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Did an automatic solve your driving issues?

99 replies

LeeMiller · 27/09/2019 16:21

Just that really. I have a manual license but hated lessons and never got to the stage of feeling confident and have barely driven since my test a few years ago. My issues are that I'm an extremely anxious driver (although I feel part of that anxiety is justified because there are plenty of crazy and dangerous drivers in the European country where I live), badly coordinated (so changing gears can be stressful and I feel distracts me from the road), and a perfectionist who is not good at persevering with things I struggle with.

My life would be considerably easier and better in lots of ways if I had a car/drove, especially now I have baby DS (though the responsibility of driving him about makes me even more nervous). I had a lesson in an automatic on holiday and though I seem to have forgotten how to steer properly I could see it would be much easier, though I'm not sure it would solve all my problems. I can't take automatic lessons where I live though so I would need to buy an automatic and get DH to.go out with me until I was ready to go it alone.

Did an automatic make a big difference to you? Or wasn't it enough? I'm worried I'm just one of those people that can't do it. Any other suggestions for getting over the fear?

OP posts:
ShippingNews · 27/09/2019 20:51

Re overcoming nerves, I'm sure that the auto car will allay your anxiety and your nerves will relax. Autos are the best !

Branleuse · 27/09/2019 20:51

i never had a problem with gears, but i struggled with foot control with a clutch, and found it really hard to get the bite, which made me stall all the time, which led to anxiety and I think that was most of my problem.

SleepyKat · 27/09/2019 20:53

if someone pressed the wrong pedal in a manual, there may be an initial spurt, but then the car would stall and come to a halt.

Why would the car stall if it’s in gear? Wouldn’t it just keep accelerating?

Saying that a guy was killed outside my house years ago by an old guy in an automatic. He started the car up from being parked and I believe he didn’t have it in “park” but in reverse instead. Not sure if he hit the accelerator instead of the brake or if it just took off as started in gear (someone said automatics do that{.

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janj2301 · 27/09/2019 20:55

Passed my test on a manual 45 years ago, driven automatics for 40 years. When I broke down the AA said I had a manual liscense so gave me a manual replacement car, that was fun. Both my daughters learnt on my car so both only have automatic licenses, their partners had to buy automatic cars and prefer them.

PopcornAndWine · 27/09/2019 21:17

Reading this thread has given me so much encouragement! I have failed numerous driving tests, I have a mental block about it to the point where thinking about it makes me anxious and haven't tried for years now - I live in a city so haven't really needed it but now DD is here it would make life easier to be able to drive. Like others I think I may have undiagnosed dyspraxia (terrible coordination & spatial awareness, clumsy, bad handwriting) and have wondered if an automatic would make things easier. After reading these replies I think I might give it a go. Also so good to know it's not just me, I've spent so long wondering why I struggle so much with something that comes so easily for most people.

MadameJosephine · 27/09/2019 21:26

I had 4 goes at my test and failed but passed first time in an auto. Can’t understand why anyone would want a manual, the gears are and clutch are a massive pain in the arse! Drive an electric car now and they are all automatic

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 27/09/2019 21:27

With DD1 we said learn in an automatic, and if you ever find it's a pain not being able to drive manual, then see if you can learn that. But at least she'll already know how to drive and have a number of years experience first so will only be 'adding in' the gears.

If she finds that she really can't cope with a manual, then by all means let her go for it. As a PP pointed out, as petrol and diesel cars are phased out, it won't even be a thing with all-automatic electric cars (and, before too long, they won't even allow us humans to actually drive them ourselves).

However, if she does ever find that not being able to drive a manual car is inconvenient, I really wouldn't think about it as 'just having to learn the gears'. Aside from the fact that she'd obviously have to take a second test, which even most people who've been driving for decades would be fearful of having to do, I think it would be a very difficult thing to do.

When I did German at A-level, there was a girl in the class who had a German grandparent, so she was already very fluent in conversational German; but as she'd learned it organically by spending time with her DGP (and with her parent who spoke it too) , like most people learn their own native language, when it came to learning all of the grammar rules and polishing conversational German into accurate German, losing bad habits and understanding what was formal usage and what was colloquial/vulgar, and increasing her vocabulary, she really struggled - far more than those of us who had learnt it since school in the 'traditional' and 'logical' way without any pre-existing immersion in it. I'm guessing that suddenly trying to relearn to drive in a manual car would be much like that.

I think it's dangerous for me to spend so much of my driving thinking about pedals and gear changes, I feel like anything that lets me concentrate fully on the road would be safer.

If a manual is really not working for you, or you're happy to restrict yourself by focusing on what you feel confident in, then by all means go ahead. However, although it can feel like a mountain to have to climb at first, controlling the car is probably only about 3% of driving at the most - 97+% of it is navigating the roads and reacting appropriately to other drivers and the ever-changing conditions and circumstances. If you can master the manual controls - and want to, of course - then once you have it, you wouldn't have to spend any of your concentration on it at all - any more than you have to concentrate on remembering how to breathe or blink.

I learnt in a manual car, had an auto for my first car (bought it from a friend), then got a manual for my second car (didn't really care, it was just the best one available for my requirements and budget), which I still have (I keep them until they die!). When I replace this one, I'm thinking I'll probably get another auto, as we now have a caravan and towing is easier in an auto and can really wreck your clutch if you have one! I haven't decided (and don't need to) yet, but, if you can (and want to) persevere with a manual, it just keeps a lot more options open to you - at least for as long as we still have petrol and diesel cars around.

mistermagpie · 27/09/2019 21:34

@Sunshineonleith12 I'm the same, I actually feel more confident and relaxed with the kids in the car than on my own! I wonder why that is, because I don't find the same thing when I have an adult passenger, in fact it's the opposite.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 27/09/2019 21:38

Can’t understand why anyone would want a manual, the gears are and clutch are a massive pain in the arse!

If you can get used to them, they very soon become second nature and you don't even think about them. Many people feel more in control and like they're 'really driving' it rather than just 'being there'(!) but others (myself included) aren't really fussed one way or the other about that.

Having said that, manuals are much easier in challenging weather conditions. In snow, you want to keep in as high a gear as you can, but an auto won't let you override it to change UP (unless they've radically changed since I had one!) Also, on hills, you often need to stick to a lower gear - you can force an auto to stay in a low gear (and no clutch to bother about, of course), but you still have to think about it and remember to do it. Additionally, an auto box tends to be a little less economical anyway, but it can be very annoying if it always changes up a gear at a speed that's 2-3mph more than you want to (or legally can) do; so you're either stuck in a lower, less economical gear than you'd otherwise choose or you have to adjust your speed to 'suit' the car, which completely defeats the object of having an automatic.

Cracklycaramel · 27/09/2019 21:43

Yup. Probably dyspraxic. Moved v quickly from a manual to an automatic. Never looked back- so much easier.

LeeMiller · 27/09/2019 21:47

I am so encouraged by hearing of all the other people who didn't drive for years after their tests but are now happily driving automatics. 😊 I thought I was the only non-driver with a driving license.

WeBuilt well yes, controlling the car should be 3% of driving but when you struggle with that aspect it takes up far more of your energy and concentration than that. I passed my test in a manual so I know I can do it if necessary but I just can't imagine getting to a point where I feel like I've mastered that aspect of driving and don't have to think about it. Possibly after years of practice, but that means years of anxiety and feeling and potentially being unsafe. Or I stick to the status quo, which is avoiding driving altogether.

OP posts:
LeeMiller · 27/09/2019 21:48

sunshine and Maggie interesting, hopefully that's the case for me too!

OP posts:
hittheroadjack1 · 27/09/2019 21:52

I took my lessons in a manual and drive an automatic.

I will never buy a manual car again.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 27/09/2019 22:04

WeBuilt well yes, controlling the car should be 3% of driving but when you struggle with that aspect it takes up far more of your energy and concentration than that. I passed my test in a manual so I know I can do it if necessary but I just can't imagine getting to a point where I feel like I've mastered that aspect of driving and don't have to think about it. Possibly after years of practice, but that means years of anxiety and feeling and potentially being unsafe. Or I stick to the status quo, which is avoiding driving altogether.

Fair enough, then - I did say if you can and want to. If it doesn't work for you for any reason, then by all means go for an auto. It sounds like the obvious choice for you. After all, many people who don't have any issues with a manual still prefer an auto for whatever reason. It takes away some options and spontaneity, but it's not like automatic cars are difficult to come by. If manual cars don't work for you but autos do, then it becomes a choice between being able to drive or not being able to drive, so it's a no-brainer. Definitely go for it!

SleepyKat · 28/09/2019 06:50

Can I ask those of you with automatic only licences how you’ve found insurance? Just read an article saying for people with automatic licence your insurance is usually quite a bit more and I’m just worried what quite a bit more is?

Looking at moving dd to automatic for her lessons , she’s dyspraxic and struggling.

Grobagsforever · 28/09/2019 08:32

@SleepyKat I think mine is a bit higher, it was 600 this year with 4 years no claims and I'm in my 30's. But I don't care, an automatic licence got me on the road!

linentowel · 28/09/2019 08:48

I passed in a manual but have an automatic and wouldn’t drive anything else now m

linentowel · 28/09/2019 08:49

My insurance is about £300. For a Ford c max with quite high no claims.

Abcdefgfedcba · 28/09/2019 08:52

I had over 40 hours worth of lessons in manual cars and hated every second. Was an anxious ball of stress and just couldn't get my head around it.
One day decided to try a lesson in an automatic and it felt so much better.
I passed first time and now have an automatic licence.

I went from hating driving to loving it.

AlannaOfTrebond · 28/09/2019 09:01

I used to be a really confident driver, including all round Europe in both left and right hand drive cars with no issues. After a traumatic time around ten years ago I developed panic attacks whenever I got behind the wheel and stopped driving completely.

After a year I started driving again using the tips from pp's, like short trips and planning the route before I left. What helped more than anything else though was driving an auto. I can drive a manual, but when I'm having an anxious day my auto makes the difference between driving or not driving. So I say go for it!

chemenger · 28/09/2019 09:01

I found learning to drive very stressful, I think I have an overactive imagine and a tendency to catastrophise which made me very hesitant. However I never found changing gear difficult at all so an automatic would not have helped me. I still really don’t like driving automatics because it doesn’t feel as if I have full control. I found that when I eventually passed my test that making myself go out and drive so that controlling the car, gears, steering etc became unconscious was the thing that made me confident. So going from thinking about the mechanics of being in the right gear, putting indicators on, steering, looking in the mirror etc to just thinking “I’ll turn off here” and making it happen was the key, and that needs practice.

BenWillbondsPants · 28/09/2019 09:09

I'm the opposite. I can't bear DHs automatic car, I much prefer my manual. Not even sure why.

CheeseChipsMayo · 28/09/2019 09:14

Yep OP totally agree..needed to learn in a hurry for work&it was a doddle vs wasted time&money pissing around with hill starts when i was17😨put me off so bad i never went back but with auto passed 1st time&been happily driving (incident free)for15yrs..

Hippopotas · 28/09/2019 09:56

I have a manual licence but every car I’ve ever had is automatic and I would never attempt to drive a manual now. I hated the clutch gear thing and struggled to get my head round it.

Just persuaded my DH to get an auto as his ne t car too.

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