Car control
Hill starts
A hill start is a normal move-off with one extra factor: gravity. The steeper the slope, the more carefully you balance holding the car still against getting it moving, so it neither rolls back nor lurches - but the observation routine before you go is exactly the same as on the flat.
Video lesson coming soon
Use the steps, mistakes, and visual cues below while the video is prepared.
Practical test
Why it matters
Hill starts come up on test wherever the route has a suitable slope, and are marked to the same standard as any other move-off. Rolling back or moving off unsafely could be recorded as a driving fault, and may be marked more seriously if another road user is affected - the level depends on the actual risk at the time.
What to look out for
Hold, prepare, check, release - matched to the slope
Hold the car still, prepare it to move against the slope, do your observations, then release the brake only once it's set and safe. A steeper hill needs more power and finer control of all of it.
Downhill is the opposite problem
Starting on a downhill, gravity does the moving for you. Hold on the footbrake, select a low gear (or Drive in an automatic), and let the car roll gently forward under control as you release - you don't hold it back on the clutch.
Key steps
- 1 Read the gradient as you approach. The steeper the hill, the more power and finer control you'll need to move off without rolling back - so decide how you'll hold and release the car before you stop, not after.
- 2 Hold the car so it cannot roll. In most cars that's the handbrake; many newer cars have an electronic parking brake or a brake-hold function that holds the car still for you. Whichever you have, make sure the car is held before you prepare to move.
- 3 Prepare to move off against the slope. In a manual, bring the clutch up to the biting point and add a little more gas than you would on the flat, until you feel the car straining to move. In an automatic, keep it held on the footbrake in Drive, ready to move smoothly from the brake to the accelerator.
- 4 Do the full observation routine before you release - mirrors, blind spots, then a final look round - exactly as moving off on the flat. The slope changes the technique, not the need to check it's safe (Highway Code Rule 159).
- 5 Release the brake smoothly only once you're set and it's safe, so the car pulls forward rather than rolling back - in a manual as you feel it ready against the clutch, in an automatic as you move onto the accelerator.
Common mistakes
Using the same technique whatever the slope
A steep hill needs more power and finer control than a gentle one. Read the gradient before you commit to releasing the brake.
Releasing the brake before the car is ready to pull
In a manual, wait until you feel the car straining against the clutch; in an automatic, don't lift off the brake until you're moving onto the gas. Release too early and the car rolls back.
Forgetting observations because you're focused on the gradient
The same mirror, blind-spot and final checks still apply. Don't let the technique distract you from checking it's safe to move.
Highway Code
This lesson is a revision aid, not a replacement for The Highway Code.
Rule 159
Before moving off you should use all your mirrors, check the blind spots, signal if necessary, take a final look round, and move off only when it is safe to do so.
Read Rule 159 on GOV.UK