Gear changing and braking help

I may misunderstand your question, but If its a stale green light and you have already started downshifting coming into the intersection, you would simply push the clutch in and apply the brakes.

 

You can't do both simultaneously. It's a learning process but down shifting generally requires throttle (RPM) manipulation and braking requires brake peddling and you can NEVER do both at the same time for practical reasons and for logistical reasons.

If rapid deceleration is called for, you'll need to either find neutral or clutch to disengage, then brake as needed and get to the needed gear when it's practical to do so. Don't listen to those that tell you "you must always be in a gear". This is a nice goal to have but it's not realistic or practical in many situations, especially situations that change in a moment's notice.

If US drivers were required to do things as the dude in the video did, nobody could pass the driving exam and get their CDL. Get that video completely out of your mind.

 

No, you wouldn't "just push the clutch in and apply the brakes". That would be considered "coasting" and is deemed to be "unsafe". Brake, clutch it out of gear as your RPM's drop, bump the throttle and slip it into the next gear you're needing (probably 2-3 lower than you were) and get back on the brakes. Or, if you're having to stop so hard that it wouldn't be possible to do that, then keep it in gear until you're almost stopped, and push in the clutch before engine speed drops below idle. You shouldn't ever have to stop THAT hard, though, unless you weren't paying attention or following too close. If you've got to stop THAT hard when a light turns yellow, either you were going too fast, or you could've rolled through on yellow. Usually. There may be exceptions that come up on rare occasions, but my point is that if you're in the habit of regularly stopping that hard, it's only a matter of time before a load shifts, freight gets damaged, or you wreck.

 

I brake with left foot and downshift at the same time when I need to make a fast stop.

 

I'm sorry we're putting the OP'r through all this. The OP will be running and screaming through the halls with this mish-mash if information. Again I apologize for trying to deal in the reality that new drivers deal with.

 

Your trainer if they are worth their salt will show you how to anticipate traffic lights.
Otherwise when I was at CR England, they had us to learn that if a light has been green for a while you can expect it to go red before you get there. Yet what they taught was to drop down to 25 mph. Observe at the light if there is a crossing walk indicator. Has it been flashing for a while? If you get to the light and your 80 feet away, keep on rolling. It isnt worth the damage to the freight on a panic stop. Unless you like to replace your brakes frequently.

What you need to worry about isnt driving. Just be able to get through dealing with the trainer and second seat if the company has it. Get through that and pay attention to your trainer and you should be golden. Obey all traffic laws. Dont try to speed, learn to drive like a saint. Get throu what ever training, then you can worry about driving like the Jamaicans.

 

It just takes some practice. The hardest part is getting the feel of moving your left foot over to the brake pedal. Then you apply steady pressure to the brakes. You use your right foot to work the throttle. I give a tiny bit of throttle, just enough to get it out of gear, then I pull into lower gear. I don't really rev the rpms since the truck is slowing at a faster rate due to the braking. I drive a 13 speed, and I downshift according to how hard I'm applying the brakes. Sometimes a half gear, sometimes a full gear, or even 2 or 3 gears. You have to adjust according to the situation. Of course before I do any of this, I turn on the Jake.

The run that I go on 90% of the time takes me over a 2 lane highway that has several stoplights, some of which have a bad habit of turning at just the last minute. This method of stopping really helps in this kind of situation. Keeps the brakes from smoking too. The other thing I do is when I get close to the problem lights is I slow to 45 or so, making a panic stop much safer.