To Shift Gears (Increasing Speed).
Before starting a driver should practice moving the gear shift lever to the different positions and getting his feet and hands accustomed to the location of the foot pedals and hand levers. Then it will not be necessary to look away from the road in order to shift gears or in any other way to control the operation of the car. To change gears the clutch pedal should be depressed (it may not be necessary to push it all the way down against the floor boards) and the foot removed from the accelerator pedal at the same time. Move the gear shift lever from first to neutral position, pausing if necessary and then move to second speed position. Engage the clutch immediately and open the throttle with either hand or foot control as soon as the clutch is engaged. The process of changing from second to third or third to fourth is identical. Bear in mind that before each change is made the speed of the car should be accelerated. Care should be taken when changing from lower to a higher speed that the car is moving at a sufficient rate of speed so that an undue strain will not be put on the engine. Practice alone in driving the particular apparatus will acquaint the driver with the necessary speed required to change from one gear ratio to another.