Manual Driving Lessons

Learning to drive in a manual car is still the most popular way of learning to drive and we local driving instructors near you teaching manual driving lessons across our coverage area. 

It’s important to remember that with a manual licence you’ll be able to drive both manual and automatic cars once you’ve passed your test (the reverse does not apply with an automatic licence). That means that choosing to learn to drive a manual will give you more options when buying or renting a vehicle. Another benefit to getting your manual licence is that manual transmission cars tend to be cheaper than the automatic version of the same make, and, as the mechanism is less complicated, they can often be more reliable. Lastly, if you’re planning to do a lot of driving in icy or snowy conditions, then a manual car can offer greater control and so perform better when roads are slippery or dangerous.

The UK average according to the DVSA is that it takes around 45 hours of driving lessons with an instructor and another 20 hours of private practice to reach the driving test standard using a manual vehicle.

This of course can vary massivly depending on the pupil and also where they live. It would be harder to learn to drive in a city environment such as Bristol, Salisbury or Exeter with heavier traffic and more complex road systems. The road system is easier to get to grips with in a small town such as Shaftesbury, Warminster or Blandford but may be many miles from a driving test centre and will invole much more country road driving which all adds to the hours you need to pass your driving test.

This is an interesting question as it will vary depending on the pupil learning but if you have the right driving instructor they will know how to find a way for you to learn in a way you understand and progress. As with any new skill, driving a manual car will take practice and time, be patiant and dont be afraid to ask your instructor if there is anything you dont understand.

With the UK government introducing legislation to ban all new petrol and deisel car sales by 2030, so basically an end to manual vehicles. You can be forgiven for questioning the point of learning to drive a manual car, and as we get closer to 2030 I am sure many more will be asking the same.

But dont all jump to an automatic car just yet. Although all electric vehicles are automatic, new cars are still beyond the reach of many new drivers and manual cars will be around long after 2030. Having a manual drivers licence will also allow you to drive the biggest range of vehicles including automatic vehicles and who knows, maybe in the future the government may decide that Hydrogen vehicles are a better alternative to electirc vehicles and in that case we will all need our manual licences again. 

We find that with a 1 hour driving lessons per week, the average person can take around 18 months to reach the driving test standard. Having a 2 hour lesson each week will greatly reduce your learning time down to around 7-8 months. The more lessons you have each week and the closer they are together, the quicker you will reach the driving test standard.

With an intensive course as an example, you can do 36 hours in one week and easily reach the driving test standard by the end of your 36 hours. Compare that to 1 hour a week over 18 months and you will have saved yourself around 42 hours of driving lessons.