How to do a hill start

Quick answer

• Clutch down, first gear, and hold the car on the footbrake.
• Bring the clutch up with your left foot until you find the biting point, then hold it there.
• Do your observations - mirrors, then the blind spots.
• Signal if it is necessary.
• Take a final look round, and only go when it is safe.
• Come off the brake. The car starts to move, because the biting point is already there.
• Move your right foot straight to the gas - around 1,000 to 2,000 revs - easing the clutch up as you go.

Watch

A hill start, from the driver's seat and the pedals

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Find the biting point in the car you are driving

The clutch connects the engine to the wheels, and the biting point is where it starts to make that connection. It is not in the same place in every car. A fresh clutch bites higher than a worn one, so the position you learned in one car will not transfer exactly to another - which is why the first thing to do in an unfamiliar car is find where its biting point actually sits.

You will know when you have it from two things at once: the front of the car raises slightly, and you feel a vibration come through the pedal. Once you have found it, keep your left foot completely still. Every part of the hill start that follows depends on that foot not moving.

Find the biting point, then do the checks

1. 01

   Clutch down, first gear, foot on the brake

   Your right foot on the footbrake is what holds the car on the slope. Nothing else is holding it, so it stays there until the checks are done.

2. 02

   Find the biting point with your left foot

   Bring the clutch up gradually until the front of the car lifts slightly and you feel the vibration through the pedal, then hold your left foot completely still. The car is still held on the brake at this point.

3. 03

   Do your observations

   Mirrors, then the blind spots. The slope changes the technique, not the need to check that it is safe to go.

4. 04

   Signal if it is necessary

   The Highway Code puts the signal after the mirror and blind-spot checks and makes it conditional - signal if it would help another road user, not out of habit.

5. 05

   Take a final look round

   The last check before anything moves. Rule 159 puts it after the signal, and it is the step most often lost when a learner is concentrating on the clutch.

6. 06

   Come off the brake

   The car begins to move as the brake comes off, because the biting point is already found and held. That is what stops it rolling back - the clutch is doing the work before the brake is released, not after.

7. 07

   Right foot straight to the gas

   Around 1,000 to 2,000 revs, easing the clutch the rest of the way up as the car pulls away. A hill needs more power than the flat, because the engine is overcoming gravity as well as getting the car rolling.

What the Highway Code actually says

Rule 159 covers moving off, on a hill or anywhere else. It is worded as advice rather than law - it says “you should”, and carries no Law line - but it is the routine an examiner is watching for, and it is the reason a rushed hill start costs marks even when the car never rolls back.

• 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.
• Look round for a final check.
• Move off only when it is safe to do so.