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Quizzes · Driving skills

Lesson 1 of 18 · Control skills

Moving off and stopping: from the kerb, at an angle and on hills

Getting ready, moving off from the kerb, from behind a parked car and on a hill, and pulling up somewhere safe. Each step matches the numbers on the pictures, and there is a quiz at the end.

On the test You'll be asked to pull over and pull away, including a normal stop at the side of the road, pulling out from behind a parked vehicle and a hill start. Every one is the same routine: get the car ready, look properly, then go only when it is safe.

Before you start · Moving off · From behind a parked car · Hill starts · Pulling up · Quiz · GOV.UK

Before you start: the cockpit checks

Many instructors teach these as DSSSM. Do them every time you get in, before the engine starts.

Doors

All shut properly. Check the light on the dashboard has gone out.

Seat

Close enough to push the clutch right down with your knee still slightly bent, and the back upright enough to reach the top of the wheel with your wrists. The top of the head restraint at least level with your eyes.

Steering

If it adjusts, set it so you can see the dials and hold the wheel comfortably at about ten to two or quarter to three.

Seatbelt

On, flat and not twisted, across your shoulder and low over your hips.

Mirrors

Interior: as much of the back window as you can see. Door mirrors: a sliver of your own car, with the horizon across the middle.

Then start the engine

Check the handbrake or parking brake is on and the gear is in neutral, then start it.

Common faults here are starting the car with the gear not in neutral and adjusting seat or mirrors while driving. GOV.UK: understanding your driving test result.

A street from above with your car parked at the left kerb. You look in your mirrors and over your right shoulder, wait while a car comes past, then move off and ease out to the normal driving position about 2 metres from the kerb.

Moving off from the kerb

  1. Prepare

    Clutch down, first gear, set a little gas, and bring the clutch up to the biting point: the engine note drops and the car wants to move. Hold it there.

  2. Observe

    Interior mirror, right door mirror, then a look over your right shoulder into the blind spot. Anything coming? Wait, and hold the bite or go back to neutral if it is a long wait.

  3. Clear? A final look

    Look round again just before you go. Signal right only if it would help someone, such as a driver behind or a person waiting to cross.

  4. Move

    Handbrake off, a little more gas, ease the clutch up, and steer gently out to the normal position, about 2 m from the kerb.

  5. Settle in

    Cancel any signal, check your mirrors, and build up speed smoothly.

The Highway Code: use all mirrors to check the road is clear, look round to check the blind spots (the areas you are unable to see in the mirrors), signal if necessary before moving out and look round for a final check. Move off only when it is safe to do so. Rule 159.

A street from above. Your car is stopped about half a car length behind a parked car. An oncoming car passes; then you creep forward on full right lock, straighten up about a metre from the parked car, over the centre line, and move back to the normal position once past.

Moving off from behind a parked car

  1. Room to pull out

    When you pull in behind a parked car, leave enough room to get out without reversing: about half a car length.

  2. Look all round, and ahead

    Mirrors and the right blind spot as usual, and the road ahead: pulling out round the car can put you on the other side of the road.

  3. Slowly, with quick steering

    Clear both ways? Signal if it would help someone, then creep forward on full right lock. Slow speed, brisk steering.

  4. Straighten up, a door's width from it

    As your front passes its back corner, steer back left so you pass it with about a metre to spare, in case a door opens.

  5. Back to the normal position

    Once past, move gently back to the left and carry on.

A common fault on the test is moving off into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The path here is worked out on a real turning circle, and comes about half a metre from the parked car's back corner.

Hill starts

Uphill

More gas than on the flat, and find the bite until the front of the car lifts slightly and the engine note drops. Observe, then release the handbrake: if it is at the bite it holds the car. Then more gas and the clutch up slowly.

Rolling back?

Push the clutch down and hold the car on the footbrake, put the handbrake on, then start again with a little more gas.

Downhill

Second gear on a steep slope, first on a gentle one. Hold the car on the footbrake, release the handbrake, observe, then ease off the footbrake and bring the clutch up as the car starts to roll.

What the examiner wants

Your control of the car should have prevented it from rolling backwards or stalling. And the same looking as anywhere else: You should have used your mirrors and checked blind spots to observe your surroundings, and signalled when necessary.

Common faults: trying to move off without appropriate control and rolling back, not properly checking your blind spots and repeatedly stalling when moving off throughout your test. GOV.UK.

A T-junction from above. Two faded cars are crossed out: one stopped opposite the junction, one stopped within 10 metres of it, with the 10 metres marked along the kerb. A third car is stopped well clear of the junction, marked as a safe place.

Pulling up on the left

  1. Mirrors

    Interior, then left door mirror: is a cyclist or motorcyclist coming up on your left?

  2. Signal, if it would help someone

    Left, in good time, but not where it could look like you are turning into a side road.

  3. Position

    Ease gradually in towards the kerb, without swerving, to about 20 to 30 cm from it.

  4. Speed and stop

    Brake gently and progressively. Clutch down just before you stop, so the engine does not stall.

  5. Secure the car

    Handbrake on, neutral, signal off, and feet off the pedals when you are asked to.

Where? The first safe, legal place. The Highway Code says stop as close as you can to the side, and lists where you must not. DO NOT stop or park:

  • opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
  • at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
  • near a school entrance
  • on a bend
  • near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
  • in front of an entrance to a property

The Highway Code, rules 239 and 243. On the test: When parked, your car should not have been a hazard to other road users. Common faults include partially or completely blocking a driveway and parking too far from the kerb.

Moving off and stopping quiz

Ready when you are

  • 10 questions
  • About 3 minutes
  • Answers explained
  • Nothing saved

The plans from above are drawn for this page. The Highway Code, using the road.

Questions people ask

What moving off will I do on the driving test?

GOV.UK says you will be asked to pull over and pull away, including a normal stop at the side of the road, pulling out from behind a parked vehicle, and a hill start. You might also be asked to do an emergency stop.

Is stalling a fault?

Stalling once and restarting safely is often only a minor fault, or none. Repeatedly stalling when moving off, or stalling somewhere that causes danger, is marked more seriously. Secure the car, restart, and do your checks again.

Do I have to signal when I move off?

Only if it would help or warn someone. Signalling with nobody about does no harm but does not help either; what matters is that you looked properly first.

How far from the kerb should I stop?

Close to it, about 20 to 30 cm, without touching it. Parking too far from the kerb is one of the common faults on the test.

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Lesson 1 of 18 · Control skills

The driving skills course

The start

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Junctions

Turning in and emerging, step by step.

Pull up on the right

Stop on the right, reverse, rejoin.

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