what will they make me do on the test (automatic car)?

Eric Cartman

ok i know all about the roundabouts, the normal forward driving stuff, emergency stop,

what will they make me do in terms of :

reversing
parking
hand signals
odd menouvers

Wishbone Ash

Eric Cartman wrote: »

ok i know all about the roundabouts, the normal forward driving stuff, emergency stop,

what will they make me do in terms of :

reversing
parking
hand signals
odd menouvers

No different than for a manual.

Parking - depends on the test centre. Some have loads of space while others it is tight. there is not usuall any parking manoeuvre (in category during the test but maybe at the end.

SeanW

Please keep in mind that if you do your test in an autmatic car, your license will forever be restricted to vehicles with an automatic transmission.

I would strongly reccommend getting your hands on a standard transmission car, or if for whatever reason that won't work, cancelling the test and getting something sorted.

Eric Cartman

i never plan to drive a manual, automatics are easy to get 2nd hand cheap, also i just threw the automatic in as a footnote, whats actually on the driving test full stop aside from what ive mentioned

Rags

Theres no difference apart from they dont get you to do a hill start in an auto.

okcomputer

Whats it like to drive an automatic, its must be mad no gears ay, must feel like a bumper car

Hey I thought there was no parking in the test at all??

tuxy

Eric Cartman wrote: »

ok i know all about the roundabouts, the normal forward driving stuff, emergency stop,

It's great that you know about the emergency stop that is non existent.

eringobragh

Eric Cartman wrote: »

i never plan to drive a manual, automatics are easy to get 2nd hand cheap, also i just threw the automatic in as a footnote, whats actually on the driving test full stop aside from what ive mentioned

I can't understand why you wouldn't learn a manual even if you not going to use it again. I prefer manuals to autos.

Is it just sheer laziness?? or am i missing something??

SeanW

I can certainly understand preferring automatics, heck I might even go down that road in the future myself, but the important IMO is start out with all your options open.

Ok, so lets say you get your automatic-restricted license, get a nice automatic car, motoring along fine until one day perhaps 10 years down the line, you get into an accident or a serious breakdown - heaven forbid but it might happen.

Your insurance company might lend you a "courtesy car" or someone you know could lend you some spare vehicle. But invariably this will be a manual, as most cars in this country are. I don't know if it's concern about the level of driving skill required to drive manual - it looks intimidating when you first start learning, but believe me once you get the knack of it there's no going back.

If the OP has some overriding reason for wishing to take out automatic-only license that's his/her call.

But I would strongly recommend (s)he go back to the drawing board and think about this again.

But enough preaching.

To directly answer the OPs question, the test will involve about 7-10 km of urban driving, where the tester will watch your driving competence, adherence to rules of the road, your observation and reaction to hazards.

There will also be 3 maneuvures.
1: A Hill start (might not bother for an automatic)
2: Reversing around a junction (usually in a housing estate)
3: Turnabout, that being turning the car around to face the opposite direction, sometimes referred to as a broken-U turn because it can never be done in just one move.

You will also be asked to demonstrate all relevant hand signals and answer some questions about the rules of the road as well as some technical checks of your vehicle.

Eric Cartman

cheers, and im doing it in an automatic because thats all i have access to, my parents have driven automatic cars for years, my dads left leg isnt the greatest after 15 or so years of driving every day and it was starting to become a problem a few years back, so he bought an automatic and he now walks almost perfectly again , he only drives round dublin so whats the point of flicking between first and second all day, i know the basics of driving a manual and if pushed i could but theres nobody i know that will be willing to lend me a manual to practise in or do my test in

tc20

okcomputer wrote: »

Whats it like to drive an automatic, its must be mad no gears ay, must feel like a bumper car

Hey I thought there was no parking in the test at all??

Ah but there are gears in an auto, its just that the car changes them for you.

As for parking - well you will walk out of the test centre after your q & a session to get into your car (which you have parked)
You will 'park' before doing the manouevres (Turnabout, reverse, etc)
And you will arrive back at the test centre and park your car again.
Ok, so you're not tested on bay parking, or paralell parking, but you should be.

Wishbone Ash

tc20 wrote: »

As for parking - well you will walk out of the test centre after your q & a session to get into your car (which you have parked)
You will 'park' before doing the manouevres (Turnabout, reverse, etc)
And you will arrive back at the test centre and park your car again.
Ok, so you're not tested on bay parking, or paralell parking, but you should be.

AFAIK, when parking at the end, the examiner will check that the driver engages the park brake, switches off engine before exiting and observes before opening the door. I don't think they assess the actual 'parking' skill but only if the vehicle is safely parked.