, standard transmission (for some people), roundabouts, narrower roads, different signage - without throwing other stuff into the mix.

If both methods of holding a car at a red light are equally valid - and I believe they are - I say do whichever one makes you most comfortable on the road.  I'd much rather that than a relatively new UK driver get stressed at a red light over braking methods.

When I took my driving lessons here, DH explained to me that it's safer to use the hand brake at lights even if it's not on a hill.

His reasons (which makes sense to me now):

If you're stopped at a red light with your foot on the brake (no hand brake) and a car hits you from behind, you're not going to be in control of the car and your foot is likely to come off the brake, making your car go even further into another stopped car, moving traffic or crossing pedestrians.

If you're stopped at a red light and you've got your hand brake on, you'll not go as far if you're hit from behind. Even though you're still not in control of the car, you've still helped to prevent a possibly bigger accident.

I've been rear ended and seen cars run red lights and I think any precaution that can become habit and natural is worth taking.

I know it's a lot of 'what ifs' and uncommon scenarios, but for me, it totally makes sense to use the hand brake (even though I learned to drive in the US).

I'm sure we could play "Hypothetical Failures that Prove UK Driving Methods Superior" all day long.  Seeing as there doesn't seem to have been an epidemic of "foot slipping roll-back" accidents in the United States, I'm going to keep driving the way I originally learned.

To me, the issue that the OP brings up is the important one.  If you spend 20 years driving one way, it's going to be an adjustment to drive a different way.  For Americans getting licensed in the UK there are enough obstacles to overcome - other side of the road, other side of the car, standard transmission (for some people), roundabouts, narrower roads, different signage - without throwing other stuff into the mix.

If both methods of holding a car at a red light are equally valid - and I believe they are - I say do whichever one makes you most comfortable on the road.  I'd much rather that than a relatively new UK driver get stressed at a red light over braking methods.

Seeing as the majority of people in the USA drive automatics, you can see why they don't really push the use of a handbreak to stop rolling back.

Seeing as the majority of people in the USA drive automatics, you can see why they don't really push the use of a handbreak to stop rolling back.

I'd be curious to know what technique was taught in the US prior to the introduction of automatic transmission.

I'd be curious to know what technique was taught in the US prior to the introduction of automatic transmission.

How would this have worked with 'on the column' shifting?  You wouldn't have enough hands!  Well, I guess you would as much as you do now, but it seems really complicated and long hand movements!

 

I'd be curious to know what technique was taught in the US prior to the introduction of automatic transmission.

I can't drive a stick (yet) but I asked my mom because the topic piqued my interest. Now she grew up in rural Arkansas and I would guess her dad taught her to drive maybe even a tractor haha. But she said she did shifting was on the steering column and she was never taught to use a handbrake. So that's at least one example of not being taught to use a handbrake...I can't pretend to know anything about cars in Britain at that time...did they have the gear shift on the steering column too?

I'd be curious to know what technique was taught in the US prior to the introduction of automatic transmission.

It's a misconception that no one drives a manual in the US. I lived in a small mountain town where nearly everyone drove a manual. I learned to drive a manual in the US and was taught that the "handbrake" is used for parking. If you are driving up a mountain in traffic and don't know how to go up a hill without using a handbrake you'd probably arrive at your destination with your handbrake completely shot. Not to mention it'd be super annoying! Most often I had to park the car on a hill so you wanted the parking brake to be fully functional so your car didn't roll away!

Not to mention the fact that my first vehicle was a pickup truck where the "handbrake" was a massive pull out lever that you had to duck under the dash to find, then pull with all your might while twisting it to lock it in place. It be nearly impossible to do a British hill start with one of those! You could probably do it.... But your head would be ducked under the dashboard... Which wouldn't be safe!

What do British people do with pickup trucks or SUVs where the parking brake is a lever on the floor that you kick into place with your foot??

Cars with that sort of hand brakes will be automatic

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Cars with that sort of hand brakes will be automatic

Mercedes uses a floor operated parking brake on all it's cars including manual transmissions.  They always have.  Press it down to engage and pull a release lever under the dash to disengage it.  Most people hate it, but it's "their thing."

Some high end cars have parking brake buttons instead of manual pull levers (BMW 7-series comes to mind).  Just push/pull a button on the dash to set the parking brake. 

I've seen a few brands that have a setup where parking brake will automatically set whenever the car is stopped and disengage itself when the gas pedal is pressed. 

No, you hold the car in place with your right foot on the regular brake.  When the light changes, put your left foot on the clutch, shift into first, take your right foot off the brake and quickly but smoothly give it some gas and release the clutch with your left foot.

Just a different way of doing things that bothers you because you learned differently.  Personally, I think the UK method is more cumbersome, but that's probably because I learned to drive in America.

I just think that is not being in control as you will roll back however slightly

To me, the issue that the OP brings up is the important one.  If you spend 20 years driving one way, it's going to be an adjustment to drive a different way.  For Americans getting licensed in the UK there are enough obstacles to overcome - other side of the road, other side of the car, standard transmission (for some people), roundabouts, narrower roads, different signage - without throwing other stuff into the mix.

If both methods of holding a car at a red light are equally valid - and I believe they are - I say do whichever one makes you most comfortable on the road.  I'd much rather that than a relatively new UK driver get stressed at a red light over braking methods.

But they will actually be failed for doing that, so therefore it is in the mix.

If your break foot slips you could roll back, always safer to use handbrake.  Probably not necessary but they teach you the safest method.

If you are driving in the mountains, where you might be on a "hill" for 100 miles or so it's not very safe to not know how to go uphill without your parking brake. With heavy use it could fail, then what would you do?  Obviously there aren't really mountains in the uk where you'd be traveling uphill for that length of time, So I guess that's why they don't teach it here.

My father had a manual when I was learning to drive, and he required me to spend as much time driving his car as I did my mother's automatic. He only told me about the hill and hand brake thing because I was struggling, but also said I shouldn't do it except on really steep hills, as it wears out the brake.

I've always considered it cheating, tbh. But when I first started to drive a manual in Europe, I was in Switzerland with a giant, 20 year old Audi 100. On the very steep ramps where I got stuck in traffic in parking garages, it was a godsend. I quit doing that, except in exceptional circumstances, once I got rid of that boat!

I don't use it now, due partially to having good clutch control (my instructor once commented that my clutch control was as good as his...) and my current car has a pause which holds you in place when you're on an incline to hold you. I find that annoys me far more than it helps, but there's no way to disconnect it.

My father had a manual when I was learning to drive, and he required me to spend as much time driving his car as I did my mother's automatic. He only told me about the hill and hand brake thing because I was struggling, but also said I shouldn't do it except on really steep hills, as it wears out the brake.

I've always considered it cheating, tbh. But when I first started to drive a manual in Europe, I was in Switzerland with a giant, 20 year old Audi 100. On the very steep ramps where I got stuck in traffic in parking garages, it was a godsend. I quit doing that, except in exceptional circumstances, once I got rid of that boat!

I don't use it now, due partially to having good clutch control (my instructor once commented that my clutch control was as good as his...) and my current car has a pause which holds you in place when you're on an incline to hold you. I find that annoys me far more than it helps, but there's no way to disconnect it.

I'm not sure what gave him that idea!