Does anyone have a link to an official driving manual?

[LastXdeth]

It seems that I've fell into the trend. I've gotten into a feisty argument to a random user in the comment section of a YouTube video regarding how to properly bring a manual transmission vehicle to a complete stop.

I proposed that the proper way to come to a complete stop is to stay in your current gear and brake as you normally would. As the RPMs reach 900-1000 RPMs, shift to neutral, and maintain braking until you reach the complete stop.

In contrast, after my adversary called me an idiot, said the proper way to stop is to always use downshift through the gears and utilize engine braking. He even brought up stopping in a semi-trailer truck/commercial vehicle which I never even mentioned about nor claimed to know how to drive a semi. I only mentioned about the proper way to stop in a manual transmission recreational/standard vehicle.

After numerous exchanges of counter-arguments, he resorted to petty insults about my character and my parents. I was wondering if any of y'all have any links to an official driving course or an official driving policies that can prove my point? I know there are times you should downshift to lower gears (such down a very steep hill at high speed), but generally downshifting to a stop is unnecessary in recreational vehicle. Anyways, we can all agree that coasting in neutral is a no-no.

[theholycow]

Youtube comments are the ghetto of the internet. I'm surprised you found someone able to post coherent words.

We can't all agree that coasting in neutral is a no-no. It works fine, it is as safe as anything else, it can be same/less/more efficient depending on the vehicle/situation/driver, and there's no need for all the fearmongering about it.

Downshifting sequentially to a stop, keeping your RPM at whatever range you think is magically preferable, is acceptable but unnecessary.

Your strategy of staying in your gear down to idle and then neutral coasting the rest of the way is good. I recommend it to noobs for simplicity's sake, and for general purpose driving I don't have a better recommendation for advanced drivers.

Some of the issues commonly brought up in these discussions:

- Braking: Your car has devices at all 4 wheels that are purpose-made to bring the car safely, smoothly, and economically to a stop. They're called brakes and they're operated by the brake pedal. That system is an EXPERT at doing its job and it doesn't need help except in extreme situations (like descending Mt. Washington in a sedan or a less severe descent in a big rig). The service brakes can exceed traction at all 4 wheels; engine braking can't even go near traction limits at 1 drive wheel except in snow/ice, when you really need well-distributed braking at all 4 wheels.

- Safety as a backup system for the brake system: Nope. If you're in a situation where a large amount of braking is required to avoid a crash and your brake system fails, a little engine braking isn't going to make a difference.

- Safety through acceleration: If you're the sort who thinks he's going to suddenly and unexpectedly accelerate out of a dangerous situation then you need to be in the lowest gear at all times since the engine makes more power at high RPM, or really, you need to drive an automatic that can execute an unplanned downshift a whole lot faster than you can.

- Fuel economy: I love DFCO (Deceleration Fuel Cut Off), where the computer turns off the injectors while engine braking. Unfortunately it's nowhere near as simple or dependable as people say it is; you can use a duty cycle meter connected directly to a fuel injector wire to confirm that DFCO is actually kinda rare and the conditions leading up to it cost more fuel than it saves, unless you have a long descent (such as that mountain). If you can engine brake at 2000RPM for 30 seconds or longer, plan on DFCO. If not, you'll do better in neutral.

I'm not saying that it's bad to do it one way or the other, just that the common arguments saying that one is the ONLY acceptable way are wrong.

[Rope-Pusher]

^ What THC Mooed above!

In general, there aren't any "Rules" for driving ala Amish, just opinions.

Opinions are like A-Holes: Eveybody has one and nobody wants to hear from someone else's.

That being said, IMHO, yes, some states (all states?) have rules about not coasting in Neutral, but that is impossible to obey in an absolute sense - any time you shift, you are briefly in Neutral. What are they trying to accomplish with that law? Over-speeding down hills? We already have laws that take care of that. They are called Speed Limits. As far as I know, there are no laws that require coasting down long grades in a lower gear, letting engine braking modulate the vehicle's speed. It is suggested. It is safer than lightly dragging the brakes all the way down the mountain until they are overheated and ineffective, but brakes on most cars can do the job safely if you merely stab the pedal to bring the speed down 10 mph every so often, with time for the brakes to cool in between applications. Downshifting the transmission to slow down when driving on level grades is superfluous.

[theholycow]

I've read that the laws against coasting downhill (I don't know if any are against coasting on level land or uphill) are a throwback to a time when brakes hadn't yet been perfected and there were no synchronizers so even on a mild descent you had a chance of needing to control speed whatever way you could (and if you weren't in gear you might not be able to get into gear, especially if you lost brake boost due to a stalled engine).

I did forget to mention that, though. If you're heading downhill, then you need to stay in some kind of gear and have your foot off of the clutch pedal in order to remain as compliant with the law as is possible.

[AHTOXA]

Your first mistake was arguing with someone on YouTube. That place is full of mouth-breathing imbeciles.

[Squint]

To actually answer OP's question: here is the link where you can find Mazda's manuals. I don't remember offhand if Mazda has an official way listed for slowing to a stop, but feel free to check. I drive a 2015 Mazda 3 5-door Hatch, but my work computer is failing spectacularly at opening the site so I can't actually pick my manual to research it. You should be able to check the manual of any vehicle where they offer a manual and it has dedicated sections for the various transmissions - just like any features added like a completely different radio system or navigation or whatnot.

But yeah, YouTube comments always leave me feeling 1) depressed and needing to experience actual human interaction to make sure the world hasn't succumbed to internet idiocy, OR 2) irrationally angry and not able to calm down for hours. Avoid them at all costs.