People who do handbrake-neutral at the lights are..

[Kanga59]

..annoying. AIBU?

Why can't you just put your foot on the foot brake like normal people. Tsk

I'm a driver that cuts as many corners as possible, but even I put the handbrake on when stopped for more than a few seconds. I trust it to hold the car more firmly than my foot, should someone bash into me.

Well.. They are people who actually know how to drive.

It really is that simple.

Handbrake is for safety.

Neutral is financial - clutch is expensive to replace. So if your instructor owns the car they'll teach you about neutral. BSM I think the instructors hire the cars so care less about them.

Unless you're a money bags neutral when stopped for any period of time is the sensible thing.

Err... Sitting there with your foot on the clutch is going to wear your clutch out... Your choice and your bill to pay I guess🙄

I admit I know very little about cars but I rarely go into neutral and I have never had a worn out clutch. I had my last car for about 8 years and this one about 3 and have never had anything done to either clutch at service or MOT. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe it doesn't wear it out that much.

Learning to drive, instructor teaching me handbrake ALWAYS when stopped to avoid roll back (not necessarily neutral - but I'm learning in auto).

Nerr it does hugely depends on the car I think. Also it depends on how you use your car - if you live in a city, lots of queuing in traffic and traffic lights, the clutch wear is far higher than someone driving longer distances and only stopping at lights infrequently.

Oooh.... I never use the handbrake! (Apart from when I park). But then again I was always one for breaking the rules

If you're driving a sporty manual car you have to use the handbrake otherwise you'll stall when you try to pull away due to lack of feet

Sitting in neutral will not wear your clutch out. Riding the clutch or holding it at bitting point will cause wear though.

Once your foot is fully pressing down on the pedal then the friction plate is fully disengaged from the flywheel.

I am a mechanic.

In June this year I was stopped at traffic lights behind 3 other cars when a woman drove into the back of me at 50 mph. She was looking down at her phone at the time and hadn't noticed the traffic had stopped. She never touched her brakes. My boot ended up behind the drivers seat.

Her air bags saved her, she was pretty much unharmed.

The fact I'd got in neutral and had my handbrake on, and had left an appropriate distance between me and the car in front saved me and the guy in front of me. If I'd have been balancing on the clutch/ foot brake I'd have been smashed into the car in front and would have probably broken my neck. As it stood I came away with cracked ribs from the air bag, standard whiplashy type pain in my back and a head injury but nothing too serious.

Car was a complete write off and the one thing the police said to me which I actually took in was "Thank God you're one of the sensible ones who uses their handbrake, this could have been fatal if it wasnt for that"..

It's the rule for a reason.

What Pluto said.

It's never happened to me, but I've seen it happen (less dramatically - thank goodness you came out alive!), and it's the number one reason I come out of gear at the lights and leave plenty of space.

Especially since I generally have kids in the car, and I'm driving a truck so my first gear would have plenty of power to do a lot of damage to the car in front!

Gunny but isn't the issue people relaxing their legs whilst holding the clutch down so it's not fully depressed, thus causing wear? It being quite hard to maintain a complete hold on the clutch over any significant period of time as it's hard to keep the tension in your leg. That's what I was told.

ChocChocPorridge alive and extremely lucky with only minor injuries

Thankfully I was on my way back from work so no DP and no dogs in the car.

I also drive a 2 year old renault clio, never ever been so thankful for a 5 star NCAP safety rating and I'd now never buy a car with anything less than that. You don't notice it until it matters and you never know when it's going to matter!

The woman who hit me was in a new BMW too so she was also pretty much unhurt thankfully, if we'd have been in old bangers it would have killed us both outright, that's something else the police said. Scary, scary thing.

Ah that makes sense. I do have the clutch completely depressed.

I don't understand why this would be annoying?

I was rear ended by a Royal Mail van whilst sitting at a red traffic light on a dual carriageway and had I not had the handbrake on I would have ended up in a very dangerous position in the middle of a very busy junction.

People who are 3 cars back and sound the horn the millisecond that the lights have turned green are beyond annoying and would probably agree with the OP. Thanks for the reminder to use the handbrake though.

Gunny thanks for that, that is what I thought, but I'm not a car person so I was wondering if it was wrong.

I do keep the clutch fully depressed, it does make your leg ache, but not so much I'm worried it would cramp up or slip off.

This discussion piqued my curiosity and I Google and discovered Germans rarely use their handbrakes even for parking! So perhaps that is why it's not required here. I have been taught to use it to park, though.

some modern cars have start stop and this is how it operates - saves petrol :) Also is how you are meant to do it as keeping foot on clutch could cause you to burn clutch out - which is an expensive repair

sotired2 I refer you to my earlier post.

By the way anyone seen the OP?

I passed my test last year and I don't think I was ever taught to use handbrake at all traffic lights. Only to use it if expecting a long wait or on a hill/incline and was taught to hold the biting point for waiting, which seems to be the opposite of what most of you are saying should be done.😅

I do like using the handbrake to rest my legs especially if I've been driving a lot, I will keep in mind for the future.

Can't say I've ever been bothered by peoples brake lights but I absolutely hate driving at night only for the fact I get blinded by peoples super bright head lights and struggle to see/focus on the Rd.
Like a moth to a flame.

If you put the handbrake on and keep it in gear isn't that bad for the clutch?

Notagainmun No.