Should I Learn To Drive With A Manual Or Automatic? Question Of The Day
Drivers learning to driver should avoid distractions and concentrate on the fundamentals before they attempt more advanced.
Question: Is it better to learn to drive in a manual-shift car, or an automatic?
Answer: While manual transmissions used to dominate the automotive landscape, today, automatics are the industry standard. Only about 50 vehicles sold out of more than 250 nameplates offer a manual transmission. It’s quite possible that many drivers will never push in clutch and shift a vehicle’s gear during their lifetime. And driving experts say new drivers should learn the driving basics in a car with on an automatic transmission and then move to a manual transmission.
J.C Fawcett of Defensive Driving School, which offers driver training in addition to teen and adult students, said while both are good to know how to use, the student would be better off learning in an automatic.
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“I think it’s great to be exposed to both; I also think it’s good to learn stick early,” Fawcett said. “However, I believe it’s also easier to separate the two learning processes. If you’ve [never driven] before, I think it takes longer to try and learn both the stick and basic car control at the same time. I would recommend you go about learning to drive an automatic. Once you’ve mastered the basic techniques of turning, starting, stopping, lane changes, that type of thing, then go ahead and introduce the stickshift vehicle.”
Fawcett adds that inexperienced drivers should learn the fundamentals of driving a manual transmission vehicle in an empty parking lot or empty street to stay safe. Once the driver becomes confident with the clutch, shifting and braking at low speeds, they can test their abilities in progressively more difficult areas.
As far as the advantages for each type of transmissions, Fawcett said automatics are good for allowing the new driver to focus on becoming comfortable with vehicle operation, while learning how to operate a manual allows them to “understand the gears better” in situations such as driving up and down hills.
“My opinion is you’ll be a much better-rounded driver if you have a substantial amount of experience in a stickshift vehicle.”
Ideally, a person should know how to drive manual and automatic transmissions. People who know how to drive a manual can easily drive an automatic. People who only know how to drive an automatic cannot simply hop into a car with a manual transmission and drive. Additionally, if you go overseas, many countries have a lot more manual transmission mission vehicles because of a variety or reasons. Even rental fleets are filled cars with a manual gearboxes.
Another advantage to learning how to shift is having the ability to drive a wide assortment of vintage, classic, and future classic vehicles, such as those participating in the Hagerty Driving Experience. The program travels around the U.S. every year, and is open to young drivers between 15 and 25 who are interested in learning the manual transmission.
We’re scouring the Internet to uncover interesting questions that people have posted looking for advice from the unwashed masses. We will contact experts to give you well-researched, professional advice. You can also submit questions to autos_qotd@yahoo.com.
