AIBU to think DD might as well learn to drive on an automatic car?

[whiteroseredrose]

DD is 21 and has not yet learned to drive. The plan is to learn next summer when she finishes university.

Problem is that DH and I both have hybrid cars that are automatic. I couldn't find a hybrid manual car as they probably don't exist.

Rather than have DD take lessons in.a manual car with either no practice in between or practice in our automatics, take that test and then maybe do a 'conversion' at a later date.

Would that make sense?

I think it is still worth learning manual.

If you take a car in for a service the 'loan car' you get can be manual.

If you want to rent a car then you have more choice.

If you want to get a different category on your licence whether a motorbike or an HGV it is usefully to know how gears / clutch work. I believe, but I stand to be corrected, if you have a car licence that is manual then you can take an HGV test in an automatic but be able to drive both auto and manual.

Maybe in a few years she wants to buy a classic car she would not be able to drive it.

At 21 I would just leave it up to her to decide. Pros and cons to both

Hopefully you would exclude people with disabilities?

I have a manual licence but as I use hand controls they are not really compatible with manual cars.

One DD had an accident last month,car written off and she lives rural, she borrowed her sisters car,we delivered it,all got manual licenses. She was car hunting, asked for DH advice,(he was a motor vehicle technician over 40 years) told her to avoid automatic because of less mpg and more expensive than manual when things go wrong and yes more expensive on insurance. When we were both working,he had an automatic,I hated it, practically threw people against the windscreen after hitting the brakes,by mistake. He went to see his old work colleagues the other day, they were complaining about the problems with electric cars,he said he would never have one,a petrol hybrid if we could afford it (we can't) my friend and neighbour has an electric Citroen sitting in his garden now for 5 years, with the batteries us. He's an electrical engineer on the railway. He did buy another nissan leaf, has 16 solar panels, charging problems out and about.

I have advised anyone who will listen to ditch the manual as the combustible engine days are over. The future is hybrid & electric and they are ALL automatic. We have automatics and our cars are petrol. Eventually petrol/diesel will be phased out in 20 years and no one will be driving a manual petrol/diesel.

There are currently more 2nd hand automatic cars for sale in a 50 mile radius of my house than manual. My DP can only drive manual and it’s never been a problem

I passed my test in a manual, but in the following 30 years I've only driven automatics. After a few years I was so out of practice that I wouldn't have been safe driving a manual anyway so I might as well have taken the automatic test.

The only time it has been a pain was when I needed to buy & get a van converted as the chassis available were mostly manuals. Automatic hire cars are a thing and I wouldn't want to drive someone else's car without full insurance anyway, even in an emergency.

But there are a few jobs that still require a 'full clean driving licence' and an automatic one might not count?

I learned to drive and passed my test in a manual but the first car I owned was a 1988 automatic Volvo 340 back in the late 90s. It must be far easier to buy an automatic for your first car now. I've also never had to drive someone else's car in an emergency in the thirty years since I passed my test. I'd say let her take the automatic driving test.

i would have thought she SHOULD learn on a manual and buy her own car for her use

Well of course that goes without saying.

they were complaining about the problems with electric cars

what specifically problems are these? I am on my second and never had an issue. They are a joy to drive.

i tend to believe people learn to drive in an automatic because they struggle to learn in a manual, so it is second best option.

i think this was the view in the 1990s when I learned. I think we’ve moved on.

i personally dont think we have moved on

You obviously haven’t. As you can see from this thread a lot of us have.

My son is currently learning automatic only. We chose this because I have a friend who is a (manual) driving instructor and she said it was the best option.

Our car is automatic so he'll drive that when he passes.

She also said that in her experience, if he does need a manual licence at any point it usually only takes a few lessons to get to grips with it because you have the other driving skills/experience by then.

I am 51 and I have been driving since I was 17 and I have never had to drive anyone to hospital in their car in an emergency. My insurance doesn't cover me to drive other cars anyway.

Or a lot of people don't have the choice because used manuals are easier to find and cheaper to buy and fix.

Not everyone can afford a new or nearly new car. It's not that hard to understand.

Where are all you people living that think manuals are gone??
I am nearly 40, don't know anyone with an automatic except a relative who sought one out specifically as a mobility vehicle which is the first time in my life I have ever ridden in one , let alone driven one.
Possibly as we live rurally with plenty of 4wd and vans?
It would seriously never occur to me to not drive a manual by choice.

I've driven an automatic for 30 years (yikes!) out of preference. I did start off with a manual when I passed my test for a couple of years.

I still occasionally need to drive a manual: hire cars especially abroad, vans, friends/relatives cars when sharing the driving, moving a friends/relatives car on the drive etc. Weirdly I find it very easy to transition, hard on the knees though! I would hate to have no idea how to drive a 'proper' car.

I think it would be stupid not to learn a manual at her age and no other issues like dyspraxia.

Agreed, the only people I know who have done this are either extremely anxious older learners or younger learners with disabilities like dyspraxia.

Go for automatic. Less handling to think about when learning and can concentrate better on judge road/traffic conditions. I think majority of cars will be automatic in the future.

I'm not sure I get the 'more choice with rental cars' argument. As I said earlier, I checked a random airport for a random week - Alicante (small airport) had about 200 manual and 200 automatic cars available. I would think most people can choose from 200 cars and don't actually need 400?
Unless you're talking about, I don't know, random rural African village where the only rental car in the village is a private vehicle lent to you by your AirBnB host's uncle, there are plenty of automatics available.
And on top of that, if you're used to driving automatics in your daily life, who on earth would want to suddenly swap for a manual in a foreign country, to make their life harder? So personally I really don't care there are 200 extra manual cars available, I won't rent one anyway.

As automatic driver, who can also drive a manual I wouldn't say you use your brain anymore or less.

Texting and putting make/up on is much harder while driving a manual which is definitely a reason to learn in a manual and encourage a youngster to drive one of those!

Learn in manual, always. Then you have the freedom to drive either. Autos aren't going to take over the planet in her lifetime.

Sorry that wasn't meant to be a quote!