Automatic driving lessons in Stainforth

How an automatic changes your lessons

With an automatic gearbox there is no clutch pedal and no gear lever to work through. You select drive, release the parking brake and control the car with two pedals, which frees up attention for your mirrors and the traffic around you.

Many learners reach test standard in fewer hours this way. The trade-off is that passing in an automatic gives you an automatic-only licence. Our main automatic driving lessons page explains the licence rules. Diana and Alecsandru are two of the instructors who teach automatic, and Alecsandru is a former college teacher.

Creep and brake control near Stainforth's schools

In an automatic the car creeps forward as soon as you lift off the brake. Learning to use that creep gently is the first job, and residential roads such as Stanley Gardens and Thomas Road are good places to do it without traffic behind you. Creep also makes manoeuvres easier later on: when you parallel park or reverse about two car lengths after pulling up on the right, you control the speed with the footbrake alone.

Then we move to the school-run streets. Long Toft Primary School is on Church Road, Holy Family Catholic Primary School is on Kirton Lane and Stainforth Kirton Lane Primary School has its address on Thorne Road. At drop-off and pick-up times these roads fill with parked cars and children crossing, so you practise covering the brake and keeping your speed right down.

Stop-start traffic on the bus routes

Several bus services run through Stainforth. The 387 and 387A between Doncaster and Moorends come in along Station Road, then follow Emerson Avenue and East Lane to Field Road and Silver Street before heading out on Thorne Road and Kirton Lane.

Following a bus, waiting behind it at a stop and judging when it is safe to pass are skills automatic drivers pick up quickly, because they are not juggling a clutch at the same time. We also cover how to hold the car on the footbrake in a short queue and when to apply the parking brake on a longer wait.

Picking up speed on Unity Way and the A18

An automatic makes joining faster roads simpler, since you can concentrate on matching the speed of other traffic instead of picking a gear. Unity Way, opened in December 2020, links Waggons Way with Junction 5 of the M18, and the Unity Way roundabout is a good place to practise smooth acceleration on exit.

Beyond Dunscroft the A18 runs through Dunsville and Edenthorpe towards the Armthorpe side of Doncaster, where the test centre is. Kickdown, the extra burst of power when you press the accelerator firmly, is useful when joining a faster road. Knowing when to hold back from using it matters just as much.

Is an automatic-only licence right for you?

If you only ever expect to drive your own car, an automatic licence is rarely a problem. If you might need to drive a manual van or a relative's older car, you would have to pass a manual test as well. Our manual or automatic licence guide walks through both sides.

Learners in neighbouring Hatfield face the same choice; see automatic driving lessons in Hatfield. If confidence is the bigger worry, our nervous driver lessons in Stainforth are taught in automatic cars too. Everything else is on our driving lessons in Stainforth page.

Automatic driving lessons in Stainforth: your questions

Do automatic lessons in Stainforth cost more than manual?

Automatic lessons are priced slightly differently from manual ones, and you can compare both on our prices page. Because many learners need fewer hours to reach test standard in an automatic, the total you spend can end up similar. Your instructor will give you a realistic idea after a lesson or two.

Can I take my test in an automatic car from Stainforth?

Yes. You can take your practical test at the Doncaster test centre on Shaw Wood Business Park in one of our automatic cars. The test itself is the same as a manual test, with the same driving fault rules and the same independent driving and reversing exercise. The only difference is the licence you receive afterwards.

Is an automatic easier around the school run?

For most learners, yes. Crawling past parked cars near Long Toft Primary on Church Road or the schools on Kirton Lane and Thorne Road is simpler when you only need to control creep with the footbrake. You still need good observation for children stepping out, which we practise at drop-off and pick-up times.