Well, there are a whole host of reasons why pupils could and do choose to learn in an automatic car.
Sometimes they have already tried to learn in a manual car and found using the clutch and gears too difficult or stressful. Sometimes they anticipate this might be an issue for them and opt straight for auto. Whichever it is, there is no shame in this, it makes good sense. There is so much to take onboard when learning to drive that not having to worry about clutch control or changing gears can make the whole process much less stressful. Having less to worry about inside the car also means it can be easier to concentrate on what is going on outside the car, which is crucial to being able to drive safely.
Some opt for auto as they feel it will be a quicker route to getting a full driving licence and the freedom that provides. Whilst this is likely to be true, how much quicker will of course depend upon each individual. It will also only be quicker compared to how that individual themselves would have progressed if learning in a manual car. Pupils learn at different rates, so learning in an automatic will not necessarily mean they will gain a full licence quicker than the average number of hours suggested by DVSA statistics, only quicker than they might otherwise have done if learning in a manual car.
In 2030 sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned, and so therefore effectively will manual cars, as it would make little sense to over complicate electric cars by developing them with a manual gearbox. Current electric cars, and true hybrids such as the Toyota Yaris used by Jeff’s Driver Training are automatic. Post 2030 as older manual cars start reaching the end of their useful lives and are crushed and recycled, more and more people will be driving automatic electric cars and the need for a ‘manual’ licence will become less important. At some point, like in the USA, it might even be that automatic licence holders are given the rights to drive ‘shift stick’ manual ‘classic’ cars.
A recent pupil took a very wise view of this, opting to learn and pass in the automatic. Their intention being to get on the road driving independently as soon as possible. Once they have sufficient experience of driving on their own, they intend to come back to me to have some lessons in the manual car, and then take a test in that to effectively ‘upgrade’ their licence. Having become used to dealing with what is going on outside the car whilst driving on their own, it should be relatively easy for them to master using the clutch and gear changes, and to then drive to the same safe standard and pass the test in the manual car as they clearly did to pass in the automatic.
As we get nearer to 2030 it is possible Jeff’s Driver Training will decide to only offer automatic lessons to provisional licence holders, and manual lessons to those that have passed in automatic who wish to upgrade from an automatic to a manual licence. In the meantime it is simply something that will be suggested to anyone wishing to start in manual. Where the suggestion is taken, I suspect the numbers who then choose to upgrade to manual at a later date will be low, as once most people have driven an automatic they will most likely decide they can do without the effort and hassle of using a clutch and changing gears.
Please still feel free to approach Jeff’s Driver Training about lessons in either manual or automatic cars. There is no reason at all why having started lessons in the one car that you could not change to the other car. Typically in the past this has happened from manual to automatic, and as said previously, there is no shame in making this change. However, it could be that the change is made from auto to manual, either prior to test, or after a successful pass in the automatic, to progress to a test in the manual to upgrade. Please talk to Jeff’s Driver Training about your individual needs.