Is the Clutch on the Left or Right?
2 Answers
The clutch is on the left, the accelerator pedal is on the right, and the brake pedal is located between the clutch pedal and the accelerator pedal. The clutch pedal is the control device for the clutch assembly in a manual transmission car, serving as the 'human-machine' interaction part between the car and the driver. It is one of the five major control components in car driving, whether during learning or normal driving. The car clutch is located inside the flywheel housing between the engine and the transmission. While driving, the driver can press or release the clutch pedal as needed to temporarily separate or gradually engage the engine and transmission, thereby cutting off or transmitting the power input from the engine to the transmission.
When I first started learning to drive, I also couldn't figure out which side the clutch was on. Actually, it depends on the vehicle configuration. For most left-hand-drive manual transmission cars, like the vast majority of vehicles on Chinese roads, the leftmost pedal is the clutch. The middle one is the brake, and the rightmost is the accelerator. If you're driving a right-hand-drive car in Hong Kong or Macau, the pedal positions are mirrored—the clutch is still on the outermost side, but it's now on the right. Automatic transmission cars are even simpler, as they don't have a clutch pedal at all. Here's a handy tip: When you get in the car, look at your feet—the leftmost pedal with anti-slip grooves is usually the clutch. Press it down, and the engine disengages from the wheels. You'll get the hang of this feeling after practicing reverse parking a couple of times.
