Rolling back on a hill
This is one of the biggest fears lots of people who are learning to drive have.
There is a hill near us that everyone and I do mean everyone that has learned to drive in our area has heard of. Even without ever going up the hill they are worried and getting cold sweats and panicking feeling that they are going to roll back. I’m sure if you’re not in our area then there will be one hill that makes you feel like this too, well may not if you live in Cambridgeshire, it’s the flattest county in England apparently.
So to work out how to not roll back, let’s look at the three main reasons you roll back :
- Mental fears
- Control issues
- Anxiety
Let’s look at them each in turn and give you a few ideas on how to overcome them.
Mental Fears
It’s all in your head, ? alot of the time you’ll have convinced yourself that it’s impossible or that you will struggle. There are a few ways to help. Firstly, ignore other people, they will only tell you their fears, these are their fears not yours. Just because they found it difficult doesn’t mean you will.
Secondly, think positive thoughts. As founder of Ford, Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Try to list some reasons that mean you will not roll back rather than loads of reasons that you will roll back. Your driving instructor will have taught lots, possibly hundreds of people how to do this and will not ask you to do this if they don’t feel can’t do it or you are not ready.
Control Issues
Do you have the required skills to not roll backwards?
When you roll back, what does your driving instructor do? What do they say? This can have a huge impact with how you approach this issue on subsequent attempts. Next time you roll back ask yourself. ‘What did I do just before I rolled back?’ or ‘What could I have done differently?’
This will help you identify any control problems you might have and be in a position to correct these next time.
For example:
You moved your clutch just before the car rolled. Next time remind yourself to keep it still.
Maybe you had taken your foot off the footbrake, use the handbrake next time to allow yourself time to find the biting point and set the gas.
Anxiety
Just to put it out there that anxiety is real and it’s very difficult to get over it. However, there are some things that will help.
Make a list of all the reasons it’s going to be ok. This could be, your driving instructor is there with their brakes, you have brakes, you’re going to keep your handbrake on while finding your biting point.
These are just a few examples. I’m sure you’re able to come up with a few more for your own personal circumstances. If you’re struggling drop me an email ian@revolutiondrivinglessons.co.uk and I’ll try to help.
When you’ve got your list make your mantra ‘I’ll be ok because…’. Hopefully, this should be a start on your journey to not roll back because of anxiety.
These are some ideas that should help you improve your moving forward and not rolling back habits.
Speak to your driving instructor during your driving lessons to get additional help and advice with this. Ask them to help you achieve your goal of not rolling back. Remember, you are not on your own lots of people struggle with this, but you can do it!