Footbrake frustration

Now that the darker evenings and mornings are upon us we once again start to suffer the curse of drivers who hold the car on the footbrake in traffic. Not only is this lazy and a cause of more frequent bulb replacement, it's very annoying for the driver behind - which quite often seems to be me.

Modern high-level brake lights are very bright and right on the eye line of the following driver. Great for safety if you need to stop in a hurry, but not so good when you have to suffer them when stationary in traffic. They have a detrimental effect on your night vision if you have to look at them for more than a few seconds.

It's sheer laziness to hold the car in this way. Applying the handbrake and putting the car in neutral takes only a second. Not only will you cause less frustration you'll be safer too. If you're holding the car on the footbrake and someone hits you from behind you're likely to get shunted into the car in front as your foot slips off the pedal.

So, use the handbrake when stopped in traffic. You're making yourself safer, saving money on bulb replacements and the driver behind will tank you for it.

GOM