im a leftie and i can not drive an automatic car

Just swapped to an automatic. Ive never driven one before. I love it! Ive had no issues at all. Im a leftie. Passed my test when a teenager.

Before last year, I had only drive manual cars. Then I stopped driving because our cars were getting bigger and gearsticks had disappeared. Last year I had to drive, and after a couple of trial runs, wondered why I ever worried about automatics. My DiL has just found the same with their first automatic.she loves it. Stick with it and it will all come together.

Older Brits tend to drive automatics with the right foot only as they were mostly trained on manual gearbox cars with a clutch. The left foot has nothing to do. Americans tend to drive two footed, the left for the brake and the right for the accelerator because automatics have been prevalent there for many years. I found moving to an automatic needed a short period of self-training but I wouldn't now revert to a manual.

DH is a leftie and he drives an automatic. I have never heard him say its a problem quite the reverse. I have to say though he goes right handed at times on some things - LH for golf LH for cricket and a bit of both for tennis. He must be amphibious.

I'm also a leftie, and although I can drive an automatic, much prefer to stay with a stick-shift. My late Dad had an automatic, and on the rare occasions on which I drove it, I found it helped if I took my left shoe off, which actually reminded me that my left foot was redundant, and made it easier to use my right foot for both brake and accelerator. This helps get over that potentially dangerous moment when your left foot instinctively thinks it's pressing the clutch, when in fact that pedal is the brake! Yes, I'll stick to my good old stick shift, thanks.

Picked up on this thread as I remember reading it last year when thinking about changing my car and thinking I’d never be able to drive an automatic, having been driving a manual for over 50 years and being left handed. Car then developed an intermittent computer fault, and replacing the part, compared to it’s value, wasn’t worthwhile. Looked around and wanted to try a hybrid. Tried a test drive with car salesman +DH in back seat (!), so was extremely nervous about it. Salesman just said “keep your hand on the wheel” which was the best advice. Now have had a petrol hybrid automatic for 6 weeks and absolutely love it! So easy to drive. I wish I’d gone for it ages ago. Both DH and DDs have had automatics for years couldn’t believe I’d kept manual for so long. As a child, my parents tried to make me do everything right hand, DDad always saying I was “cack handed”! Still use cutlery righted handed, iron and use scissors, but everything else, left side dominates!

Petunia, I'm wondering if you are not in the UK and therefore have the steering wheel on the left in the car. I've never actually driven an automatic but I assumed you just put it into 'Drive'. I could be wrong, of course.

Practice makes perfect. If you really can't get the hang of it maybe a couple of lessons from a professional driving instructor would help. I am right handed but have had no problems adapting to automatic. I would have difficulty going back to manual now.

In our last automatic, DH had a habit of resting his left hand on the shift lever which I found a but unnerving, but then he bought this hybrid which only has buttons, so no levers to distract him!

Can’t remember last time I drove a manual car - love automatics!

I suppose, too, never having driven a manual, I’ve never had the problem of what to do with the left leg. Perhaps it could be more of an issue if you have been used to manual, though saying that, my DH drove a manual for years, but loves automatics and wouldn’t choose a manual drive now, and has never had a problem with what to do with the left leg! For a while, he was looking for the gear stick! I suppose the advantage is that if you can drive both manual & automatic, you have the best of both worlds - I can never drive a manual.

I drove an automatic car hire for thousands of miles in New Zealand and with the bendy roads, up and down hills, I was glad it was automatic else I would have been changing gear every few minutes. It was the first time I had driven an automatic and I was very nervous but soon got used to it. Back home we have an automatic hybrid. We also have an old sports car which I love changing gear on.

I had to learn to drive in an automatic - could never get on with gears, it’s not a good idea to take your eye off the road whilst you check which gear the lever should be in!! Anyway, for me, it was learn in an automatic, or not drive at all, and as my job really meant that driving was preferable, that’s what I ended up doing.
As it turns out, hybrid cars and electric cars are automatic transmission, so only being able to drive automatics is not the problem it might once have been in this country, thank goodness.

I’ve had automatics for years now and wouldn’t go back to manual. What took me a few days to get used to was a sports car with the hand brake on the right - between the seat and the door. Practice makes perfect?

I'm not left handed bytfibd I am still looking for the handbrake on my new car. No handbrake as it has an "electric" break which is just a flip switch on right hand side of dashboard. No doubt I will train my brain to stop searching for tge handbrake on l.h.s.

I don't get it. The auto is on the left and you are left-handed.
I've been driving an auto for the last 5 months and I love it (although nervous for a while) Much easier than changing gears and with more traffic have to use gears more often.
Didn't give my left foot a thought. What I love is the fact the car
never rolls backwards. Just take your foot off the brake and the car 'sits' until you press the gas.

Now knitting- that’s another matter ! I couldn’t teach her and she never learnt. It is very easy to teach a Leftie to knit. You simply have them sit facing you, instead of by your side and ask them to copy what your are doing. I learnt this when the Primary School teacher had given up on trying to teach my LH DD and LH best friend. Teacher was surprised when the pair of them could suddenly knit. When I explained, she said that she had never thought of that, but she went on to use the technic successfully.

I’m left handed. I have just bought a sewing machine and after using it for a while realised that they’re great for left handers. I googled and discovered that the original machines were powered by a handle that was on the right side and even after electric machines came along they continued to be made the same design. A rare advantage for lefties!

I am left-handed for writing, but ‘mixed-handed’ for other things. I have been driving automatics for decades, and love them. Surely you’re actually a safer driver if you have both hands on the wheel more?
As others have said, plant your left leg firmly on the floor.
Good luck!

I'm a rightie yet use left hand side slot. Slide on ice as kid with left foot forward, undo screw caps with left pour with left kick ball with left foot did martial arts dominated left. But deffo rightie automatic cars? Cinch.just practice.

I was born a leftie but was made to write with my right hand at school. I can write with my left to this day but hold knives and forks in the wrong hands. I still do so many things with my left hand; very useful for opening jars, there is more torque. I had to give up my manual car for an automatic after wrecking a couple of clutches following a knee operation. It felt very weird at first but after a week I knew I would never go back to driving a manual. So don't use being left-handed as an excuse, feel the fear and do it anyway.

I'm left handed. I drive my automatic fine .Keep trying. It does feel odd having nothing to do with that left hand at first . I just keep it on the steering wheel.
Good luck x

I don’t get this. You use your right foot for the brake and the accelerator regardless if it’s a manual or automatic. You just don’t get to use a clutch and you learn to get used to it. It is nothing to do with being left handed. It’s just about being nervous about using an automatic which I felt as a right handed person. Any way some left handlers are right footed!

I'm not left-handed my husband and I switch between his car (automatic) and mine (manual) when having to go on long trips. Now I have lent my car to the daughter who is here for three months, and we both use the automatic. It takes a few minutes to adjust but you just put your left foot on the handy little shelf and forget about it!

My friend was told to take her left shoe off. It worked for her.