Manual vs Automatic Driving
When it comes to learning how to drive, something that you may face is making the choice between driving an automatic car or a manual car.
Getting your manual licence is much the same as getting your automatic licence, except that you will be learning to drive and taking your test on an automatic transmission car. Be sure to specify whether or not you’re looking to learn on a manual or automatic car. This will determine whether or not you should be driving an automatic car or driving a manual car.
Getting your automatic licence means you have to learn in an automatic car rather than learning in a manual, and taking part in automatic driving lessons in addition to an automatic driving test. Automatic cars tend to be easier to learn than learning to drive a manual car in the long run, as manual transmission cars tend to have more pedal and clutch movement that needs to be learned along with the general rules of the road.
However, whether you learn to drive an automatic car or learn to drive a manual car, the similarity between automatic learning and manual learning start with learning the rules of the road. It’s incredibly important for learner drivers to understand the rules of the road before they get behind the wheel – and especially before they take their proficiency test!
These rules are the ones that are the same across the board, no matter the type of car that’s being driven. These have to do with making complete stops at a stop sign, yielding for pedestrians, understanding light signals, and otherwise being aware of traffic patterns that you’ll need to know.
Your driving school and driving instructors will make sure to go over these basic road rules before you get behind the wheel, and it’s important to make sure that you’re familiar with these rules before you take your exam.
Make sure that you’re both learning to drive on an automatic and taking your test on an automatic so that you’re setting yourself up for success when taking the exam. When it comes to manual or automatic, the real decision-making comes down to ensuring that you’ve got whatever type of car you’re learning on to drive after taking the test.
To drive in an automatic, you won’t have to worry about car controls, learning to shift, and understanding the throttle and brake. However, you’ll still need to master the general rules of the car that you’re in and the rules of the road, and will need to become an aware and safe driver in order to pass your test.
Receiving your automatic drivers licence and receiving your manual drivers licence may take a different set of skills simply based on how the cars run, but your knowledge and comfort behind the wheel is something that you’ll need to carry with you regardless of what kind of car – manual or automatic – that you’re testing on and subsequently driving.
Learn to Drive Today!
Remember, the best way to learn to drive is to really listen to your driving instructor and make the best of your driving lessons. As with receiving your manual licence, there is no set number of lessons that you’ll need to take. However, you will need to get at least 120 hours of driving with a supervised driver logged into your log book before you take your test. You’ll also need to get at least 20 hours of driving at night – so be sure that you’re getting practise at several times per day!
Whether or not you’ve decided to get your manual or automatic licence, learning to drive can be a very exciting endeavour. Know your car and know the rules of the road, and you’ll be set to get your licence! Get started on your driving journey with professional lessons from LTrent Driving School. For driving lessons in Sydney, Newcastle, Central Coast and Illawarra, please call 02 8748 4500. Alternatively, book your lessons online today.