[TR] Learning to drive a TR

[KingsCreekTrees at aol.com]

Perhaps a lot of it depends upon the level of interest the student has. I  
think my son is almost forcing his girlfriend to learn to drive a manual and 
I'm  not convinced she's all that interested. 
 
Also, when I lived in the UK I taught Advanced Safety Driving as part of  
the Institute of Advanced Motorists (I.A.M.). I found that those who had 
started  off on automatics, and had no mechanical knowledge, just could never be 
as  competent as those who started off on a manual. Many may disagree with 
the  logic, but I can tell you I've taught hundreds already-licensed drivers 
to pass  the I.A.M. test. The failure rate of those who started on auto  
transmissions was much higher and not just with me as the instructor. Hill  
starts were always poor, no matter how much they'd practiced, gear changes  
rougher, pull-aways jerkier. I'm convinced there's something intuitive about  
starting on a manual. Of course, there'll always be exceptions and the big 
one,  which repeats my first sentence here, is that it depends upon the level 
of  interest that the student has. Most of my students wanted to take the 
I.A.M.  test to get lower insurance rates, or if they were driving a company 
car, their  employers' insurance companies required it for their own 
insurance. So, the  level of genuine interest perhaps wasn't there.  

Tim Dyer,  Kings Creek Trees and Ornamentals
427 Kings Creek Road, RR3
Ashton, ON K0A  1B0
Canada
Phone/fax: 613 253 4126 Website: _www.kingscreektrees.com_ (http://www.
kingscreektrees.com/) 

Proud  member of Landscape Ontario (the Ontario association for 
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