The Controlled Stop in Your Driving Test - New Cars | Car Style | Car Technology | Car Reviews | Car Gadgets | Car Rental Info | Car Insurance | Car Finance | Classic Cars - There used to be a real skill in bringing a car to an emergency stop whilst trying to prevent a skid. The Anti- Lock Braking System prevents your braking wheels from locking and so the car will not skid for any significant time. The Controlled Stop is not counted as a manoeuvre so if you are asked to perform it it will be as well as either the Turn in the Road, Reverse Around a Corner or Parallel Park. Not everyone will be asked to complete it with usually 1 in 3 learners getting it on their tests.
In older cars without the anti-lock brakes you would brake hard with the aim of the car stopping as soon as possible. At some point though the wheels would lock and you would go into a skid. When a car is skidding it will take a lot longer to come to a stop than if it wasnt. You would need to get out of the skid by quickly coming off the brake and just as quickly re-applying the brake again. By coming off the brake you are releasing the wheels from the lock, and then re-applying it again to continue stopping. If the car started to skid again you would repeat.
With ABS the car does all of this for you. Now all you need to do is press the brake hard, put the clutch down to stop the car from stalling followed by pressing the brake progressively harder again to bring the car to a quick stop. If the wheels lock and the car skids it will only last for a fraction of a second as the ABS kicks in. You will feel a slight rumble from the brake pedal as the car automatically lifts the brakes slightly and back on again very quickly. This will not affect your braking and the car will come to a stop.
For the Controlled Stop your instructor / examiner would direct you to pull over on the side of the road on a quiet street. It will never be sprung on you as a surprise! As you move off and gradually accelerate the examiner will have a look behind to make sure there are no vehicles behind you. Then at a time of their choosing they will put their arm out and say STOP. You will then be required to react as quickly and bring the car to a stop as soon as you can. Once stopped you need to bring the handbrake up, select 1st gear, prepare the car, complete all your observations and slowly move off again when it is safe to do so.
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