**When sitting in traffic or at a long red light, is the Best Practice to have the car in 1st gear with your foot on the clutch, or in neutral with your foot off the clutch?** Some say that you should be in gear to be ready to move if necessary. Some say that long-term clutch use can lead to premature wear of clutch components, such as the throwout bearing (and certainly many more if you don't get the clutch fully disengaged!).