It's dangerous & puts extra wear on your brakes The main problem with coasting, other than that it increases fuel consumption, is that the car enters a state of free momentum – which means that it can easily get away from itself when going downhill.
Heavy coasting such as consistently depressing the clutch whilst making turns or setting the gear stick into neutral before the car has stopped will certainly result in a failure.
The part of your car that will suffer most as a result of coasting will always be your brakes. Coasting significantly increases the load on your brakes as it prevents the engine from performing natural braking. That, and you are likely to be going faster when coasting than you would be otherwise.
Coasting (letting the vehicle move without the use of the engine, either by keeping the clutch depressed or staying in neutral) is not a good habit to get into. Again, there is no clear cut rule here when it comes to the test. It will be down to the examiner and the extent to which you do it.
What happens when coasting driving? The effect of coasting when driving is that your wheels are disengaged from the engine, meaning engine braking (using gears to slow down) is not possible. Coasting means the car is taken down an incline by gravity and the vehicle's momentum.
Bottom line: Don't coast in neutral. It's dangerous and won't save fuel. Turning off the key at traffic lights might.
When a car is coasting it is slowing down due to mechanical and aerodynamic grip, and during cornering the mechanical component of this is higher due to the slip angles in the tyres. In essence, it is likely to cause an accident or a skid.
A dangerous fault is making an error whilst driving that another road user must actively act to avoid it. A serious fault is an error which could have caused an accident if someone was there.
Strictly speaking there is no such thing as a major or a minor fault. When you make a mistake an examiner will class it as one of the following: A dangerous fault - this involves actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or property. A serious fault - something potentially dangerous.
LeaseLoco also says coasting can cause damage to your clutch release bearing. This is part of the clutch system that disengages the engine while the clutch pedal is pressed down. If you're pressing down on the clutch while coasting, you put the clutch release bearing under stress for longer periods than necessary.
Potential Vehicle Damage
You will wear out your brakes much quicker When driving in neutral, drivers become reliant on the mechanical brakes due to the engine brakes disengaging. This can wear out the mechanical brakes much quicker.
Coast in neutral to save fuel
It means you can't suddenly accelerate out of a sticky situation and you lose engine braking, running the risk of overheating the brakes when going downhill.
So to avoid coasting always plan ahead, reduce your speed to the required level and THEN put the clutch down to change gear. Understanding your gears and how to use the clutch properly will make your drive much smoother and prevent stalling.
A violation of the code section is charged as an infraction and results in a traffic ticket in the amount of $238. CVC 21710 states that “the driver of a motor vehicle when traveling on down grade upon any highway shall not coast with the gears of such vehicle in neutral.”
Put simply, to pass your Practical Driving Test, you must have 15 or less Driving Test faults and no serious or dangerous faults.
Some examples of minor faults include: Stalling, or the incorrect use of the clutch and handbrake. Touching the kerb. Driving too slowly.
Hesitation can lead to serious accidents on the road. If you're stuck on a junction for a long amount of time, you could end up holding up traffic and causing other motorists to take drastic action (e.g., driving around you to emerge), which could lead to a potential collision.
Serious fault examples
Not making observations at junctions. Moving off poorly. Positioning at junctions. Drivers disobeying traffic lights.
What a driving examiner looks for. Driving examiners are mostly looking for natural and safe driving. Don't listen to anyone saying that you should drive a certain speed under the speed limit, all that's going to achieve is to annoy the examiner and perhaps even fail the driving test.
Accumulating more than 15 minor driving faults
While you can amass up to 15 of these, if you keep making the same mistake, it could then be classified as a serious fault, causing you to fail your test.
Unfortunately not – Coasting can be dangerous and coasting doesn't save fuel. If you're new to driving and are reading this, coasting is when you drive along with the clutch pushed in, or have the gear stick in neutral – or both. This disengages the engine from the wheels.
What will happen if you hold the clutch pedal down or roll in neutral for too long? Explanation: Holding the clutch down or staying in neutral for too long will cause your vehicle to freewheel. This is known as 'coasting' and it's dangerous because it reduces your control of the vehicle.
The automatic transmission will not be damaged in the short time that it takes for the vehicle to coast to a stop. True, there is no lubrication provided to parts turned by the wheels and driveshafts, but there is also no load on the components.
Don't rest your foot on the clutch. Doing so means a constant pressure is being applied, causing your clutch's friction disk to slip and create unnecessary heat.