One Week Driving Pass

Archive for the ‘Driving Automatics’ Category

An Automatic Driving Licence is issued if you pass your driving test in a car which has no clutch pedal.

There are a lot of different types of auto car out there, some of them are even described as clutchless manual cars, but realistically, as far as the law is concerned – if you don’t have a clutch pedal, you are driving an automatic car.

If you pass your test in an auto – you can only drive autos from then on – but you’re not restricted to any specific type – you can legally drive any car without a clutch pedal (broadly – it’s worth checking before you actually hand over a large amount of cash!).

Auto cars have long been the choice of the United States and much of the rest of the world – only in Europe and especially the UK has there been the idea that people should drive manual cars. Something the rest of the world has known for years is that autos are easier to drive and often much safer to control.

If you need to drive, given the demands on our time from business, work and family life, why should you spend so much extra time learning to drive a manual car – especially when there are so many good autos to choose from?

What is an Automatic?

In a manual car, you have three pedals – the accelerator, the brake, and the clutch. You also have up to 6 forward gears, and one reverse gear. The accelerator doesn’t necessarily make you go faster, depending on what you do with the clutch and the gears, and the brake pedal can cut the engine out if you don’t use the clutch and the gears at the right time.

In an automatic (at its simplest), you use 1 forward gear (DRIVE) and 1 reverse gear. Once in drive, the accelerator will speed you up, and the brake will slow you down. One foot does all the work – go, go faster, slow and stop.

How easy is that?!

What about when I pass?

Once you pass, you will be allowed to drive any automatic car – basically any car without a clutch pedal. Some of the more modern auto and semi-auto cars are a little different – something we will explain during the course, but you will be eligible to drive any car which does not have a manually operated clutch.

Why doesn’t everyone do this?

We’re still not sure! A little snobbery, a little envy and maybe a bit of stubbornness and resistance to progress!

Looking to the future, few people realise that with engine and mechanical innovations in the car industry more and more cars will become automatic. Hybrid cars are becoming more popular (like the Toyota Prius), and all of the major manufacturers are developing hybrid engines. All of these hybrid cars are being developed primarily as automatic cars – manual cars will be in the minority.

Like we said earlier – welcome to the future!

info@oneweekdrivingpass.co.uk