How Do You Drive an Automatic Car?

If you know how to drive a manual car, then driving an automatic car is a piece of cake. In a manual vehicle, you have three foot pedals – the clutch, brake, and accelerator.

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In a manual car, you are required to change gears manually, whereas, in a manual car, the gears change automatically. This takes the pressure off for drivers to change gears over and over again while driving a car.

The only thing is that if you learn to drive with an automatic car, then switching over to manual driving isn’t the simplest, but it also is not impossible.

It would require some getting used to and a lot of practice. While you don’t have to worry about changing gears in an automatic vehicle, you will have to pay attention to the modes you use while driving.

If you enroll with a professional driving school like National Driving School in Dublin, you will be well taken care of the small aspects which make or break the driving habits of a person. When it comes t any motor skill like driving a car or a bike, the fundamental basics are extremely important.

When you join National Driving School, you will be taught how to drive any type of vehicle – manual or automatic – and this decision will be based on what type of car you will be mostly exposed to.

If you own a manual car, it would make the most sense to learn how to drive that, and vice versa.

What is the difference between a manual car and an automatic car?

The main difference between an automatic and a manual car is the way one shifts gears. While in a manual car, the driver has to change gears constantly while they are driving, in an automatic car the driver does not have to do this.

The gears change automatically according to the speed of the vehicle. Also in an automatic car, there are only the brake and the accelerator pedals, not the clutch, unlike the manual car.

The manual car has the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals. Instead of having these three, an automatic car only has the two said pedals. Also, automatic cars are more expensive than manual cars.

While an automatic car has a gearstick, the stick has P R N and D modes (Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive). In terms of ease of driving, driving an automatic car is way easier than driving a manual car.

How can one learn how to drive an automatic car?

Driving an automatic car is fairly simple, but there are a few things you must keep in mind before you start driving on the road.

Starting your automatic car – When you want to start your automatic car, you just need to keep the gearstick on Park and keep your foot on the brake pedal. When you have the car on Park and your foot on the brake pedal, you are ready to put the key in and start your car.

How to make your car move forward – Now that you have started your car, it is time for you to slowly move from Park to Drive. While you have moved from one mode to another, you will have to slowly release your foot from the brake pedal.

Now that your car is moving forward, you can start stepping on the gas or the accelerator. Now your car is moving! You don’t even have to worry about changing gears now, the car will do it for you automatically.

How to slow your car down – Slowing down is very simple. You just need to stop hitting the accelerator. Depending on how quickly you want to slow down, you can even hit the brakes. This is how you can even stop your car from moving.

Reversing your car – When you want to reverse your car, you need to make sure your car has stopped completely. Now with your foot still on the brake pedal, you have to switch from drive to reverse mode. When you have done this, you can now move your foot from the brake pedal to the gar/accelerator pedal. Your car will now reverse. Just be careful about your path being clear and not banging into anything.

How to park your car once you’re done driving – You need to halt your car completely in the position you want to park your car. Now once that the car has stopped moving, you have to change the gearstick to the P. Now you can take the keys out of the car and voila! You have successfully parked your car.

Things to keep in mind while driving an automatic car –

While driving an automatic can be quite simple and pleasurable, there are some things that you must avoid at all circumstances to do when you are the owner of an automatic car.

Here is a list of things you must be extremely careful about while driving an automatic car –

• Never move down a steep slope when you are on neutral mode. While it may be tempting to use gravity and save some gas, it really isn’t worth the turmoil that it puts the car through. When you do this, your transmission system does not get the lubrication it requires as the oil supply gets cut off.
• Avoid revving the engine over and over again, especially before switching gears. This causes a lot of friction in the automatic transmission system and harms the engine in the long run.
• Do not switch to the neutral mode when you are stopping briefly, like when you are at a red light.
• Do not move to park mode before you have ensured that the car is completely still.
• Do not forget to warm up the engine before you head out for a long day of driving. This rule holds most important when it is cold out.