LEARNERS are giving up on manual cars – with four in ten taking automatic-only tests.
Manual tests allow license holders to use any type of car, while automatic tests mean that you can only legally drive autos.
But while two thirds of learners think they will pass quicker in an automatic car, the pass rate is actually eight per cent lower than manuals – despite the test being exactly the same.
Day Insure, who produced the study, said: “We know that learning to drive isn’t easy – there are lots of things to practice and new skills to pick up, and of course everyone wants to pass first time if they can.
“We’ve noticed more of our temporary learner driver insurance customers are getting cover for automatic cars.”
But while more learners want automatic lessons, in many cities the number of instructors willing to teach them is as low as three per cent.
This is the case in university towns of York, Stirling, Cambridge, Bath and Norwich.
But in London one in five can teach automatic, with Nottingham the second most at 13 per cent and Preston, Birmingham and Luton joint third at 12 per cent.
This comes as the number of automatic-only license holders is up a quarter in just two years and the number of searches for information about these tests has increased by 40 per cent in a year.
Others argue that manual cars will soon be redundant, as in 2030 the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK, with hybrids banned from sale in new car showrooms from 2035.
Electric cars are always automatic, as they don’t need a clutch or gears.
Some still have an option to add gears – although this is purely to maintain a ‘traditional’ drive feel.
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