Learner driver - any point in manual?

adam cool dude said:
A lot of people are failing to see that learning in a manual has nothing to do with what is better to drive. Learning to drive a manual is teaching you how to multitask whilst driving a lot better than you would with an auto. It is subconsciously teaching you to plan ahead and making sure you are in the right gear coming up to a junction for example or being in the right gear to put it into the power and for an overtake. This carries on to your judgement planning ahead of the road what you are going to do.

Hence why if you struggle to use a manual correctly then you struggle to do the fundamentals of driving a car safe and well. Judging at roundabouts when it is safe to go, spotting people coming out of the slip road and moving into the next lane, or even judging slow moving traffic ahead and moving into the next lane Etc.
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That makes no sense. All that planning what gear, is utterly redundant in a auto. In fact you've less workload in a auto. Which is only a good thing.
 
OspreyO said:
That makes no sense. All that planning what gear, is utterly redundant in a auto. In fact you've less workload in a auto. Which is only a good thing.
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Why does it not make sense? This is about teaching learner drivers to multitask and plan ahead on the road. Someone who trains on a manual is going to be a lot better subconsciously at multitasking and planning with what is ahead of them than someone who learnt on a auto because learning to use a manual was too "hard" for them which points to the fact they struggle to multitask which isn't what you want in a safe road user in my opinion.
 
adam cool dude said:
Why does it not make sense? This is about teaching learner drivers to multitask and plan ahead on the road. Someone who trains on a manual is going to be a lot better subconsciously at multitasking and planning with what is ahead of them than someone who learnt on a auto because learning to use a manual was too "hard" for them which points to the fact they struggle to multitask which isn't what you want in a safe road user in my opinion.
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Give someone less tasks means they have more resources to concentrate on the others.
 
OspreyO said:
I think it's a large leap to suggest learning on a manual imparts any insights into road craft.
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The learning starts after you pass the test, but that’s a different topic.

I simply don’t see any downside to having both manual and auto on your entitlement. Having at least the experience and capability to drive a manual just seem like a big plus to me.
 
Blackjack Davy said:
I've heard this so many times every teenage learner asks the same question it seems. Manual because it covers all bases and auto only limits you and they're more expensive to buy or they used to be. Theres also a seriously smaller pool to choose from and for a first car thats a problem


If you ask me its because they're silent and the other driver hasn't heard them normally you'd hear a roar as someone puts their foot down, and as for pulling away from parked unless you're watching them you don't notice at all

Whatever the Ferrari's use transmission is automatic but gear shift via paddle is manual! That seems like the best of both to me. i.e. no clutch. All the automatics I've driven were either slushy or kickdown (is that still a thing?) was late or delayed resulting in a heart stopping moment when you want to overtake but nothing happens (until it kicks you in the back when it finally kicks in)
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There's been a few tines where I've set off and my ev doesn't have a noise maker like current ones so it's pretty quiet. Doesn't help when people walk with those massive cans on their head.
 
My oldest has not long passed her manual test. There wasn't really any debate as none of the instructors round here seem to do auto and most were booked solid anyway so you took what you could get. We've since bought a cheap manual runaround for her to use and (hopefully !!) build up some no claims.

We'll be coming back to the same question in 3 years time for her sister and I suspect it'll be more of a debate/choice then.

Auto is obviously the future ... but when ???
 
adam cool dude said:
A lot of people are failing to see that learning in a manual has nothing to do with what is better to drive. Learning to drive a manual is teaching you how to multitask whilst driving a lot better than you would with an auto. It is subconsciously teaching you to plan ahead and making sure you are in the right gear coming up to a junction for example or being in the right gear to put it into the power band for an overtake. This carries on to your judgement planning ahead of the road what you are going to do.

Hence why if you struggle to use a manual correctly then you struggle to do the fundamentals of driving a car safe and well. Judging at roundabouts when it is safe to go, spotting people coming out of the slip road and moving into the next lane, or even judging slow moving traffic ahead and moving into the next lane Etc.
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I used to think that - a post I made a few years back:

Rroff said:
I've mixed views on it as while I'm not the biggest fan of manual - I find with manual I'm looking at the road ahead more and thinking more about the road conditions due to making decisions over gear changes. When driving automatic I tend to be much more going with the flow and more towards reactive to change rather than pro-active.
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But I think ultimately it comes down more to how much people can be bothered as a driver - since changing to almost exclusively driving automatics I've found that to be more a passing phase and once I'd adjusted my thinking process I'm actually processing much more of what is going on around me and ahead, better able to cope with dynamically changing conditions like having to navigate people doing silly things, than I was in a manual.

Though someone learning to drive who'd never driven a manual might not develop the same processes to build off of.
 
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Steven Rimmington said:
Learned in a manual, last two cars I have picked automatic. Best of both worlds. When hiring a cheap van it was manual only. Quite a few instances it would be beneficial. If I was starting again it would be manual 100%.
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Vans are one place where automatics would actually be useful the constant stop-start of town traffic is really tiring due to the clutch being like shifting a ton of bricks when I used to drive one I'd have a sore foot by the end of the week just from that
 
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Blackjack Davy said:
Vans are one place where automatics would actually be useful the constant stop-start of town traffic is really tiring due to the clutch being like shifting a ton of bricks when I used to drive one I'd have a sore foot by the end of the week
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I drive a van daily in and out of London, new transit custom and it's like driving a new car. New vans are fine, if you're driving an old dog then yeah maybe. I'm used to it though.

With the op question I say manual all the way, but only because I am old school and love a stick.
 
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Blackjack Davy said:
Vans are one place where automatics would actually be useful the constant stop-start of town traffic is really tiring due to the clutch being like shifting a ton of bricks when I used to drive one I'd have a sore foot by the end of the week just from that
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1st gear was always trashed on our work vans, sometimes 2nd. Would catch me out in more recent years not having driven manual much in awhile - at least once stalled one LOL. Now they are all autos I think aside from sometimes when we get a manual hire van.
 
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