Automatic driving lessons in Woodlands

Two pedals and an automatic-only licence

An automatic car changes gear by itself. You use your right foot for the accelerator and brake, and leave your left foot resting. Many learners need fewer hours than in a manual. The trade-off is that you will hold an automatic-only licence, so you cannot drive a manual car until you pass a manual test as well. Our main automatic driving lessons page goes into more detail.

Plenty of Woodlands drivers will spend most of their time on the A638 and the routes into Doncaster. In that kind of stop-start traffic, an automatic gearbox makes driving calmer, and it suits anyone who simply wants to get on the road sooner.

Getting to know creep on The Park

When you lift your foot off the brake in an automatic, the car creeps forward slowly. Your first lesson uses this on the roads around The Park, where you can roll along at walking pace and stop gently before setting off again. You will learn to steer and control speed with just the brake, which is the basis of every manoeuvre you do later.

We also show you how to select drive, reverse, neutral and park, and how to use the parking brake properly every time you stop for more than a moment.

School runs and the village junctions

Outwood Primary Academy Woodlands is on The Crescent, and the streets around it fill up with parents and children at the start and end of the school day. Lessons at those times teach you to creep past parked cars and give way where the road narrows, all while watching for children stepping out. In an automatic you can give that your full attention.

Pulling out of Welfare Road or Ridge Balk Lane onto the Great North Road is the next step. You hold the car on the footbrake while you look both ways, then press firmly to join the traffic. An automatic picks up speed smoothly, which helps you blend in.

Manoeuvres without a clutch

Reversing exercises are often easier to learn in an automatic, because creep gives you a slow, steady speed without any clutch work. Parallel parking is practised behind cars parked on the avenues, because the long straight kerbs there give you space to line up. Bay parking is practised in a quiet car park, so you can learn to judge the lines from the mirrors without other cars moving around you.

Your instructor will also cover pulling up on the right and reversing, so you are ready for whichever exercise comes up on test.

Into the city along York Road

Later lessons follow the A638 south through Highfields and Scawthorpe onto York Road. Traffic can queue there near Centurion Retail Park and Morrisons, and you will learn to keep a safe gap and anticipate the car in front while staying in the right lane. These are skills you need for independent driving on test. On the way back, the drive north up the A638 to Woodlands gives you a second go at the same junctions from the opposite direction.

Diana and Alecsandru both teach automatic. Learners from the old village side can read about automatic driving lessons in Adwick-le-Street, or start from scratch with beginner driving lessons in Woodlands. More about the area is on our Woodlands driving lessons page.

Automatic driving lessons in Woodlands: your questions

Are automatic lessons easier?

Many learners find them easier because there is no clutch or gear lever. You still need good observation and planning on the road, so the test is just as thorough. The main difference is that you can focus on the road rather than the controls.

What does an automatic-only licence mean?

It means you can only drive automatic cars. If you later want to drive a manual, you will need to pass a manual test. Many drivers never need to, because a growing share of new cars are automatic or electric.

Can I learn automatic with a female instructor?

Yes. Diana is a female instructor who teaches automatic only and is good at fitting lessons around busy family timetables. Ask for her, or for any female instructor, when you call.

How many automatic lessons will I need?

Everyone is different, so we do not quote a fixed number. Your instructor will give you an honest view after a few lessons. Many learners do need fewer hours in an automatic than in a manual.