Taking Driving Test In An Automatic Will Soon Be The Norm For UK Learners

[cawimmer430]

Taking Driving Test In An Automatic Will Soon Be The Norm For UK Learners, But Should They Be Banned From Driving Manuals After?


Learning to drive in the UK isn't like learning to drive in the U.S., and not only because drivers sit on different sides of the car. If British drivers want to drive a car with a manual transmission once they've passed their test they need to sit that test in a manual-equipped car. But the increasingly popularity of the electric car means that added complication might soon be a thing of the past.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the UK government body that controls driving tests, says the number of people taking their practical driving exam in a two-pedal car has grown massively in recent years, and you can probably put most of that down to the huge rise in popularity of dual-clutch transmissions, which have finally managed to turn British drivers on to the appeal of "automatic" transmissions.

But where many low and medium-priced cars in the UK are still available with a choice of manual or paddle-shift transmissions, the growing popularity of electric vehicles (soon to be made compulsorily popular with the country's 2030 ban on new ICE sales) means more and more Brits will be learning in cars that don't require them to show understanding of how to use a clutch or change gears.

And maybe that's fine, because the majority of people who pass their tests in 2030 won't be car geeks buying up shonky old manual cars for weekend fun. They might never need to know how to drive a manual. But should they be granted the right to drive a manual if they wish, having passed their test in an automatic, as is the case for American drivers, a right Britain's DVSA is apparently considering granting?

After all, I wasn't required to show I knew how to use a choke or change gear in a car with a non-synchro 'box when I passed my test because those were largely outdated skillsets at the time, but I picked the skills up quickly enough when I owned cars with those features.

Or, once the "automatic" test becomes the default UK test, should the right to drive a manual transmission be reserved for those who pass an additional practical exam showing they have the skills to handle a stick? Doing the latter would bring stick-driving into line with other entitlements like driving a reasonably big (7.5 tonne /16,500 lbs) truck, which I'm able to do on my regular car license because I passed my test years ago, but which younger Brit drivers need to sit an extra test to be allowed to do.

Do you think the UK should scrap its manual test requirement? Or do you think the U.S. should introduce one? Leave a comment and let us know.


Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/09/taking-driving-test-in-an-automatic-will-soon-be-the-norm-for-uk-learners-but-should-they-be-banned-from-driving-manuals-after/

[Morris Minor]

I'd say there should be an endorsement on US drivers licenses that you cannot drive a manual unless you passed your test on one. As things stand you only need to master walking on your hind legs in order to get let loose on the roads.
But manual transmissions are disappearing anyway, so it's a moot point.

[giant_mtb]

At least with a manual, your worst case scenario is just stalling. Which in most cases means minimal chance of injury or damage to others.

[Morris Minor]

At least with a manual, your worst case scenario is just stalling. Which in most cases means minimal chance of injury or damage to others.

I'd say something like kangaroo-dumping the clutch and pulverizing the shins of a pedestrian between you and and the car behind. Or stalling in a in the path of an oncoming vehicle and getting T-boned.

[giant_mtb]

I'd say something like kangaroo-dumping the clutch and pulverizing the shins of a pedestrian between you and and the car behind. Or stalling in a in the path of an oncoming vehicle and getting T-boned.

True. I must admit the latter of those two almost happened to me once when I had the Audi and was still getting used to it. Was crawling into a stoplight intersection to turn left across traffic and had it in 2nd. Luckily I'm not an idiot and slipped the clutch like hell to get moving properly. Never made that mistake again...first gear only for shit like that, even if the thing did have enough torque to pull off in 2nd from a roll.

[Raza]

No, that's stupid. Here are all the reasons why:

(1) People learn things. Even after they get their driver's license.
(2) This adds a needless layer of bureaucracy to the learning process.
(3) Having to pay for and take the time to retest with a manual is a needless barrier to entry and a disincentive to learn manual.
(4) The fewer people who drive manual, the fewer manuals there will be.
(5) People who take their driver's test as a minor don't usually have their own car. They have access to a parent's car or driver's school car. They only have access to what's available. So to further disincentivize people from buying a manual later in life when they have agency and income is stupid.

You want to kill manuals? But it behind a paid government test at the DMV.

[veeman]

No, that's stupid. Here are all the reasons why:

(1) People learn things. Even after they get their driver's license.
(2) This adds a needless layer of bureaucracy to the learning process.
(3) Having to pay for and take the time to retest with a manual is a needless barrier to entry and a disincentive to learn manual.
(4) The fewer people who drive manual, the fewer manuals there will be.
(5) People who take their driver's test as a minor don't usually have their own car. They have access to a parent's car or driver's school car. They only have access to what's available. So to further disincentivize people from buying a manual later in life when they have agency and income is stupid.

You want to kill manuals? But it behind a paid government test at the DMV.

Completely agree

There are a few cases here and there of people maiming or killing someone because they didn't know how to operate a manual transmission but I'm against legislating against all possible risk.  On a large scale, the risk is extremely small compared with something like texting while driving.  Over legislation to make all things as safe as possible is a direct cause of daily annoyances like seat belt unbuckled chimes.

While we're at it why don't we legislate that you need to have a special permit to rent and drive a Uhaul truck? 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Completely agree

There are a few cases here and there of people maiming or killing someone because they didn't know how to operate a manual transmission but I'm against legislating against all possible risk.  On a large scale, the risk is extremely small compared with something like texting while driving.  Over legislation to make all things as safe as possible is a direct cause of daily annoyances like seat belt unbuckled chimes.

While we're at it why don't we legislate that you need to have a special permit to rent and drive a Uhaul truck? 

I concur, and would like to add any lifted vehicles, any 4WD/AWD vehicles, any 3/4+ ton trucks, and actually anything else except for 50cc scooters.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Oh wait, that's called a Driver's License, and they are handed out like candy on Halloween.