Gear Changing 5472

That would be because, as I have pointed out many times here, Roadcraft is NOT and never has been a book that you can pick up, read and put into practice. It is a syllabus that MUST be accompanied by proper instruction in its understanding and application if you are to get the best from it.

What it may not spell out in words of one syllable, but is quite obvious when read properly, is that the phases of the system are to be separated. "...each feature is considered in sequence..." . That means that the gearchange (singular) comes *after* the speed selection.

The teaching hasn't really changed since roadcraft was introduced in 1937. Lord Cottenhams "System" remained untouched until the "dumbed down" version was introduced in the new, politically corrected edition.

Changing down through the gears whilst braking is deprecated because every time you release the clutch there is a possibility that you will snatch the release and, on a slippery road surface, there is a good possibility that it could lock the rear-front wheels. The only way to avoid that is to not release the clutch on a relaxed throttle and the only way to do that is to heel-toe and match the engine and roadspeed perfectly. Apart from being a very difficult thing to do well, the pedal layout of most modern cars is wholly unsuited to it and anyway, unlocking a set of locked wheels is much easier if they were locked by the brakes rather than the gears.

Changing down whilst braking is unnecessary, less smooth, mechanically unsympathetic and carries a higher risk of getting things wrong.