Hi, Ferman!

My girlfriend broke my car--unintentionally, that is. She was stuck in traffic using my car at the floodway bridge in Pasig. Unfortunately, she made a mistake with the manual transmission, started to slide and hit the vehicle behind her. She still wants to drive my car but I'm afraid she might get into a similar accident.

Is there some sort of aftermarket part that helps a vehicle from sliding on a slope? I don't know what that might be called. Some help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Lee

Hi, Lee!

Unfortunately, there is no aftermarket device that can replace proper driver training, seat time and common sense. If you can't quite get the hang of, well, hanging on ramps in a manual transmission car using your clutch so the vehicle won't slip backwards, you'll have to use what car manufacturers have thoughtfully included as a standard in all cars: the handbrake.

You can pull up the handbrake and keep the car from rolling forward or backward on inclines until such time that you develop the skill to balance a car, whether it comes with manual or automatic transmission.

If you feel that using the handbrake is too tedious, however, you can check out cars which come with the standard hill assist feature. What the hill assist does is it prevents the vehicle from sliding, at least for a brief instant that it would take the driver to accelerate and move forward.

Gizmos and gadgets such as hill assist are fine but nothing beats proper driving knowledge and skill. Perhaps the best gift to give your girlfriend on your anniversary is a refresher or a full driving course from a reputable driving school.

Best regards,

Ferman Lao
Technical editor

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