Changing from manual to auto lessons?

rawn

Hi all. I've had 3 lessons in a manual car and they've all gone pretty badly. I can't figure out the knack to the clutch, every time I feel I have it I lose it again, both at my lessons and practicing with my dad. I'm focused so much on the clutch I can't concentrate on anything else. I KNOW I will get it eventually with practice but now my personal circumstances have changed and I need to be driving myself sooner than I had planned. I think the best thing for me to do is to ask can I switch to an automatic car to continue my lessons and then just buy an automatic car. Is that possible? I'm with ISM. I can always get my manual license in the future when I'm more comfortable on the roads and have the time/money to do it. I'm annoyed that I feel I have to do it but c'est la vie.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

rawn

I just don't have the time unfortunately. Every lesson is me struggling with the clutch, I had a time frame of a year to be driving myself around and now it's 3 months!

vectra

Yes,
As far as I am aware you can use auto only
Then take your test and the licence you get will only cover you for auto
You would have to do another test to get your manual licence.

Del2005

rawn wrote: »

I just don't have the time unfortunately. Every lesson is me struggling with the clutch, I had a time frame of a year to be driving myself around and now it's 3 months!

All it takes is practice. Go somewhere quite, an industrial estate after 6 or a super market car park when closed, and just practice gears. I recently taught someone to use gears, luckily we had a few big fields to practice in but a quiet area where you solely concentrate on getting the muscle memory of changing gears shouldn't take too long.

In saying that if you don't have the time just go auto. Only problem will be that getting a good car for a reasonable price that a newly qualified person with a restricted license can insure might not be easy.

savagethegoat

if I remember back 40 odd years, the one thing that helped me was not to put my foot straight on the clutch pedal but to put it on an angle so that I could pivot my foot on my heal. It'z hard to explain, but once I had my foot at 45 degrees rather than straight on, clutch control became easy.

Three lessons is not enough to give up

Vic_08

rawn wrote: »

I just don't have the time unfortunately. Every lesson is me struggling with the clutch, I had a time frame of a year to be driving myself around and now it's 3 months!

Depending on how much time you have free you should be able to learn in a lot less than 3 months, IMO learning intensively is better for retaining the skills than 1 lesson/week sort of thing.

I would hold off on booking any more lessons and go out somewhere quiet and away from traffic with a relative/friend to concentrate on clutch and basic car control. Trying to learn that and deal with traffic together is a very poor way for anyone who struggles with it.

Give it a week of daily practice and if you still feel you are making no progress then think about switching to auto.

TBH if you do go the auto route it will be very unlikely you will switch later, you will have to go through the whole application and learning process again so it will likely seem too much bother.

If you do find yourself going auto then as above finding a decent cheap starter car is probably the biggest issue, there are less to choose from and they are more expensive and auto boxes can be money-holes when they give trouble. It isn't the end of the world though, autos aren't as rare here as they used to be.

I taught a few people before the mandatory lessons regime and the method I found best was to concentrate on basic controls off road first then when reasonably confident in that go out for long drives on quiet-ish rural roads to learn proper car control, brakes, speed, gears, road observation. Only when confident in ability to control car to go on city streets for traffic, rules, interaction with other vehicles.

It's probably not the quickest in terms of overall hours behind the wheel but I found progress easy enough as there was no stress in trying to master basic controls in the middle of a busy street.

Wibbs

Vic_08 wrote: »

I taught a few people before the mandatory lessons regime and the method I found best was to concentrate on basic controls off road first then when reasonably confident in that go out for long drives on quiet-ish rural roads to learn proper car control, brakes, speed, gears, road observation. Only when confident in ability to control car to go on city streets for traffic, rules, interaction with other vehicles.

It's probably not the quickest in terms of overall hours behind the wheel but I found progress easy enough as there was no stress in trying to master basic controls in the middle of a busy street.

+1000. It has long been my take that this driving instructor crap of dropping complete novices into traffic is utter daftness. Incredibly stressful for all concerned.

Mycroft H

Whilst its all muscle memory after a while, that isn't going to come too quickly but you can get good enough to pass a test easy enough. The standard isn't that high.

Somewhere quite will make things easier so you can do this at your own pace. I managed to learn as a young lad knocking a jeep about a farm.

It's also worth chancing of getting an instructor car that's a diesel. There more tolerant of poor gear changes (and may not form the best habits long term)

smoke_mirrors

You've only had 3 lessons. It takes a good while before you get the hang of things. Yes it is difficult when starting out, it can be very stressful and make you feel upset. But you just need to stick with it and find a good instructor that will be patient and give you time.

Nobody will ever get the hang of it after just 12 mandatory lessons.

If you can find somebody to show you how to finding the biting point of the clutch you'll be making progress in no time. When i first learned my first instructor was terrible until I got a much better one later who made it much clearer to me.

Speedwell

Oh, I just learned to drive a manual transmission car after 30+ years of driving nothing but automatics (I'm from the US and my engineer father told me, "All cars will be automatic within five years; you'll never need to learn that", heh). It took bleeding forever. I was so dumb and literal-minded and anxious. Here are a few tips that helped me:

- My instructor explained that using the "extra" pedal (the clutch) together with the gas and brake was a sort of balancing exercise. He held up his two hands, palm down, and made them go up and down relative to each other like the pans of an old-fashioned scale. He said, "you have only two feet, so you are working at most two pedals at any given time, and unless you are stopping the car, one of those pedals is usually going up or staying stable while the other one is going down".
- My instructor was also from England (which helped me because I had previously only driven a car on the left side of the road in Scotland), and he used to say "Remember the BBC" when he meant "brake before clutch".
- When I passed my driving test (finally), I still had a couple of bad habits from being an automatic driver that you will not have unless you deliberately learn as an automatic driver. You will need to learn to shift gears "early and often" so that in your test you will not be seen using too low a gear for the speed. Never go more than a few metres in first and shift to a higher gear as soon as the engine revs allow you to. I was told you don't need to go into fifth gear for the test at all but I would use it if you are going to make good progress on an 80kph road.
- Don't downshift too much when approaching roundabouts, but make sure your speed on approach is low enough to allow you plenty (and I mean a good plenty) of time to be seen exhibiting excellent observation skills so that you don't have to stop unexpectedly, and to smoothly enter and leave.
- When parking the car, if you are facing uphill or downhill, you will need to think about putting your car in either first gear (to help prevent rolling downhill) or reverse (to help prevent rolling uphill). Make sure your car is turned off before you press in the clutch and change the gear to do this (as well as make sure your wheels are turned away from the curb when facing uphill and into the curb when facing downhill).

Hope that helps a bit. Especially the concept of "balance" helped me. Get plenty of practice. It did NOT come easily to me, but I am a capable enough driver now and I never damaged my clutch, which was probably my biggest fear.

Odelay

I'd forget about the manual, go for automatic. All this faffing around with a stick is going out of fashion at a far faster rate than ever before as people realise autos are fuel efficient, comfortable and reliable. Also add to the mix the increasing use of electric cars with no gears.

Speedwell

Odelay wrote: »

I'd forget about the manual, go for automatic. All this faffing around with a stick is going out of fashion at a far faster rate than ever before as people realise autos are fuel efficient, comfortable and reliable. Also add to the mix the increasing use of electric cars with no gears.

ffs my father told me that 30 years ago. Don't hold your breath.

daRobot

Don't give up, you'll get it really soon. And having a manual licence opens up much more possibilities and great cars to drive.

Think of the balance of clutch and accelatator pedal operation like a see-saw.

Persevere and keep at it!

Bigus

Speedwell wrote: »

ffs my father told me that 30 years ago. Don't hold your breath.

Well he was right eventually, EV s will speed up the process exponentially, majority of non sports cars will be auto soon.

There's also a trickle down effect with manual boxes and clutches not available in most high end cars ie less and less ferrarris, no manual bentleys no Rolls Royce , no Bugattis, Lambhorghinis, and trickling down to almost all auto Lexus .

SO go fo your auto licence even though it's almost sacrilege around here not to drive a Stick,

Also my sibling has an auto licence only for the last 40 years here in Ireland with no accidents , and no real hassle finding suitable cars .

EagererBeaver

If you only learn in an automatic, you will find it very, very hard to adapt to learning for manual down the line.

ABC101

Make sure the seat position is correct for your legs / feet.

When I was learning to drive I found it difficult, however on changing an instructor he noticed that the seat was too far forward. Shifted seat position and my clutch control was much improved.

Most car owners have their own car which only they drive, therefore the seat position is always set up to suit them.

When learning you are either in some bodies else's car, or in a learner vehicle which is most probably not going to have a seat position correct for you.

If you have not already done so, try setting the seat up as best you can before starting the engine. Then after 20 minutes driving later try a small seat position adjustment, then monitor if your clutch performance, stress on your knees / ankles etc.

If you are small in statue, some people like to use a seat cushion etc. ( not sure about the rules /regulations about seat cushions, best ask the instructor etc)

Automatics are great, but it is best to have a license for a manual gearboxes.

Squall Leonhart

Odelay wrote: »

I'd forget about the manual, go for automatic. All this faffing around with a stick is going out of fashion at a far faster rate than ever before as people realise autos are fuel efficient, comfortable and reliable. Also add to the mix the increasing use of electric cars with no gears.

Ignore this advice!

Learn manual. If it takes 5 times more effort so be it. It's a very useful skill to have and once you've learned it, it's no weight to carry!

Friend asks you, can you move my car for me, I've to do XYZ... umm, nope, I can't, I dunno how to move a manual.

Relative falls down stairs, breaks a leg after you've walked to their house, you need to bring me to the hospital, my keys are on the table, nope, I can't, I dunno how to drive a manual.

ohnonotgmail

Bigus wrote: »

Well he was right eventually, EV s will speed up the process exponentially, majority of non sports cars will be auto soon.

There's also a trickle down effect with manual boxes and clutches not available in most high end cars ie less and less ferrarris, no manual bentleys no Rolls Royce , no Bugattis, Lambhorghinis, and trickling down to almost all auto Lexus .

SO go fo your auto licence even though it's almost sacrilege around here not to drive a Stick,

Also my sibling has an auto licence only for the last 40 years here in Ireland with no accidents , and no real hassle finding suitable cars .

I dont think the part in bold is of much concern to a learner.

Bigus

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

Ignore this advice!

Learn manual. If it takes 5 times more effort so be it. It's a very useful skill to have and once you've learned it, it's no weight to carry!

The op is in a hurry to qualify , auto only will speed process.

I don't you know the % of Manual vs auto learners that pass first time but this statistic would be useful if in a hurry for a licence .

stimpson

3 lessons in 3 months is not nearly enough. Try 1 or 2 a week. If it's not working for you then ask for a different instructor as you might get someone whose style suits you better. Also it might be worth going out to practice with someone other than your dad.

Bigus

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

I dont think the part in bold is of much concern to a learner.

It proves a point to a learner that the trickle down effect will have on everyday cars, but thanks for pointing out that the op might not NECESSARILY be concerned with Ferrarris and Bentleys unless they are getting a Job in Charles Hurst and may have to move a car now and then.

biko

If you insist on automatic, go for it.
Yes it will speed things up but also restrict you in future to autos only. This may not really be a concern as there are more and more auto now sold in Ireland.

Speedwell

Don't forget that after the lessons have been completed, it could be up to 8 or so weeks before the test date, even the OP asked for "first available". Good practice can be got in that time if you are conscientious.

NiallBoo

Three months is plenty of time, it's all about the amount of time you spend behind the wheel.

You can't expect to learn anything properly in three lessons.

Practicing frequently and regularly is vital for compounding what you're learning. Try to focus on learning one thing at a time. Concentrate on gears/clutch for the next while and you'll get it down.

ohnonotgmail

Bigus wrote: »

It proves a point to a learner that the trickle down effect will have on everyday cars, but thanks for pointing out that the op might not NECESSARILY be concerned with Ferrarris and Bentleys unless they are getting a Job in Charles Hurst and may have to move a car now and then.

Manual cars will be around for a LONG time. they are not going away. Switching to auto only severely restricts the options available to a young driver. As somebody else said 3 lessons in 3 months is not enough. It is no wonder they havent got the hang of the clutch yet. They need to be doing lessons every week at least with practice in between. Its a bit early for the OP to be giving up on manuals.

Deagol

It's worth learning manual box if only if you ever want to hire a car on holiday. Automatics can be rare and expensive in many countries as they will only have auto boxes in the larger / premium models.

Alanstrainor

OP, how long have you have your learner permit? You must have it for 6 months before you can do you test anyway, that should leave time regardless of what license you want to go for.

My advice would be to stick with the manual, and stick it for 10 lessons if needs be. If you do, I would expect you to actually get the hang of the clutch and progress with all the other things that you have to learn. And if it were to arise that after 10 lessons you were not happy with the clutch you could quickly and easily change to an auto. It makes the driving test so much easier that you could have it comfortably down after 3 lessons or so.

And by the way, I was definitely not comfortable with the clutch after 3 lessons, it will just click at one point and it will all make sense.

As others have said, 3 lessons are not a lot. When I learned to drive, many years ago, My Dad had me reversing and driving forward in our drive every evening for a week. We then progressed to a supermarket carpark for another 3 nights, then on to the road. You need to be doing this every day/night if possible. Don't be too hard on yourself. You will be amazed at how it will all come together. Good Luck.

Dravokivich

When I started learning to drive recently, I was really focused on getting the Clutch movements right. It just took putting a lot of time into it. I'm still not fully there yet as a lot of the time I'm still over revving when starting off and going down on the accelerator a bit early when going up the gears.

If you've been putting a lot of time in, you may need to consider what it is you are actually doing, as opposed to not getting the expected result.

Don't be afraid to ask people how they use the clutch and know when they are ready to pull off. I honestly don't feel this "Bite" people tend to go on about. If someone is just sitting there with you, waiting for you to click it, find someone else to sit in the car with you who may help explain what's going on.

Here's an exercise to practise I used, to try to learn the position of the clutch. Try discussing it with someone else before going ahead with it though!

- Handbrake on
- in first gear
- release clutch slowly until you see the bonnet lift
- Push Clutch down and release until that point again, repeat for 5 minutes

Bit of an exercise to practise starting off (make sure you have a clear run in front of you, no traffic)

- Handrake on
- in first gear
- press on accelerator
- release clutch to the point bonnet lifts
- release handbrake and press accelerator more

then press brakes to stop.

- If car jutters and stalls, you are going too lightly on accelerator

- If engine revs too much, you can try to go a bit lighter on accelerator

Help!!!!

rawn wrote: »

Hi all. I've had 3 lessons in a manual car and they've all gone pretty badly. I can't figure out the knack to the clutch, every time I feel I have it I lose it again, both at my lessons and practicing with my dad. I'm focused so much on the clutch I can't concentrate on anything else. I KNOW I will get it eventually with practice but now my personal circumstances have changed and I need to be driving myself sooner than I had planned. I think the best thing for me to do is to ask can I switch to an automatic car to continue my lessons and then just buy an automatic car. Is that possible? I'm with ISM. I can always get my manual license in the future when I'm more comfortable on the roads and have the time/money to do it. I'm annoyed that I feel I have to do it but c'est la vie.

Yes it is possible....I started lessons with manual but like you I had problems & it knocked my confidence. We bought an automatic & I am now very close to applying for my test. Its not hard to find automatic cars

Help!!!!

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

Ignore this advice!

Learn manual. If it takes 5 times more effort so be it. It's a very useful skill to have and once you've learned it, it's no weight to carry!

Friend asks you, can you move my car for me, I've to do XYZ... umm, nope, I can't, I dunno how to move a manual.

Relative falls down stairs, breaks a leg after you've walked to their house, you need to bring me to the hospital, my keys are on the table, nope, I can't, I dunno how to drive a manual.

Yes & if the OP gives up because they lose confidence they still wont be able to do those things

Dravokivich

Help!!!! wrote: »

Yes & if the OP gives up because they lose confidence they still wont be able to do those things

To be bluntly honest, the OP shouldn't expect to do something, they clearly do not know how to do. They need to focus on getting good instruction, or looking for exercises to practice and learn from. All we know from the OP is that they've had 3 lessons and tried a bit of practice but still have an issue with the clutch. It's not particularly clear what they've tried to do to get over this issue with the clutch.

rawn

Hi OP here, thanks everyone for the great advice!

To clear up, I've had 3 of my mandatory lessons. First one was terrible cos I messed up with the clutch so much. Practiced out with my dad (he explained the "scales" balance clutch to me). Did a little better, next lesson went ok, still messed up with the clutch a lot. More practice then had the next lesson and it was awful. As soon as I try to focus on something else (turning/indicating etc) I would mess up with the clutch. I've practiced since then (it's now been a month) and it's not getting better. It's nerves mostly, I tend to panic. At one point during a lesson I was crossing my feet between the clutch and the brake, and another point I was pressing the accelerator and the brake simultaneously! All my practice has been in car parks or (mostly) empty industrial estates.

A big problem is that I FEEL I'm holding the clutch and pressing the accelerator but I'm either not holding long enough or revving too hard/not enough. I will learn it eventually and with practice but I need to be driving in 3/4 months. The added pressure of this doesn't help!

Thanks so much for all the tips and encouragement, it really does seem like I'm better of all around by sticking with it.

Sam Hain

Was kind of in the same position as the OP. Had over 24 hours of manual lessons but with no practice in between, and every time I thought I had it sorted, I'd have an absolute mare of a lesson that would knock all the confidence out of me. So after all the ups and downs and even though I was relatively capable of driving a manual, it still made me very anxious and uncomfortable a lot of the time which inadvertently affected other aspects of my driving, so I decided to try an automatic, I couldn't believe the difference, I had so much time to concentrate on whats happening outside the car and all aspects of my driving improved. It was a godsend. So OP, try it and make your own decision.

Bigus

Good on you, for sticking with the stick.

I taught a good few people around car parks and one trick I used was apart from the steering wheel, to only let the learner use the clutch and the foot brake , no accelerator at all (repeat no accelerator at all ) at walking pace , both forward and reverse, ( so no mirror, handbrake, indicators, other traffic , no gears and no accelerator to worry above and confuse)

learners soon got very delicate on the clutch in order to avoid stalling the car without pressing the accelerator, (it's a bit easier now on modern cars as they don't stall readily) and most modern cars will happily trudge along at walking pace with no use of accelerator on level ground,

and the learner can also learn how to dip the clutch and moderate the movement/speed of the car again with no use of the loud pedal.

However a learner will stall a lot moving off with this method but nevertheless soon learn that they might have to dip the clutch a second time even as the car begins to move and they also learn that the car cuts out when coming to a stop if the clutch isn't pressed down soon enough ,

again all at walking pace in an empty LEVEL car park,in either only first gear or reverse, so never any panic or embarrassment . As soon as this method is in muscle memory all the other elements can be added starting with accelerator use and progressing to second gear.

IMHO The most important thing before a learner leaves the comfort of a car park should be a fairly vigorous EMERGENCY stop, including locking up wheels or at least getting the abs to engage, so that when they have to do this they know what to expect,

An emergency stop can be a frightening thing and the first time I'd got them to do an emergency stop the learner asked "will I not break the car by pushing the brake so hard" and my reply was in an emergency stop try to push the brake pedal though the floor, initially at least.

bpb101

before you take your foot off the clutch, even when its pressed to the floor give the a load of rev and gently release the clutch..
also try and go on a slight hill(out of the way from everybody) and balance the car on the clutch. Dont move forward dont move back. going auto is a waste of time

cantdecide

Stuck for time but haven't read the thread. Below is the advice I gave someone else recently. Sorry for being blunt but you'd be mad to go for an auto car. You'd be in the 1% of people that are restricted and you will live with the consequences for a long time. You won't learn to drive any quicker in an auto, you'll just eliminate one parallel factor- you can learn around the transmission

You're probably stalling because you're afraid of the throttle; not the clutch. This is the case more often than not, IME.

People seem to get flustered about the clutch right but in my opinion, throttle control is the key to smooth driving.

Basically, when changing gear you need to overlap releasing the clutch with pressing the throttle deliberately and confidently- it's a dual motion.

On a broader level, I say focus on your throttle control. The first thing I would suggest to you is whenever you sit in a car (you can even do this at home in the driveway), spend some time slowly revving the car up and down between about 2300RPM or so and back down to idle depending on the car (diesels may 2000RPM).

The second thing is this; you will over-rev the engine when learning to move off- don't freak out and instantly release the throttle and risk a stall. Over-revving is just a bit of noise. When this happens, take a breath and try and bring the revs down in a controlled way to the right level even if you spend a couple of seconds sounding like you're hurting the car (you'd have to over-rev regularly for extended periods of time to hurt the engine- modern engines are robust).

You will have to grasp the nettle and just start speeding up these maneuvers. Repetition is key and remember, you will stall and over-rev. Forget about how bad it feels and sounds when it goes awry; just keep practicing. Create starting and stopping exercises that you begin your practice with and don't give into the temptation of getting going and cruising around the gaff- when you master moving off and low speed gear selection, all the real world stuff becomes much easier.

cailin.

rawn wrote: »

Hi all. I've had 3 lessons in a manual car and they've all gone pretty badly. I can't figure out the knack to the clutch, every time I feel I have it I lose it again, both at my lessons and practicing with my dad. I'm focused so much on the clutch I can't concentrate on anything else. I KNOW I will get it eventually with practice but now my personal circumstances have changed and I need to be driving myself sooner than I had planned. I think the best thing for me to do is to ask can I switch to an automatic car to continue my lessons and then just buy an automatic car. Is that possible? I'm with ISM. I can always get my manual license in the future when I'm more comfortable on the roads and have the time/money to do it. I'm annoyed that I feel I have to do it but c'est la vie.

As a current Learner driver about to sit their test, I would really encourage you to try stick with manual. Like some of the previous advice, learning to drive is a process that will eventually click with you. I've had to learn to drive in less than 6 months due to my job but the main reason I am at a test standard is because I found a patient instructor who constantly encouraged me. I had huge issues with the biting point for the first while. Sit in the car with the handbreak on and get a feel of the car as you find the bite. You will cut out many many times, it's part of learning. I completed EDT's after 3 months, and continued to practice daily with a sponsor. You need to allow yourself time to adjust first to the basic controls of the car, and when this starts to feel more normal to you, the rest will follow. It's up to you however OP, good luck whatever you choose to do.

Alanstrainor

Bigus wrote: »

Good on you, for sticking with the stick.

I taught a good few people around car parks and one trick I used was apart from the steering wheel, to only let the learner use the clutch and the foot brake , no accelerator at all (repeat no accelerator at all ) at walking pace , both forward and reverse, ( so no mirror, handbrake, indicators, other traffic , no gears and no accelerator to worry above and confuse)

learners soon got very delicate on the clutch in order to avoid stalling the car without pressing the accelerator, (it's a bit easier now on modern cars as they don't stall readily) and most modern cars will happily trudge along at walking pace with no use of accelerator on level ground,

and the learner can also learn how to dip the clutch and moderate the movement/speed of the car again with no use of the loud pedal.

However a learner will stall a lot moving off with this method but nevertheless soon learn that they might have to dip the clutch a second time even as the car begins to move and they also learn that the car cuts out when coming to a stop if the clutch isn't pressed down soon enough ,

again all at walking pace in an empty LEVEL car park,in either only first gear or reverse, so never any panic or embarrassment . As soon as this method is in muscle memory all the other elements can be added starting with accelerator use and progressing to second gear.

IMHO The most important thing before a learner leaves the comfort of a car park should be a fairly vigorous EMERGENCY stop, including locking up wheels or at least getting the abs to engage, so that when they have to do this they know what to expect,

An emergency stop can be a frightening thing and the first time I'd got them to do an emergency stop the learner asked "will I not break the car by pushing the brake so hard" and my reply was in an emergency stop try to push the brake pedal though the floor, initially at least.

Great advice. It's a great way to learn how the clutch works, and how to know when the car is about to stall. I've used the same when teaching friends and family. It's surprising how many *experienced* drivers don't realise that you can start the car moving with the clutch alone.

Even 20 minutes in an empty level carpark starting and stopping by slowly releasing the clutch without any accelerator will make things click a lot faster imo.

And OP, just fyi, I remember when I was getting lessons it went like this:

Lesson 1: Great, felt I learned a lot.
Lesson 2: Great, thought I was the bees knees
Lesson 3: Worse than lesson 1, felt I was completely incompetent, stalled, missed gears etc etc
Lesson 4: Best of the lot, it was my *everything clicked* lesson.
Lesson 5: Was told to book my test

Passed my test a month later \o/

Lia_lia

Bigus wrote: »

Good on you, for sticking with the stick.

I taught a good few people around car parks and one trick I used was apart from the steering wheel, to only let the learner use the clutch and the foot brake , no accelerator at all (repeat no accelerator at all ) at walking pace , both forward and reverse, ( so no mirror, handbrake, indicators, other traffic , no gears and no accelerator to worry above and confuse)

learners soon got very delicate on the clutch in order to avoid stalling the car without pressing the accelerator, (it's a bit easier now on modern cars as they don't stall readily) and most modern cars will happily trudge along at walking pace with no use of accelerator on level ground,

and the learner can also learn how to dip the clutch and moderate the movement/speed of the car again with no use of the loud pedal.

However a learner will stall a lot moving off with this method but nevertheless soon learn that they might have to dip the clutch a second time even as the car begins to move and they also learn that the car cuts out when coming to a stop if the clutch isn't pressed down soon enough ,

again all at walking pace in an empty LEVEL car park,in either only first gear or reverse, so never any panic or embarrassment . As soon as this method is in muscle memory all the other elements can be added starting with accelerator use and progressing to second gear.

IMHO The most important thing before a learner leaves the comfort of a car park should be a fairly vigorous EMERGENCY stop, including locking up wheels or at least getting the abs to engage, so that when they have to do this they know what to expect,

An emergency stop can be a frightening thing and the first time I'd got them to do an emergency stop the learner asked "will I not break the car by pushing the brake so hard" and my reply was in an emergency stop try to push the brake pedal though the floor, initially at least.

This is great advice. And it's exactly what my instructor did with me. I actually found the clutch/gears one of the easiest parts of learning to drive and it was probably because I was taught it well. Don't give up on the manual car OP. Everyone learns at a different pace. I could barely move a car after 3 lessons, my brother passed his test after 3 lessons. Get plenty of practise outside of lessons also! That's the most important thing.

Dravokivich

rawn wrote: »

As soon as I try to focus on something else (turning/indicating etc) I would mess up with the clutch.

Whoever is helping you practice, tell them to bring you somewhere, where this will not be an issue. There's plenty of industrial estates that get quiet from early enough in the evening and the entire weekend with big long stretches of road in them. So all you'll need to do is make sure there's plenty of space for the odd car to get by you if needed.

If someone insists on sitting with you out on a road right now, you've got to set them straight about your short term objectives. If you are struggling to get the car going, or to keep it going, being in traffic is only going to go against you.