Block changing

Block changing

1) Term used to describe the action of gear changing in a multi-ratio gearbox on a heavy vehicle when one or more intermediate gears are omitted in the upward or downward gear-changing process (also sometimes referred to as skip changing).

This practice depends on the vehicle load and the road gradient and requires intelligent application by the driver (it is not intended as a shortcut for the lazy driver). When properly adopted it reduces fuel consumption, wear and tear on the vehicle transmission and on the driver himself (bearing in mind the many hundreds of gear changes that a driver may make during a day).

Source: David Lowe. The Dictionary of Transport and Logistics. Kogan Page, 2002. – P.24 (288 p.)