Driving tests: What will happen to manual tests/licences when all new cars are electric?

[Hood]

Handy job ,the AT is so tall you might need a mirror off the front of your helmet to see where you are going! wonder if you set it on one and give it some, how many gears will it pull before it touches the ground again

I am not brave enough yet, maybe one day
Loving the torque of it though, same power as my last CBR600 but about 2.5x the torque and it is a lot lower in the revs.

 

[Wildatlanticwelder]

You should do a few trackdays with it, they say 10 minutes on track will teach you more about control than years of road experience, awesome looking bike anyway , best of luck with her

 

[Hood]

I would love to take a day or two at one of the offroad schools but likely never will.

 

[Wildatlanticwelder]

Check out the trans euro trail network, theres loads of adventures waiting for you, but i think you might be better off on tarmac unless you fit knobblies

Being a mechanic i rarely have problems going between manuals and autos, usually only forget to clutch when stopping if im driving a 5 series or E class manual as im so used to them usually being autos.

Im dailying an 1100cc mk1 escort , thats left hand drive to make it more interesting, im used to using the floor pump for the windscreen washers to run the wipers if i want just one wipe, or in light rain id tap away at it as needed (no intermittant position)
But i got a 100e anglia recently and in the same place theres a switch on the floor for the dims/fulls , so after driving that for a few days, i sit into the escort and run the wipers when i want to dim the lights!

The biggest challenge is remembering that where first is in every car , thats reverse in the anglia , if your not thinking about what your doing its very easy to set off going backwards instead of forwards

 

[colnerov]

Hi, The Anglia was 'away and back' the Escort was 'away and forward'.

Colin

 

[Wildatlanticwelder]

As for the reversing cameras with the lines, thats one reason modern motorists cant drive properly, wing mirrors, on the ends of the wings that is how people should be learning, you can watch the front of the car aswell as the back at the same time, now they just look at the screen on the dash and forget about watching the front of the car.
We have people around here drive with the side mirrors folded in because they dont want to break them on our narrow roads, i always try to scare them into being more aware of their surroundings should all be done for driving without due care and attention

 

[Hood]

In my van I fitted a dash cam with front and rear view which also acts as a reversing camera when you select reverse. The reason I got it is the bleeding dog always sits up when I am reversing and obscures the nearside mirror
I still don't like it that much but with no windows or rear view mirror it is handy.

 

[ronan]

As for the reversing cameras with the lines, thats one reason modern motorists cant drive properly, wing mirrors, on the ends of the wings that is how people should be learning, you can watch the front of the car aswell as the back at the same time, now they just look at the screen on the dash and forget about watching the front of the car.
We have people around here drive with the side mirrors folded in because they dont want to break them on our narrow roads, i always try to scare them into being more aware of their surroundings should all be done for driving without due care and attention

If they are stupid enough to do that, they are too stupid to get scared. Its amazing how many people driving are either too stupid, dense or senile to be on the road. One little old lady driving her micra through the one way system here a while ago..........the wrong way. An old boy on the path nearly had a heart attack trying to get her to stop.

 

[ronan]

I am not brave enough yet, maybe one day
Loving the torque of it though, same power as my last CBR600 but about 2.5x the torque and it is a lot lower in the revs.

Are the big trailies not very tall though ? I am short in the leg and would wonder if i would fall off one at traffic lights or whatever.

 

[dobbslc]

If they are stupid enough to do that, they are too stupid to get scared. Its amazing how many people driving are either too stupid, dense or senile to be on the road. One little old lady driving her micra through the one way system here a while ago..........the wrong way. An old boy on the path nearly had a heart attack trying to get her to stop.

Saw some dumb bint on the 406 today in a Micra, she was at almost 90° to the road and REVERSED into the barrier! No other cars around and heavy traffic, christ knows what she was doing!

 

[Hood]

Are the big trailies not very tall though ? I am short in the leg and would wonder if i would fall off one at traffic lights or whatever.

I am a short erse (5ft8", 29" leg) but it is not too bad. I bought a low seat option in preparation for the AT arriving and put that on and can have both feet flat on the ground with it in the low setting (820mm I think) After a few days I put the standard seat back on but in the low position which is 850mm and I can almost flat foot both sides. The last day I put the low seat back on but in the high position which makes it 845mm but have not tested it out yet. Reason I put that on is it just looks better as the pillion seat and the back of the main seat are flush and the bit that goes up the tank sits at the top of the clear tank protection Honda have put on and hides it. I will see what it is like but the low seat in the low position did give me a numb rear end after a while so likely it will be the same in the higher position.

 

[Wildatlanticwelder]

If they are stupid enough to do that, they are too stupid to get scared. Its amazing how many people driving are either too stupid, dense or senile to be on the road. One little old lady driving her micra through the one way system here a while ago..........the wrong way. An old boy on the path nearly had a heart attack trying to get her to stop.

I had an ex garda infront of me one morning, two side mirrors folded in, and the rear view mirror pointed at the back seat instead of out the window, i knew he would take the outside lane on a two exit roundabout and head for the second exit, ive seen him do it before, so up the inside i went, into the average motorists blindspot, soon as he passed the first exit he naturally began to squeeze me , i hooted the carp out of him, i watched him look at mirrors, they useless, then look over the shoulder, still didnt see me and finally started adjusting the rearview mirror while his powerfold side mirrors were unfolding. When he eventually made eye contact with me by the rear view mirror, he saw me giving him a round of applause i would say lesson learnt but the same man is far too dense to have learnt anything from it

 

[bump]

Took a Honda CMX1100 with the DCT out for a test ride. Kept going for a clutch lever that wasn't there. I decided to stick with a manual.

 

[Hood]

Took a Honda CMX1100 with the DCT out for a test ride. Kept going for a clutch lever that wasn't there. I decided to stick with a manual.

I am loving the DCT on the Twin

 

[indy4x]

Many years ago I parked my convertible (roof down) next to my lockup, my neightbours american visitors came over and called out "ABC pedals", I now know this means Accellerator / Brake / Clutch.
Until the I had just assumed drivers were used to cars with 3 pedals.

Related :
A neighbours 20-year-old daughter recently passed her test. driving their family car she ssid "It's difficu;t to to reverse - the driving school car had a reversing camera with lines showing where I was going".
My brothers wife has a modern car with reversing camera, if that's all you've ever known it would be hard to drive an "old" car without the camera.
I got a lift in a modern van recently, the reversing camera had lines to show the track, turning the steering wheel changed the dotted "predicted route". Anyone who learns on these and tries to drive a traditional old-school van has my sympathies.

Is that why I struggle with the reversing camera on my Jag, it's the 1st car I've had with a reversing camera fitted, maybe I'm just old school, sometimes

 

[bump]

I am loving the DCT on the Twin

It's the same system on the CMX. It just didn't click with me.

 

[Hood]

It's the same system on the CMX. It just didn't click with me.

Yes, basically the same engine as well I think. I can imagine if you have currently been riding bikes it would take a bit of getting used to and, certainly on the AT, the default drive mode changes very low down the revs so can feel a bit strange. Pop into sport 1 and it is a different beast, put into Sport 2 and it steps it up a notch then Sport 3 is even more rev happy but a bit too much for me at the moment. Currently I am using sport 1 or sport 2 mainly, great thing is it can be changed at will while you ride.

 

[bump]

It's been tweaked a little too give more torque lower in the rev range at the expense of top end power. The modes on the manual are wet, normal, sport and user custom. Tend to go with normal in town and sport everywhere else.

Though out on the no modes, no mod cons XV tomorrow morning

 

[armalites]

Sure you can find a YouTube video to explain it to you

 

[redlig]

I don't understand all the fuss . As long as you can speak reasonably clearly into a microphone the 'car ' will do the rest .No driving required all you will have to do is play some inane game on the Infotainment center until you arrive . Simples. Thank the lord I won't be here.