When will automatic driving tests overtake manual tests?

For generations, learning to drive has meant mastering the clutch, navigating the gear stick and trying not to roll backwards during a difficult hill start.

But that familiar experience is changing rapidly. We are approaching a tipping point at which increasing numbers of new drivers will choose to learn and take their test in an automatic car.

The figures demonstrate the scale of the shift. Automatic driving tests accounted for only around 4% of practical tests in 2007/08. By 2025/26, that proportion had risen to 29.4%.

Manual tests still represent around 70% of the market, so the clutch is certainly not disappearing overnight. However, the direction of travel is clear.

This change is being driven by the wider transformation of the car market. Around 83% of new cars sold are now automatic. Electric vehicles are automatic by design, while a growing number of petrol and hybrid models are also being produced with automatic transmissions.

Even many modern supercars, once seen as the ultimate expression of manual driving, now use sophisticated automatic gearboxes.

Easier to learn does not mean less safe

For many learners, an automatic car is easier to operate. Removing the need to coordinate the clutch and gears allows them to concentrate more fully on observation, positioning, speed and the behaviour of other road users.

That does not mean automatic drivers require lower standards or less experience.

The priority must always be to produce safe, confident and responsible drivers. Passing the test sooner should never come at the expense of gaining sufficient experience on different roads and in different conditions.

However, learners who are ready should not be required to demonstrate skills that are becoming less relevant to the vehicles they are likely to drive.

Some old-school motorists argue that manual cars provide a better test of a driver’s ability, particularly when approaching bends or selecting the appropriate gear. That argument may have had more weight when automatic cars were basic, slow and clunky.

Technology has moved on. Modern automatic vehicles are responsive, efficient and increasingly dominant across almost every part of the new-car market.

The licensing system was designed for a different era

At present, someone who passes their practical driving test in an automatic car is not legally entitled to drive a manual vehicle.

To gain that entitlement, they must take another full practical driving test in a manual car.

As automatic and electric vehicles become increasingly common, it is reasonable to ask whether the licensing system should evolve as well.

Most of the skills required to drive safely are the same regardless of transmission. Observation, hazard awareness, judgement, road positioning and consideration for other road users do not change when a driver moves from an automatic to a manual vehicle.

The additional competency is the ability to operate a clutch and manual gearbox safely.

Requiring an experienced automatic driver to repeat an entire practical test may therefore be disproportionate, particularly at a time when learners can face waits of around five months for a test and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is working to reduce the backlog.

A more proportionate conversion route

The AA believes the Government should open a conversation about creating a simpler route through which automatic licence holders could gain manual entitlement.

One possibility would be a structured conversion course delivered by approved driving schools.

A driver could receive up to 10 manual lessons, followed by a one-hour session incorporating a formal assessment of their ability to use the clutch and gears safely. Passing that assessment would allow manual entitlement to be added to their licence without requiring another full practical driving test.

Germany provides a useful example, although not necessarily a blueprint that should be copied exactly. Under its B197 model, drivers complete structured manual training, including 10 sessions of 45 minutes of tuition, and then undertake a short competency assessment.

The German experience shows that it is possible to assess manual driving skills without making someone repeat every element of the standard driving test and without adverse safety consequences.

Any UK scheme would need appropriate safeguards, clear standards and proper oversight. The detail should be developed by the Government, the DVSA, and driving schools.

Manual entitlement will still matter

The growth of automatic vehicles does not mean manual licences will immediately become unnecessary.

Many people will still need to drive a manual van or company vehicle for work. Others may occasionally borrow a family member’s car, hire a vehicle or drive abroad, where manual cars can remain more common.

A conversion route would preserve that flexibility.

It could also help learners make the choice that is right for them. Someone who expects to drive an electric or automatic car could take their initial test in one, without worrying that they will be permanently excluded from driving a manual vehicle later.

Driving schools are already adapting. Across AA Driving School and BSM, around one in four instructors now teaches in an automatic vehicle, although manual tuition continues to make up most of the instructor base.

Demand will vary between regions and instructors. Some areas will continue to have strong demand for manual lessons for many years. Nevertheless, the long-term national trend towards automatic learning is unmistakable.

Preparing for the future

This is not about declaring the manual car dead. Nor is it about lowering driving-test standards. Classic manual cars, specialised military, farm and construction vehicles will be around for years.

It is about recognising that the vehicles people learn in, buy and drive are changing.

Driver training and licensing should support that transition while continuing to put road safety first. A proportionate conversion route could give automatic drivers greater flexibility, support those who need manual entitlement for work and avoid adding unnecessary pressure to an already stretched practical-test system.

The Government should begin that discussion now, rather than waiting until the transition is almost complete.

The clutch and gear stick will remain part of British motoring for some time yet. But as the automatic age gathers pace, our driving-test system must be ready to change gear too.

When will automatic tests overtake manual tests?

The Government’s ZEV mandate means that almost all new cars are likely to be electric and hence automatic by 2035. It is highly likely that before then a majority of new drivers will have ditched the clutch and taken an automatic test. Watch his space.