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The I Feel Happy Topic!

Matt N said:
Thankfully, I decided to go with an automatic instructor, so one element of stress (gears) is removed from it; I decided not to bite off more than I can chew, as I always thought that manual driving looked like a lot of things to focus on for someone like me.

I know that learning in an automatic will mean that I don't have a full driving license, and can only drive in automatic cars, but I thought that might make me more comfortable with driving, and to be honest, most cars are going automatic anyway; once we've banned petrol & diesel cars, the world will be automatic only.

I am still nervous, though... I feel like there's a lot riding on me knowing how to drive. Even if I don't drive long distances, it would still be a helpful skill to have so that I can take myself to the train station to get places as opposed to relying on someone else to take me.
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I can understand you wanting to go automatic only if you think that'll be easier for you. I can drive anything without any issues, though the first (and so far only) time I drove a manual in left-hand drive was rather challenging due to the whole muscle memory thing. Thankfully, most of it was on the Autobahn from Stuttgart Airport to EP, so it wasn't too bad, though I did somehow manage to stall in traffic once or twice, but that's unrelated. :p
 
Was the hire car in NL automatic?

I'd always recommend giving manual a try and see what happens.
 
Poisson said:
Was the hire car in NL automatic?

I'd always recommend giving manual a try and see what happens.
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Yeah, it was. Decided it'd be best to go automatic for the first one or two LHD drives on the continent so as to have one fewer thing to worry about. Though the brakes were quite vicious on that little Yaris, weren't they? :p
 
@Skyscraper @Matt N I wouldn't advise either of you simply just give in and think driving "isn't for me" as that's nonsense. I was a terrible learner as I just couldn't multitask on all the things to do at the same time. It took me ages due to my terrible coordination skills. I'm the the kind of guy that can't catch a ball, will miss a golf ball completely when swinging and can miss an open goal. 20 years later, I have a full clean license, used to have a job involving driving up and down the country and I wouldn't think twice about driving abroad, I just go in feet first and do it. You've got nothing to loose other than the cost of the extra lessons but everything to gain.

Not having a full license will hold you back in the future. Don't worry about how awful it seems at first, an instructor won't let you do anything you're not ready for even if that means spending weeks in an empty car park just getting to grips with making the vehicle move. Whereas it took most people I knew only a few months it took me 2 years and it changed just about everything about my life in terms of freedom and opportunities. Trust me when I say you'll both be able to do it no matter what you think right now. If an idiot like me can, anyone can.

Don't worry about this fear of manuals either. Changing gear was probably the worst thing for me to get to grips with, and it still is when I get into left hand drives abroad (pushing the clutch down with my left foot then reaching out with my left hand only to find I've wound down the window rather than change gears) but it soon becomes something completely subconscious and you won't even think about it leading up to your test. Bear in mind that automatics are much more expensive cars to buy and rent, there's fewer of them and even if new Fossil Fuel vehicles are banned from 2030, most of us will still be driving them until at least 2040 and there's no guarantee that every new vehicle will be electric either as they're still no very practical. A hydrogen combustion engine being developed for agricultural machinery for instance will likely still have a manual gear boxes in cars.
 
Well, driving went better than I’d feared it might!

The pedals were actually OK, although my instructor did say I was struggling to hit the right balance at times, with me either going too much on the gas, with her having to brake for me, or going too hard on the brake and jolting us both a bit, but she was very encouraging and said I was doing well!

Steering was a bit complicated; I had very tense hands, and even now, I’m not entirely sure which hand is supposed to go where when I turn, other than that your hands have to be in the “10 to 2” or “quarter to 3” position. She did say I was getting better and more relaxed as the lesson progressed, though, particularly when on the open road steering gently rather than steering hard in the empty car park.

The multi tasking thing took a bit of getting used to, and she did have to do things like indicate for me a couple of times. That definitely vindicated me picking automatic learning over manual, in my mind; I think I would have struggled if I’d had gears to contend with as well. The mirrors were also a bit of a struggle, but the roads were quiet so I didn’t have any issues there.

But on the whole, it went somewhat better than I’d expected! I did more than I’d expected for my first lesson; I did turning in a car park, I drove along a quiet road, I stopped at a set of train barriers 3 times, I went round a roundabout, and I even drove myself all the way home (well, 1 or 2 miles) hitting the dizzy heights of 40mph (on a 60mph road, granted, but I certainly felt quite an adrenaline rush!).

So on the whole, I did come out somewhat encouraged, although I am glad that I went with automatic rather than manual. Another lesson has been booked for 2 weeks’ time!
 
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Matt.GC said:
@Skyscraper @Matt N I wouldn't advise either of you simply just give in and think driving "isn't for me" as that's nonsense. I was a terrible learner as I just couldn't multitask on all the things to do at the same time. It took me ages due to my terrible coordination skills. I'm the the kind of guy that can't catch a ball, will miss a golf ball completely when swinging and can miss an open goal. 20 years later, I have a full clean license, used to have a job involving driving up and down the country and I wouldn't think twice about driving abroad, I just go in feet first and do it. You've got nothing to loose other than the cost of the extra lessons but everything to gain.

Not having a full license will hold you back in the future. Don't worry about how awful it seems at first, an instructor won't let you do anything you're not ready for even if that means spending weeks in an empty car park just getting to grips with making the vehicle move. Whereas it took most people I knew only a few months it took me 2 years and it changed just about everything about my life in terms of freedom and opportunities. Trust me when I say you'll both be able to do it no matter what you think right now. If an idiot like me can, anyone can.

Don't worry about this fear of manuals either. Changing gear was probably the worst thing for me to get to grips with, and it still is when I get into left hand drives abroad (pushing the clutch down with my left foot then reaching out with my left hand only to find I've wound down the window rather than change gears) but it soon becomes something completely subconscious and you won't even think about it leading up to your test. Bear in mind that automatics are much more expensive cars to buy and rent, there's fewer of them and even if new Fossil Fuel vehicles are banned from 2030, most of us will still be driving them until at least 2040 and there's no guarantee that every new vehicle will be electric either as they're still no very practical. A hydrogen combustion engine being developed for agricultural machinery for instance will likely still have a manual gear boxes in cars.
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From the auto side...
Most auto's cost between 5 and 10% more to buy, and hold their value better as it is hard to abuse an automatic.
Repairs can be higher, but just keep an eye on the gearbox fluids and they tend to run fine.
Fuel efficiency has increased over the years, but I just love the loss of the hassle of gear changing, especially in town traffic.
And I will say it again, an auto pass means a full license!
You can drive any car that has no clutch, including many semi automatics with an "almost" conventional gearbox, just no third pedal.
Still haven't worked out why my car lets you change gear four different ways!
More and more young people are deciding not to drive and use other forms of transport, many are choosing to chase a house deposit rather than the high additional costs of car ownership.
In my youth there were no electric bikes, scooters and monopeds as reasonable options, just a dodgy moped at 16.
 
Feeling great today.

First day working in the office since Covid and it was great. Talking to people in the office about random things, sharing ideas. WFH is still great as well, but there is a balance to be had.

Exploring London at lunch, and going on the Elizabeth Line after work, which was really good. Crazy how deep the escalators feel.

And only two more sleeps until we are going on holiday.
 
IanB said:
Feeling great today.

First day working in the office since Covid and it was great. Talking to people in the office about random things, sharing ideas. WFH is still great as well, but there is a balance to be had.

Exploring London at lunch, and going on the Elizabeth Line after work, which was really good. Crazy how deep the escalators feel.

And only two more sleeps until we are going on holiday.
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I thought everyone had returned to the office after covid before now. Maybe that could be due to my job required me to be on site though the whole stay at home requirement.


Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk
 
delta79 said:
I thought everyone had returned to the office after covid before now. Maybe that could be due to my job required me to be on site though the whole stay at home requirement.


Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk
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My dad still hasn't returned to the office yet. They're starting to bring people back I think but still have covid restrictions in place, so he won't be going back for a while.
 
Matt N said:
Well, driving went better than I’d feared it might!

The pedals were actually OK, although my instructor did say I was struggling to hit the right balance at times, with me either going too much on the gas, with her having to brake for me, or going too hard on the brake and jolting us both a bit, but she was very encouraging and said I was doing well!

Steering was a bit complicated; I had very tense hands, and even now, I’m not entirely sure which hand is supposed to go where when I turn, other than that your hands have to be in the “10 to 2” or “quarter to 3” position. She did say I was getting better and more relaxed as the lesson progressed, though, particularly when on the open road steering gently rather than steering hard in the empty car park.

The multi tasking thing took a bit of getting used to, and she did have to do things like indicate for me a couple of times. That definitely vindicated me picking automatic learning over manual, in my mind; I think I would have struggled if I’d had gears to contend with as well. The mirrors were also a bit of a struggle, but the roads were quiet so I didn’t have any issues there.

But on the whole, it went somewhat better than I’d expected! I did more than I’d expected for my first lesson; I did turning in a car park, I drove along a quiet road, I stopped at a set of train barriers 3 times, I went round a roundabout, and I even drove myself all the way home (well, 1 or 2 miles) hitting the dizzy heights of 40mph (on a 60mph road, granted, but I certainly felt quite an adrenaline rush!).

So on the whole, I did come out somewhat encouraged, although I am glad that I went with automatic rather than manual. Another lesson has been booked for 2 weeks’ time!
Click to expand...
I think if you're worried about learning to drive and find multitasking difficult it makes perfect sense to start with an automatic. There is so much to get your head around not just in terms of operating the car but reading the road, identifying hazards, route planning, maintaining focus etc that reducing distractions within the car seems very logical to me.

Having said that there is no reason you can't move on to manual lessons once you've nailed all the other stuff. I personally love driving a manual as you have so much more synergy with the car and learn to read and respond to the engine. Automatics can be a pain when they change up when you don't want them to and suchlike.

Also please please don't let anyone make you feel bad for learning at your own pace. It took me 18 months and four tests to pass, but my only regret over that is how much I beat myself up for not learning faster. I didn't always have the best instructors either which certainly didn't help. I made the best progress with my dad teaching me because he understood how I learn and how some days it just wasn't happening but that was ok. I'm so glad I persevered, I love driving, it gives you so much freedom and is so much fun (well, maybe not on the M6 on a Friday afternoon!). And it gives you so many more options in life as well in terms of your job, where you live etc. so it's a really valuable skill. Good luck with the lessons!
 
I think learning in manual is a great skill to gain. It takes time but I think is worth it, you also have the flexibility to switch to an automatic if you need/want to.

Learning to drive either way is stressful and it takes time to manage all the multitasking with ease. Don’t worry if it take a while to feel comfortable with driving. Some people pick it up in a few months, for others it can take 1 or 2+ years.

I love driving, been driving for around 11 years now. It’s one of those things you take for granted and kind of forget the stresses and perils of learning as a teenager.

Keep it up Matt! You’ve got this!
 
The Retrosquad topic reminded me that it's 24 days until I am burnt alive.

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