Hill start
Pull away from the kerb on an uphill slope without rolling back, stalling or skipping your checks. It is one of the manoeuvres you can expect on the Category B test.
What the tester is looking at
Three things, according to the driving school guidance we could find: the car does not roll back, the clutch and handbrake work together without a stall, and the observation is complete every time you move off, including the blind spot. A tidy hill start is wasted if you pull out without looking.
The routine
Handbrake on, look all round including the blind spot, then signal away from the kerb. Bring the gas up and find the biting point, where the engine starts to pull against the slope. Only then release the handbrake and let the car move off smoothly. Cancel the signal once you are under way.
What the simulator does
The simulator slope is about 1 in 7. That is our own practice setting, not an RSA figure, and it is steeper than it needs to be so that you can see the hill. It also replaces the clutch with one drive bar: hold Gas and the bar rises, and past the first tick the engine starts to pull. A green tick shows where it pulls hard enough to hold the hill. Release the handbrake below that and the car rolls back; hold the bar high against the handbrake and the engine can stall. It is a simplified model for learning the order of things, not a copy of a real clutch or of the test.
How it is marked
The RSA's tester guidelines grade driving faults 1 to 3. A Grade 3 fault fails the test, and so does a build-up of Grade 2 faults; Grade 1 faults do not fail on their own. The RSA does not publish centimetre limits for manoeuvres, so the distances used in the simulator are practice targets of our own, not official numbers.
How you practise it here
Watch drives it for you with the commentary running, so you see the whole thing once before you touch anything. Guided puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift. Test says nothing and marks you the way a driving tester would, by what you touched and what you looked at. Speeds in the simulator show in km/h.
Step by step
These are the words the simulator says to you, in order, like a passenger who has done it before.
- 1The car is parked facing uphill with the handbrake on. Look all round, including the blind spot, then signal away from the kerb.
- 2Bring the gas up and watch the drive bar. Past the tick the engine pulls against the hill. Only then release the handbrake.
- 3Handbrake off. Keep the gas steady and let the car pull away smoothly. Too little gas and it rolls back towards the car behind.
- 4Moving. Cancel the signal and settle in your lane.
- 5Ease off the gas and brake gently to stop in the marked area.
- 6Stopped in the marked area. Apply the handbrake, then press Finished.
Common questions
Is rolling back an automatic fail?
We could not confirm that from the RSA's own pages, which we cannot reach. In the simulator a rollback is recorded as a minor fault, and missing the observation before you move off is recorded as serious. How a tester grades it depends on the situation, so ask your instructor.
Do I have to use the handbrake?
The simulator teaches the handbrake routine: hold the car with the handbrake, find the bite, then release. Some cars have an electronic parking brake or hill hold, so check how yours behaves with your instructor.
Does the simulator model a real clutch?
No. It uses a single gas and bite bar instead, so you can learn the sequence and the timing. The feel of the pedals is something to practise in a car.
The other manoeuvre
Based on the Road Safety Authority's published guidance on the Category B driving test and on driving school guides. We are not affiliated with the RSA, and the simulator is practice, not a copy of the test.