5 Advantages of Automatic Driving Lessons
Learning to drive can be a daunting experience. People get lots of benefits of driving an automatic car. There’s a lot to learn about controlling your car, road rules and behavior, identifying hazards, and general safe driving techniques. You’ll probably also begin planning what type of car you want to drive in the future and whether to get manual or automatic driving lessons will come up.
That last bit is significant because how comfortable you feel behind the wheel will influence your overall learning experience,
from how fast and well you learn and retain knowledge to how confident you are when you eventually begin driving solo.
If you don’t need to learn how to drive a manual,
then knowing to operate an automatic car can simplify your learning experience and make for a smoother and more enjoyable time.
While there are advantages to learning a manual, we’ll go over 5 advantages of getting driving lessons in an automatic car.
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A simpler learning experience
The main advantage of driving a car with automatic transmission is how much simpler the experience is from the moment you get in the car, including actually starting your vehicle up.
In a manual, you have to hold the clutch down while you start the ignition, and then while driving, you have to spend your time juggling clutch and gear shifts whenever increasing or decreasing speed. This process is handled in an automatic car, focusing more on the road, traffic, communicating with your driving instructor, and identifying potential hazards.
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Automatic is more common in Australia.
In other parts of the world, a manual transmission is still more common. Some vehicles, such as vans with a manual transmission, are still more popular. However, cars with automatic transmissions are far more common in Australia than manual cars,
and it’s far more likely your family owns an automatic car – especially if the vehicle is only a few years old.
You will also find far more driving instructors offering automatic driving lessons.
Depending on the driving school,
you may find that getting your driving lessons in a manual will cost you extra due to their limited supply of manual driving instructors.
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Avoid stalling the car.
One of the most significant factors that delay learner drivers from taking those first steps and getting driving lessons, to begin with is the thought of stalling the car in heavy traffic. It can feel terrifying if you’re learning to drive in Sydney, Melbourne, another large city with lots of traffic, or an area requiring lots of stopping and starting on hills.
You can’t stall an automatic car (usually). The way an automatic vehicle transfers power from the engine to the wheel drive is different and doesn’t rely on manual input from the driver using the clutch.
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Focus more on developing hazard perception skills
Automatic cars don’t require as much coordination as driving a manual since you’re not trying to divide your attention between external things like traffic and hazards and internal things such as engine sounds, clutch, gear shift timings, or even successfully getting the stick into the correct gear.
Automatic driving lessons allow the learner driver to give the road, other traffic, and hazard identification more focus. Many beginner drivers find it easier to learn when they can share their full attention to communicating with their driving instructor.
Some people genuinely enjoy driving manual and feel like an automatic isn’t as engaging, or they will argue that learning manual will make you a better driver. You should learn one from the beginning.
While it’s true that learning in a manual teaches you advanced skills, learning in an automatic will not impact your ability to understand the essential elements of driving,
which will keep you safe on the road – and you may find that it helps you pay that extra bit of attention to the road.
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Keep both hands on the wheel.
In an automatic car, you can keep both your hands on the steering wheel for much longer because you aren’t required to change gears manually. For more nervous learner drivers, this can help with confidence and feeling that you have more control of the car.
If you want to learn in the most comfortable setting, or if you’re not sure you’ll ever use a manual car in the future and don’t think it’s necessary, then getting automatic driving lessons is an excellent way to help you gain the confidence and experience you need on the road. Nothing stops you from returning to it later on if you want to learn to drive manual, and you can always bridge that skill gap when you’ve got a good base of confidence to build from.