This video is one of, if not the best video for beginners. Belive it or not, many people don't understand why your feet position is important when driving, and many people never get educated about it and they struggle starting with manual. Thanks for the video!
I've taken sooo many driving lessons and paid very good money. I ran into the issues he described and asked my driving instructors how to remedy them. I didn't get an answer from them. Watching this video and seeing that someone actually has an answer makes me feel disappointed in my driving instructors.
This is exactly what I was struggling with as a beginner down to the foot wiggling on the clutch LOL You can tell this man is one of the best driving instructors
When I said I am struggling with clutch control because of my tiny feet, nobody believed me. I know I cannot keep my sole on the floor, but my instructor forces me, he thinks I can adjust how close I put my feet. But then I cannot lift it from the front all the way up, but people are not really interested in listening to other's concerns. This instructor is so understanding. Though he can not help me directly, at least I'm reassured that I am right , I have to learn to control feet in the air , it takes more time and it's okay. Really good teachers are rare. Btw my feet is a little less than 4. Even my height is a problem if I have to look out with my body, sometimes it's necessary, mirrors are not sufficient to show all the crazy things happening behind you on the small road , like leversing near pits and stones. It will help to look out with body, but I can't reach. Short people struggles😃
I was in the same situation but i realized i could easily adjust my pedals with my new car. I am really happy about it. You should take the car you are using
This! This comment is literally my situation, you and me are the same 🥲! I’m 152.40cm (5’0) and less than size 4 and I struggle so much with everything you listed 🥲 my instructor is so scary sometimes because sometimes he gets very frustrated and yells at me for everything
Having a driver's licence for 11 years I was sure there's nothing I don't know about how to operate the pedals conveniently. I was wrong. Will try the angled foot on the gas. Good video.
honestly, i learned more about driving manual from you than my driving instructor a few years back. i watched your videos a lot weeks before my dad and i bought an sti. i kinda panicked since i always drive matics and my dad's last manual was 20 years ago. but thanks to you and my dad's knowledge, we got to enjoy the car and how fun driving manual is! keep it up kind sir! you've helped so much people out there and im sure you'll help way more.
I'm not even from the UK but can relate to most of the instructions so I'm here because the instructor gives really good tips and takes my driving anxiety away ✨👏
I finally passed my test last week, but I was worried about going for long drives because my leg and ankle always ached at the end of a long lesson. I could not for the life of me figure out what I was doing wrong until seeing this. This video has made a huge difference in my comfort and confidence whilst driving, Thankyou.
I just came across your videos. I have been driving for years but I'm busy unlearning bad habits.Your teaching skill is amazing. No driving school can do the way you do. God bless you Richard I'm from South Africa🇿🇦 Thank you🙏
Omg I was literally having to swivel my foot down on the clutch because it kept going up after I pressed down on the clutch and I didn't know why. This channel is amazing man.
Great video :D. This is how all instructors should explain foot position. So simple and clear. There's nothing vague about positioning the ball of your foot at the end of the pedal.
Just started learning how to drive a few weeks ago and your videos have given me so much clarity on the do's and Don'ts and tips❤Thank you so much...All the way from SA🇿🇦
I am one those of who was keeping my heel on the ground when pressing the clutch and all the problems that hes just mentioned is exactly what I've experienced expecially during traffic, and that's why I'm watching this video
What I love about your videos is the level of detail you go into. I would always have a question about the slightest detail and you cover it at some point during the video. Excellent work once more! Thank you!
I’m learning in Rome, Italy. It’s been very tough! Your videos have been a lifesaver. So we’ll explained. So detailed. Nothing “presumed”. The comment about sometimes it’s the car...I’d been struggling for a month of lessons twice a week with instructor in driving school’s car and couldn’t get clutch control and pulling off again after a stop or traffic light. I was sure I was just incapable. One hour in a friend’s car in a car park/quiet housing estate and I realised it was most certainly the driving school’s car.
This video has made me feel so much better. In the 1990's I had a Metro Surf that I absolutely loved, and never had any issues with. Later life conspired against me, which meant I didn't have a car for many years. I recently started taking refresher sessions and the instructor is always telling me off about my heavy right foot. I'm 4 foot 9 with size 1 feet, so I can't put my heel on the floor. After watching this video, it makes complete sense why I never struggled in my little Metro, but do struggle in the instructor's medium size car. I'm now feeling confident that in a 'me' size car, my heavy right foot will cease to be an issue. Thanks so much for confirming my belief :-)
The hardest part for me with pedal control was downshifting 3rd gear to 2nd gear with heel-and-toe technique. That beings said, it feels really good when I nail it and engine braking sounds nice!
Then when you start to mix in double-clutching while heel-toeing, it's another hurdle. Took me a while to get it down. If you end up going down this path, I recommend you practice the motions when the car is off or use a racing simulator setup. I grinded my gears a couple of times when first practicing it (double clutching + heel toe). Then after i got familiar with it on a racing rig, it only took me an hour or two to make it easy and smooth on a real car. Thing is, just keep practicing. :)
I haven't got round to heel-and-toe yet, but I have finally got rev matching down. with heel-and-toe its just hard to find any area where I would be braking hard enough for my brake pedal to get close enough to my gas pedal in order to do it lol I got a golf mk7 and the gas and brake are pretty far apart
Nice teaching sir. While I was learning too I used to slide my feet on the clutch pedal pivoting the heel on the floor. Then exactly like you said, while practicing uphill, my instructor noticed the difficulty and told me to lift the heel from the floor. Basically, he told me not to pivot the heel on the floor. People say this method is difficult to get the precision on the biting point of the clutch but what I found is lifting the heel method gives the weight of the entire leg in the clutch which in fact makes the clutch control easy.
After a horrible experience with an instructor and being scammed for hundreds.. I have finally after 2 years regained enough motivation to learn I'm insured on my parents car and I'm practicing without an instructor right now. My parents are tall and footwork and control has been a problem for me, I'll try this today and see thank you!
@@ConquerDriving thank you! It went so much better I still find it difficult to balance the clutch with the accelerator but I'm sure with more practice I'll get it now! Only problem now is I cannot park 🙈
Amazing video, laughed so much when you did the foot wiggle on the clutch, this was me early on in my lessons and I always wondered what went wrong! Haha thanks so much for still posting content for us! This will be so useful for technique when we all get back to our lessons
Another great vid. For me, you're probably RU-vid's best Driving instructor. When I use the Clutch I have more control when I don't put my heel on the floor (I have size 9 feet), when I use the gas I rotate my right foot around 25-40 degrees and, when I brake I rotate my right foot about 15 degrees.
Thank you so much Richard!! Your videos helped me pass my driving test today!!! You're the best! I'm literally going to refer you to my relatives who are currently learning to drive.
Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver. I used to be a heels to the ground guy with the clutch and that made for a lot of demoralizing stalls and yells from my instructor. Your video really educated me a lot. I appreciate the effort, God bless you ❤🙏
That clutch explanation is so on point! As a new driver confuses me sooo much. This is by far best channel about driving tips and trick let’s say :D So glad i founded it!
This helped so much, i had my first (after the first attempt two years ago anyway) driving lesson today & I suck at breaking and I really thought I wasn't going to be able to master it but knowing how important positioning is so comforting. I'm also really short with small feel so now I know I'll need to find ways to compensate has made me feel more confident that I can master it!
I am so pleased to find your videos. I started my driving lessons and I struggle. I am 4, 9 feet and size 3 to shoe. I have problems with clutch and I am so brisk with break pedal,.Watching your video make me realise what I am doing wrong and which things are not up to me. Your teaching videos are so useful and pleasent to watch! Thank you!
I had watched many video for the problem but haven't found any. You had explained exactly the same problem. Thank you so much for the TIP. I guess it will help me when I will try. Thanks.
This video is golden! I absolutely *love* how granular you are with your descriptions! I'm a size 3, and at home I practice drive with a 2004 Subaru Forester. The brake pedal sits quite high and isn't very sensitive; I have gotten used to hovering my heel in the air and breaking smoothly. It's tiresome when I go down the steep mountains of Norway, but that's okay. Whenever I get into my driving teacher's car, which is newer, with lower and more sensitive brake pedals, I do the most horrendous abrupt stops when I intend to go smoothly. Then I get spooked by giving myself mini-whiplashes and it's a stressful ordeal 😂
I'm happy to hear you like the videos. Changing cars gets easier when you do it regularly, you learn to be very careful with everything for 20mins until you're used to it.
This helped a lot! I have a bad habbit of always having my heel in the air when engaging/disengaging the clutch. I didn't know when to lift your heel, and when to put it down. But i'll keep practicing this technique, and hopefully master it soon!
Some cars, you always have your heel in the air. My civic, with the angle of the clutch and space from the floor, there's no way to ever have your heel on the ground when operating the clutch.
Thanks for this. I just started learning how to drive manual over the last 3 years and I’ve made more progress over the past 2 months watching your lessons than I have over 2 years through trial and error. I’m so appreciative (and yes, this is the 3rd comment I’ve left on your channel)!!
Im a late learner.. I've been learning in a Ford Fiesta with my instructor and I was doing really well.... But I've got a Ford Mondeo 2017 now fully comp with my partner and I've been struggling with just basic control of the car... Couldnt figure it out, but after seeing this video, I was shocked how much of a difference positioning my feet has made.... I'm glad because it really knocked my confidence at first... plus the car is huge! 😂
Seriously you're helping me a lot with my driving. Please do a video on how to successfully do a turn around like are we suppose to be holding the clutch on doing so or not.
Your videos are amazing, i’ve currently only done 2 lessons but doing extra “homework” just watching videos like this are really helping and hopefully when i go to my third i’ll find the pedals a lot easier than i did last time! Thank you!!!
Thank you for this video Richard. I bought a secondhand Nissan Micra two years ago but due to various unfortunate family circumstances combined with lockdown I've hardly driven the car. I now am finding it so difficult to drive, especially when using the clutch pedal. Watching this video, I really do think it is the car and the height of the pedals that is the problem. I have been considering giving up driving altogether! We have mainly had Vauxhalls over the years, and I had no difficulty driving those.
This video, your position in the road video and the other videos I watched from you transformed the way I was driving. I passed my driving test today. Thank you
Like your instruction, I once or twice mistook the brake and gas during training (luckily no harm done) and your video tells me exactly how to fix that! Thanks for the good teaching!
I Love This Guy No Homo I Am a New Learner passed my Driving test Earlier this year i am New on the road i watch atleast one video a day very Informative 👌
I still learning to drive a car and I generally find my foot stuck when using the clutch in traffic and I always thought my shoes are too big. Thanks for opening my eye.
i remember when i first started learning to drive i didn’t have a good foot position for my right foot and it was so hard to drive but i didn’t know why, then i found that when i fixed my right foot position my driving got way better
Haha, I'm not sure most my audience will be into that. Also, I don't have a car that's good for it, I've given it a go but too expensive for my budget.
sorry but holy sh!tballs, I've been driving for almost 2 weeks (after a LONG break from, well, very little driving in the first place), and found myself in that 'clutch halfway down my foot' position a few times, so big thanks, I'll get practicing lifting when releasing
This is so helpful. during my first lesson I had my foot square on the gas, and whenever I needed to focus elsewhere (say when going around a corner) I would lose control over/ accidentally relax my right foot and the car would accelerate, which is not nice when going around a bend. Hopefully this will help me keep my speed steady regardless of what I'm focussing on!
I'm really tall and have big feet, and was having issues with my heel getting stuck on the carpet, tilting my feet more outwards completely solved the control issue I was having.
the best explanation on youtube.. I found your youtube account when I was learning on the theory test 4 in 1 uk app. on the app there are videos with you explaining.. the best👍👍👍
I was never taught this as a learner. My instructor was like:” This is the accelerator, this is the brake and this is the clutch. Now drive.” After about 3 lessons I realised I shouldn’t have my foot in the air when using the clutch.🤦🏻♀️ Not my fault though, it was never explained to me.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This is the video I've been looking for ever since I started doing my lessons! I've passed my test now and I still was completely baffled by how I'm supposed to keep my heel on the floor while using the clutch. My teacher just kept telling me to keep my heel down, with not much info on how. Everyone I told just looked at me funny when I said that if I have my heel on the floor, the pedal will just slide down my foot and then i have to adjust. They kept saying things like "oh well the rubber must be worn" etc, which isn't what I was talking about, it's just physics... you're pivoting your foot from your heel, and the clutch is pivoting from above (like in your car). I don't understand how I'm supposed to keep my heel on the same position, and also have the pedal be in the same position of my foot whilst moving it. Also due to an injury, its uncomfortable for me to have my foot pivoting like that all the time, so I've just been keeping my heel in the air. I am alright at clutch control, but its always been in the back of my mind that I'm "not doing it properly". I'm glad to hear its not uncommon to not have your heel down and that you can get accustomed to using the clutch that way. Alsooo, I got a golf mk7 and the travel on that clutch is loooooong lol
I'm happy to hear the video has helped confirm you already doing it well. If you have control and not slipping the clutch to much, you are doing it well. The Golf Mk7 is the same as the car in this video (Leon mk3), exact same pedals but different interior and exterior design.
@@ConquerDriving maybe it's just me lol I drove an old Citroen at first and the travel is basically non existent in comparison 😅 Keep up the awesome content! you are very informative and entertaining and I love watching them 😁😁
me too, i don't have a car privately...i'm a new driver, & i haven't much experience in driving,but i do driving for earning to feed my family....His videos are very helpful for me,i've been watching his videos many times.
Commented on one of your other videos and went out again today to try and fix the issue. (I only have my foot creeping up that clutch on manoeuvres) when I tried to explain to my instructor what I meant I was met with a blank stare. My old instructor never knew why this would happen either. So I have come home and found this video as it was still happening to me so I hope this will help as my test is Thursday and I have no more lessons and this seems to be the only issue now but it stresses me out and leads to other issues
As a short person (5’ 1” / 155cm) I definitely had challenges on foot position when I learned to drive. Rental cars can take a bit more time to get used to than for average people. The aspect that makes it even more difficult to ground my heel is that short people have to raise the seat all the way up in order to have the best possible view through the windshield. Some vehicles don’t have height adjustment for the driver. We hate these cars because the height is designed for average size people. This usually means our feet don’t reach the ground unless we’re completely off the pedals. At the pedals, heel is up in the air, no question. As a result of this I’ve been conditioned to be tense while “relaxed”, even outside of the car just lazing on the couch or sitting in a chair. There’s a good chance I’m applying some small amount of effort in my leg muscles at any given time without realizing it. The other part about raising the seat is that the adjustment happens in a diagonal plane, not straight up and down. Raising the seat also moves it more forward. Or, for tall people, lowering the seat moves it further from the wheel. When I move the seat back for proper arm distance from the wheel, my feet are still just as far from the pedals. Telescopic steering helps but only slightly. I can count on one hand how many cars I’ve driven that had pedal adjustment.
Dam it I couldn't sleep cause I was thinking wtf why was my heal stuck, why did I do so horribly even tho I've done this so many times. Instructor was annoyed and confused at how slow I am. I understood my clutch control was bad I just thought maybe my seat wasn't adjusted or something, and kept overthinking. I did watch this video ages ago but I guess I didn't fully comprehend the clutch pedal placement. But thank you sm!1
Well this is one of the time i am glad i have larger feets, the pivoting is something i really needed to know, as usual i'll put it to practice in my next session thanks for these helpful vids
I have that same issue with my foot moving up on the clutch and end up doing a slide down to adjust my foot. It's so frustrating and don't think its safe. Will try the heel lift when I get back to lessons
Driving for 15 years now, can do heal and toe and like to go sporty. But i am on of those people with the clutch heal problem, so within 3 or 4 modulations i have a problem there. Most of the times happens on junctions when i want to pull out, but have a slow moving car in front. What i do, and i actually do it subconsciously now, is to get out of gear when i sense i would get a problem, lift the foot once, reset, and start again. Works fine. I Dont even think about it. I guess everyone developes there own technique, even if its a horrible one :D
I’ve just started with a new instructor and he is convinced I should keep my heel down when controlling the clutch. My previous instructor gave the same advice as you so I’m conflicted! It’s definitely comfier to keep the heel up but he seems to think I have less sensitivity to movement that way
This is great, I'm going to check how my feet are.... I'm into my 10th lesson after failing 10 years ago 😔 same car and instructor but I was saying my feet feel clunky and uncomfortable..
This information is very useful! I have this problem with the brake - I struggle to push it smoothly and I had no idea it was because of my small feet. Very helpful videos, thank you Richard!
Sometimes it's not you - Yes! I tried to tell this to my first instructor and he just wouldn't believe me that I couldn't manage the pedals in his car, switched to a different instructor and car and it was much easier and I picked up the controls very quickly compared.
