Driving Techniques

[portland_bill]

1. 31, 1987 is year I was born 2016 is the year i registered),
2. Yes I have and confession time I am also an ADI, my questions have been posted to get opinion not information, and to prove somewhat the varied opinions amongst these topics.
3. Obviously full.
4. 2004.
5. Yes, my personal car is a Punto Easy + 1.4 5 door in rock n roll blue.

Thank you for the answers. I see a few people are as surprised as I am. I saw the post notification earlier, and have been wondering how to reply.
For ADIs, it can be sometimes a lonely job, with only your pupils to gain feedback from, and occasionally their responses will raise doubt in your mind as to whether you are doing ok at the job. At times like that, it is good to have the company of local fellow ADIs, to meet, talk, and understand that this affects us all. I'd expect there is a local ADI group in your area, you should seek them out and join. There are also several ADI-only forums, especially on Facebook, where points can be discussed and consensus gathered.
This forum is not the right place for you to be doing your research. Many of your posts come across as if you have no idea, and are genuinely asking these questions as the answers are unknown to you, but important to you. Yet, as an ADI, you should be able to answer all of these recent questions without hesitation, confidently, and correctly, whenever any of your pupils ask. Much of it should be part of your teaching whether they ask or not. As an ADI, trying to gain opinion from this forum does not appear to be research, but comes across as trying to belittle anyone who gives a 'wrong' answer. This may not be your intention, but from many of the responses, is how others are perceiving them.
As an ADI, perhaps you should be contributing answers to this thread, not questions?
I would urge you to think carefully about what you are trying to achieve, and if this is the correct place for that. If the answer is still yes, perhaps more thought into the wording of any questions, and any responses to answers given in good faith.
This forum is the very best car-related forum for anyone with a Fiat. Someday when you have an issue with your car, you will want contributors to take your plea for help seriously, and wish to help. Currently you are gently alienating them.

Meanwhile, anyone with genuine questions about driving matters, please continue to ask. I, and other helpful souls, will continue to try to answer them.

 

[Liquid Knight II]

The perils of a general lack of observation highlighted itself yesterday on my way to work.

There are some big tractors being escorted around the villages. I was being tailgated into a thirty zone by some old bint in a pretend off roader. Typical for a townie that has moved out here. Some kind of generic Qashqai looking pile of thing with a Mitsubishi badge.
Anyway looking a head I see an escort vehicle and bloody wide tractor behind it, indicate my intention to pull over into a passing place, stop at the front of it so Mrs Townie Tailgater can stop behind me.

Nope she careers by blasting her horn until she gets to escort vehicle, almost does an emergency stop before mounting the curb with a crunch I could hear a hundred yards away to avoid hitting the tractor.

The escort vehicle and turns out two tractors pass me without incident.

Place your bets; is Mrs Townie Tailgater writing to the Council claiming the damage she did was due to a pothole? :bang:

So three things to take from this.

1/ Do not tailgate. If focuses your attention on the vehicle you are harassing.
2/ Look ahead more than six bloody feet.
3/ If someone you're tailgating suddenly pulls over or pulls over quickly. Instead of thinking...

"Another one bites the dust".

...take a nanosecond to ponder...

"Why has that vehicle pulled over. Maybe it isn't to get out of my way".

...still if they were capable of counting as high as two (second rule) they would be capable of rational thought eh?

 

[portland_bill]

I've had one overtake me into the face of a fire engine.

If they could count to two, they might be able to get the second brain cell to assist the first.

 

[Liquid Knight II]

I've had one overtake me into the face of a fire engine.

If they could count to two, they might be able to get the second brain cell to assist the first.

Same here in both directions. I have seen an Ambulance behind me, found somewhere safe and plenty of room for others to pull over only to be passed by the three or four vehicles behind then the Ambulance the vehicles that passed strewn over curbs and verges ahead.

One flash of the indicator if you're lucky before they pull out in front of you.

I sometimes wish I had a rear view camera. :devil:

 

[Rocinante]

OK, I've got a query, happened a while ago.
I was entering the motorway down a slip road, it's from above and reasonably long, so sighting from the motorway is good, and there were two HGV's following each other
On driving down, and getting up to speed, I found I was going to be entering between two HGV's. The space between them was probably smaller than I would have liked, but was certainly big enough to get my car on to the motorway. I could have accelerated and tried to get in front of them, or braked and entered behind them, but as you are supposed to merge on to the motorway, I matched speed and entered the gap. As I entered I got a horn blast from the HGV following
Was I in the wrong here ?

 

[Rocinante]

Here's another, that caused much debate on a local facebook page.
As per the attached picture, entering from the right there are two lanes, with all exits having 1 lane. No road marking indicating which lane should be used on entry.

One school of thought said that entering from the right, you should be in the left hand lane (as per the red line) as you are on the A721 and carrying on, on the A721, and therefore are going 'straight ahead'.

The second school of thought says that you should be in the right hand lane, as the exit is past 12 o'clock, as you enter the roundabout.

Roadsign on way to roundabout attached as well, if it makes a differnce.

Thoughts ?

 

[s130]

OK, I've got a query, happened a while ago.
I was entering the motorway down a slip road, it's from above and reasonably long, so sighting from the motorway is good, and there were two HGV's following each other
On driving down, and getting up to speed, I found I was going to be entering between two HGV's. The space between them was probably smaller than I would have liked, but was certainly big enough to get my car on to the motorway. I could have accelerated and tried to get in front of them, or braked and entered behind them, but as you are supposed to merge on to the motorway, I matched speed and entered the gap. As I entered I got a horn blast from the HGV following
Was I in the wrong here ?

Look here:

https://www.mwtractors.com/what-is-the-braking-distance-of-a-hgv/

What may appear to you to be a safe gap is probably not what actually is. Typically the stopping distance of an HGV is 3 times that of a car. And if you are pulling into a gap between HGVs then you need to double the distance.

Please don't ask why some HGV drivers tailgate each other and you.

I tow a caravan and I have drivers entering dual carriage ways, motorways who completely misjudge what is required. They screw up I crash, possibly taking others with me and they drive on regardless.

 

[Rocinante]

Look here:

https://www.mwtractors.com/what-is-the-braking-distance-of-a-hgv/

What may appear to you to be a safe gap is probably not what actually is. Typically the stopping distance of an HGV is 3 times that of a car. And if you are pulling into a gap between HGVs then you need to double the distance.

Please don't ask why some HGV drivers tailgate each other and you.

I tow a caravan and I have drivers entering dual carriage ways, motorways who completely misjudge what is required. They screw up I crash, possibly taking others with me and they drive on regardless.

I appreciate that I'm entering their stopping distance, but I'm matching their speed first, and if I never entered into the stopping distance of a vehicle when entering a motorway, it would be pretty impossible to enter a busy motorway.
In the instance I described above, I pulled on to the motorway tight to the front HGV, so I couldn't have given the following vehicle any more room. If that's not adequate for the following vehicle, he's following too close.

You say don't ask, but drivers should be keeping the appropriate distance what ever the vehicle.

 

[s130]

"Only a fool ignores the 2 second rule". This is for cars but for HGVs and trailers/caravans the rule is 3 seconds should be the absolute minimum. So when pulling in front of a HGV you must be at least 3 seconds in front as is it should be 3 seconds behind. At 60mph that is 88 feet per second so 264 feet / 88 yards / 80 meters. Think how distant those motorway 100m marker post are away from each other.

That 80m is a huge distance which on busy roads is going to be often an impossible challenge

I'm not saying you were wrong or criticising but I think every driver including me often forgets or gets lazy about what is actually required of all of us to drive safely on our busy roads. Yes if the gap between the HGVs was not correct then pulling into it directly behind the front HGV could get you killed especially if the front HGV emergency brakes.

Out of general interest a few years ago on the M27/M3 the Highways Agency trialled "Ramp Metering". Basically traffic lights at the top of the slip road entry to stop / control cars entering down the slip road onto the motorway.

https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20020225

https://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/ha/standards/pilots_trials/files/HA2006F.pdf

I don't recall what the official outcome of the trial was but it was obviously not good and probably proved impracticable for the same reasons you found trying to join the motorway yourself.

 

[Rocinante]

"Only a fool ignores the 2 second rule". This is for cars but for HGVs and trailers/caravans the rule is 3 seconds should be the absolute minimum. So when pulling in front of a HGV you must be at least 3 seconds in front as is it should be 3 seconds behind. At 60mph that is 88 feet per second so 264 feet / 88 yards / 80 meters. Think how distant those motorway 100m marker post are away from each other.

That 80m is a huge distance which on busy roads is going to be often an impossible challenge

I'm not saying you were wrong or criticising but I think every driver including me often forgets or gets lazy about what is actually required of all of us to drive safely on our busy roads. Yes if the gap between the HGVs was not correct then pulling into it directly behind the front HGV could get you killed especially if the front HGV emergency brakes.

Out of general interest a few years ago on the M27/M3 the Highways Agency trialled "Ramp Metering". Basically traffic lights at the top of the slip road entry to stop / control cars entering down the slip road onto the motorway.

https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/conferences/10.1049/cp_20020225

https://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/ha/standards/pilots_trials/files/HA2006F.pdf

I don't recall what the official outcome of the trial was but it was obviously not good and probably proved impracticable for the same reasons you found trying to join the motorway yourself.

Don't think I've ever seen HGVs leave an 80 metre gap.
As I say, I appreciate that I was entering their stopping distance, but on busy motorway, you don't have a choice but to enter someone's stopping distance. You could argue there is a bigger risk with an HGV though.

There is an on ramp on the M8 with traffic lights at the top, for controlling entry during busy periods. It's been a few years since I used it during busy periods, so don't know if it's still active, but was certainly in regular use.

 

[portland_bill]

OK, I've got a query, happened a while ago.
I was entering the motorway down a slip road, it's from above and reasonably long, so sighting from the motorway is good, and there were two HGV's following each other
On driving down, and getting up to speed, I found I was going to be entering between two HGV's. The space between them was probably smaller than I would have liked, but was certainly big enough to get my car on to the motorway. I could have accelerated and tried to get in front of them, or braked and entered behind them, but as you are supposed to merge on to the motorway, I matched speed and entered the gap. As I entered I got a horn blast from the HGV following
Was I in the wrong here ?

My first thought was about the phrase, "getting up to speed". The whole process needs to start with observation, as the speed we need to achieve will vary. Some slip roads give better views than others, but we need to merge into a space, the traffic on the main carriageway has no obligation to do anything to help. Stopping on a slip road will create a high risk of being hit from behind, so never a good idea.
Ideally, we should be able to plan our entry early, and adjust our speed to merge safely, in this scenario, I would initially think slow a little and merge behind the second HGV. You may have to slow a lot, but this should be done as early as possible, so you still have safety space ahead for moving into if following traffic approaches too fast.
It seems the second HGV is following too closely, but you slotted into his inadequate braking space, making a bad situation worse. Whilst he got it very wrong, you didn't help. Not a comfortable place to be, especially as you need to open the gap ahead of you before planning any overtake of the truck, meaning you have to cause to following HGV to slow, so he's rightly miffed, as it may take some time to pick his speed up again.
Worst case scenario, use the hard shoulder (If it exists) as an extension of the slip road, align with a gap, and merge as soon as possible. Remember, the speed limiton the hard shoulder is the same as the main carriageway.

 

[portland_bill]

Please don't ask why some HGV drivers tailgate each other and you.

All HGVs have mandatory speed limiters, set at 90kph (EU rules) (56mph). There is a variance between them, so you'll get one doing 56.2mph catching one doing only 56mph. Ideally, for a good overtake, they should move out just before they start to close their 80m braking distance, but the delays caused by their 10 minute overtake will then be increased, more so if they don't move back in until 80m ahead of the overtaken truck. So they get close, and move out only at the last moment, to reduce the time spent in lane 2.
Then you get a lower powered truck with a slightly higher limiter setting, meets a higher powered truck with a lower limiter setting. On the flat and downhill, the lower powered truck is faster, so tries to overtake, fails to complete it before the next gradient, where the higher powered truck can maintain his lower speed, but the lower powered truck can't. So they yo-yo for miles, because the higher powered truck driver is unwilling to just back off for a few minutes and let the other one go.

Trucks are reluctant to move out to allow others to join, as they then get trapped there when other motorists sit alongside, match the speed, and just sit for ages. Happens with any vehicle combination, as we've all found when trying to be courteous.

Out of general interest a few years ago on the M27/M3 the Highways Agency trialled "Ramp Metering". Basically traffic lights at the top of the slip road entry to stop / control cars entering down the slip road onto the motorway.

There are plenty of these, mostly in operation at peak times. The downside is traffic lights collect a batch of vehicles, and release them all at once, to arrive at the motorway to compete for space. It would be nice to think the lights were matched to gaps in the main traffic, but I don't think they're that clever.

 

[portland_bill]

Here's another, that caused much debate on a local facebook page.
As per the attached picture, entering from the right there are two lanes, with all exits having 1 lane. No road marking indicating which lane should be used on entry.

One school of thought said that entering from the right, you should be in the left hand lane (as per the red line) as you are on the A721 and carrying on, on the A721, and therefore are going 'straight ahead'.

The second school of thought says that you should be in the right hand lane, as the exit is past 12 o'clock, as you enter the roundabout.

Roadsign on way to roundabout attached as well, if it makes a differnce.

Thoughts ?
View attachment 410588

With the A721 having only one exit lane, I would expect the right lane to be used on approach. Otherwise, the right lane becomes a 'U-turn' only facility, which is rare, unless that choice is busy due to a 'no right turn' a little earlier.
The left lane has two exits, Bellziehill Road or High Wood Gardens. It makes little sense for the left lane to have all three exits, and the right lane for a U-turn only.
However, with all unusual or unmarked junctions, local custom may set its own rules, and it is always safest to 'follow the crowd'. I would expect to use teh right lane for teh third exit, but be prepared to give a little for any combatant locals.
There's a roundabout in Newbury, where after many years of locals fighting, and learners on test struggling to follow the markings, it was repainted to reflect what the locals did. It now works very well.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Is it good practice to always use your handbrake even if parking in gear. I have heard that this can cause the it to ‘stick’. Also heard in the cold it’s a good idea to only partially apply your handbrake

A hand brake is for use when you are not in the car. The only time its not good practice to use it is if you park up and intend to leave the car for a lengthy period in freezing weather after driving through a flood. If I am parking after driving wet I make sure the brakes are hot by a little left foot braking for the last half a mile so they are dry when put away. Parking in gear is not good practice and largely uneccessry except amybe on a steep hill. If you leave your car without the hand brake applied and it runs away you will be liable for any havoc it creates and rightly so. ALways apply the handbrake when stationary in traffic. It might just save you life and also no claims bonus if hit from behind. People who hold the car on the footbrake at night in traffic are *********!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I'd be the last person to claim I'm a faultless driver but I take pride in trying to drive well with consideration for others and I resist the temptation to honk or make gestures to others - some of whom well deserve it! I learned a lot about car control in my early teens thrashing old bangers around the fields and then, in my late teens/early twenties, I rallied a Cooper S semi seriously for a couple of years without any great success but it did teach me a lot more about car control. Notwithstanding all that I got a hell of a shock on one of our journeys from London up to Edinburgh when, on the old A74 dual carriageway - before they made it motorway - when I was overtaken by a couple of cars who were obviously racing each other. I would guess they were doing at least 80mph and we were going down a dip at the time. As I crested the rise on the other side I was just in time to see them coming to a rest tangled with another car in a cloud of steam and tyre smoke completely blocking the road. They were a fair distance ahead of me and I started to brake hard thinking I'd easily get stopped in the space available - Silly me, I only just got pulled up before I joined the melee! I frequently recite "only a fool breaks the two second rule" to myself, whilst judging the vehicle in front against something like a mile marker or similar, when traveling on the M6/M5 on our sojourns to the south and, especially around the midlands, there's no way the majority of vehicles have any hope of stopping before collecting the car in front - When you factor in the lack of concentration being demonstrated by a lamentable number of drivers I find it very worrying.

Panda Nut, I agree with you about hand brake use and taking your foot off the pedal, however I think it's a lost cause with hill hold actively encouraging drivers to hold on the pedal to activate this feature. There's also the fact that holding on the pedal, which keeps the bulbs lit, will mean you are changing brake light bulbs much more frequently. Don't forget a bulb out gives the "boys in blue" a good excuse to pull you over and maybe find something else wrong they can also book you with! I know the argument now will be "but modern cars have LED bulbs which last forever" but many only use LEDs for side lights and, even if your brake light bulbs are LED they will eventually fail and have you seen what a new lamp cluster costs? (most don't permit the replacement of just the LED as you would with a bulb).

Regarding parking in gear on hills. Back in the late '50s/early 60s when I first started driving on private land I was driving old bangers - think Morris 8 and the like - Cars in those days often had quite poor brakes and the general advice was to always leave them in gear. In fact this only really has much influence on fairly flat surfaces because it's the compression of the engine which is resisting the car's movement. Trouble is no piston ever seals 100% in it's bore so eventually the trapped air/gasses in the cylinder will leak past the piston and the crankshaft will move. It might appear to be holding when you leave the car but 15 minutes later it may be having no effect. On a steep hill you are much better to turn the steering full lock towards the pavement and run the tyre against it, then fully apply the hand brake. Leave it in gear too if it gives you a sense of security. Remember though to select a gear - greatest resistance to movement will be felt in first or reverse - which, if the car moves, is not going to make the engine turn backwards. So if facing down the hill select first gear and, if facing up hill select reverse. The reason for this is that if you turn an engine backwards the timing chain or belt may skip some teeth and, if it skips a number of teeth at worst the engine won't run well, at worst, when you hit the starter the pistons and valves will get "friendly" and might completely ruin the engine. So remember, if the bonnet is pointing down the hill select first and if the bonnet is pointing uphill select reverse. Like you I would apply my hand brake and knock the gear lever into neutral when waiting in traffic and at traffic lights. I don't like the idea of the clutch release bearing toiling away while I wait at a red light!

There is a "wild card" in this, leaving in gear I mean. Most modern cars now have no direct connection between the ignition key and the starter motor. In days gone by turning the key would switch battery current to the solenoid which then closed the contacts to the heavy current flow to the starter. Now a days when you turn the key most ignition keys are sending a signal to the body computer telling it to make the connections necessary to operate the starter motor. This is why some cars don't even need a key and can even be started remotely. I remember reading a few years ago about a car which had been left in gear and this system malfunctioned while the car was in a car park. The engine actually started and the car rammed the parked car in front of it! Horrendous if someone had been loading the boot! Best not to leave in gear I think - although I do still sometimes, without thinking, fall back into my bad old ways and come out in the morning to find I've left mine in first! As an interesting experiment, if you have a newish car, next time you go to start it try turning the ignition key to the starter position and immediately, as soon as you hear the starter motor kick in, release the key to the running position. On older vehicles this would result in the starter motor immediately stopping so the engine won't start, on many modern vehicles you'll find the starter keeps spinning until the engine runs - Computer knows best!

 

[s130]

Parking in gear is not good practice and largely uneccessry except amybe on a steep hill. If you leave your car without the hand brake applied and it runs away you will be liable for any havoc it creates and rightly so. ALways apply the handbrake when stationary in traffic. It might just save you life and also no claims bonus if hit from behind. People who hold the car on the footbrake at night in traffic are *********!

I always put handbrake on and in 1st on level or pointing down hill. In reverse if pointing up hill. It has been know for handbrake cables to break and cars run away. Very rare but does happen.

My 500X has electronic park brake so whilst no cable to break I did find some stories of EPB mysteriously releasing, or I think actually not applying correctly.

As for holding car on foot brake. . . . I suspect this became a lazy driver habit with old automatic boxes with torque converters. These would creep at engine idle and the drivers were too lazy to stop with brake, apply hand brake and shift from Drive to Neutral

 

[portland_bill]

A hand brake is for use when you are not in the car. The only time its not good practice to use it is if you park up and intend to leave the car for a lengthy period in freezing weather after driving through a flood. If I am parking after driving wet I make sure the brakes are hot by a little left foot braking for the last half a mile so they are dry when put away. Parking in gear is not good practice and largely uneccessry except amybe on a steep hill. If you leave your car without the hand brake applied and it runs away you will be liable for any havoc it creates and rightly so. ALways apply the handbrake when stationary in traffic. It might just save you life and also no claims bonus if hit from behind. People who hold the car on the footbrake at night in traffic are *********!

Please don't look back at Matt Harris's posts, unless for entertainment purposes. He came, he went, thankfully. He asked a lot of stupid questions, and for a long time I tried to answer them, then gave up. Initially I thought he was really trying to learn, then later, I thought he was just taking the p***. I think reality was nearer stupidity. If memory serves, he later claimed ot be a driving instructor, which was very worrying.

Jock has answered the parking in gear question well. I'd add, take your vehicle to a steep hill, put it in 1st gear, hold the footbrake, and with handbrake off, gently release the footbrake until the car 'leans' on the engine. Wait, with your foot hovering over the footbrake. The car will move. Initially one bump, as it turns over to the next compression stroke, but the momentum will make the next release sooner. It will gently bump down the hill, gathering pace.
I've never understood the advice to put in reverse if facing downhill, or 1st if facing uphill. This turns the engine backwards, untensioning the cambelt or chain, which may cause it to jump. I suppose a lot of internal engine damage will stop it rolling downhill. There is no extra compression pressure with the engine rotating backwards. That would be a nonsense. For best efficiency, we need the most pressure the engine can tolerate, so that would be forwards then.

 

[portland_bill]

I always put handbrake on and in 1st on level or pointing down hill. In reverse if pointing up hill. It has been know for handbrake cables to break and cars run away. Very rare but does happen.

My 500X has electronic park brake so whilst no cable to break I did find some stories of EPB mysteriously releasing, or I think actually not applying correctly.

As for holding car on foot brake. . . . I suspect this became a lazy driver habit with old automatic boxes with torque converters. These would creep at engine idle and the drivers were too lazy to stop with brake, apply hand brake and shift from Drive to Neutral

Handbrake cables break if not regularly exercised. Regular use brings them a long life.

Most EPB stories are nonsense, to hide driver error.
Many cars with EPB also have hill hold. Drivers come to a stop, the car sits still, they turn off and get out. The Hill Hold releases after a few seconds, and the car rolls away.
Sometimes drivers activate the EPB whilst still moving, so the computer ignores the request. Again, hill hold or auto hold operates, but then releases.

Many newer models now activate the parking brake when the engine is turned off, or if the driver's door is opened. Garages have to connect their diag tool to make it go off if they need to move the car when working on it. I've met a supermarket delivery guy who relied on the auto brake operation, but after stopping, got out of the passenger door, due to space and traffic. Auto application not bothered by passenger door, so no brake, van rolled away.

We are moving towards having to hold the footbrake, so lights always on. Electric vehicles require it when stopping temporarily, some do not have a manual parking brake, and I cannot see owners pushign the P button, then selecting D again to move away. Stop/start on autos only operates with the brake on. Selecting N and releasing the brake restarts the engine. Stop/start should be brake pressure sensitive, so brake can be released gently, for engine restart without releasing brakes, ready for prompt move away. Some are not calibrated well, so only a full release restarts the engine, leading to delays in moving.

 

[s130]

I've never understood the advice to put in reverse if facing downhill, or 1st if facing uphill. This turns the engine backwards, untensioning the cambelt or chain, which may cause it to jump. I suppose a lot of internal engine damage will stop it rolling downhill. There is no extra compression pressure with the engine rotating backwards. That would be a nonsense. For best efficiency, we need the most pressure the engine can tolerate, so that would be forwards then.

If you put a car in a forward gear and push it forward the engine rotates clockwise. If you put the car in reverse and push it forward the engine rotates anti-clockwise.

Now most Fiat engines can tolerate an anti-clockwise rotation but for some Ferrari engines THIS IS TERMINAL. Like you I don't understand where the advice and screwed logic comes from in the "in reverse if facing downhill, or 1st if facing uphill". Possibly because some people think that the car in 1st gear wants to oppose rolling back, likewise for reverse and rolling forward which is only true if the engine is running and driving!

 

[s130]

Many newer models now activate the parking brake when the engine is turned off, or if the driver's door is opened. Garages have to connect their diag tool to make it go off if they need to move the car when working on it. I've met a supermarket delivery guy who relied on the auto brake operation, but after stopping, got out of the passenger door, due to space and traffic. Auto application not bothered by passenger door, so no brake, van rolled away.

My 500X automatically activates with engine off or driver's door opened. How far open I've not experimented but I think this is activated by the manual operation of the door release handle, I hope? I would hate to have a half latched door on the 1st stop bouncing to 2nd stop and the handbrake being activated in the middle of a bend.

I've commented elsewhere that EPB when towing are a disaster. When the EPB won't release (often happens) then you have to manually release it. On a hill this is a problem. You can't release the EPB unless the footbrake is pressed. So if you are quick you can depress clutch, select 1st, press brake, lift clutch to get bite whilst engine is idling (unless you can heel and toe competently), then press the brake release button. The chances are you will roll back a little. Now when not towing you can judge via your rear view mirror how big the gap is to the car behind. Not so with a box trailer or caravan. The car behind could have parked 6 inches away and out of view!

The point is that with a manual handbrake you can balance engine drive against braking force and forward movement. You can NOT do this with an EPB. Add 1000kg +++ to the train weight and you have a problem.