by Tan Loon Kean
The manual driving license ‘D’. is the master of motorcar driving license, whereas the Automatic driving license ‘DA’ is only for driving an automatic motorcar that is a motor vehicle without a clutch pedal.
In another word to say, if one has a D driving license he/she can drive both manual and automatic motorcars and by law, a DA driving license holder is not allowed to drive a manual motorcar.
Driving a manual car required practice to control the clutch pedal and the gears according to the speed of the vehicle traveling and these skills are the key to learn driving heavier vehicles like buses/trucks (E) and tractors (H).
As such, a D driving license holder, after two years of driving experience on the road he/she is eligible to apply for a Competent Driving License (CDL), thereafter, a CDL ‘D’ class driving license is eligible to apply to learn the above mentioned heavier vehicles at any driving institute.
Whereas, a DA CDL Driving license holder is not allowed to learn to drive heavier class vehicles unless he/she applies for a D class license and follows the whole process of learning driving which is of course a waste of money and also a waste of time as they have to spare times coming to driving institute to learn Circuit Driving (KPP2) and Road Driving (KPP3) all over again using a manual car.
Besides, CDL ‘D’ class drivers who have attained the age of 21, are eligible to apply for Vocational Driving License (VDL) for vehicles carrying goods (GDL) and vehicles for ferrying passengers (PSV).
However, Malaysia Road Transport Department has given a leeway whereby a CDL ‘DA’ class driving license holder who is of the age of 21, can apply Vocational Driving License for the category of e-hailing/ taxi, and with this VDL they are allowed to use automatic motorcar to ferry paying passengers.
From the above facts, many parents, therefore, opined that choosing a manual driving license over an automatic one for their young adult son/daughter is a much more viable choice.
There are a few reasons why parents prefer their son/daughter to acquire a manual driving license when enrolling them at a driving institute after they have attained the age of 17 years old are as follows:
Firstly, they considered having a manual driving license, especially for their children as important. This is because it is a survival skill for their future undertaking. As D-class driving licenses allowed them to drive heavier vehicles, they could one day earn a living working as truck/bus or tractor drivers in case they did not excel in their academic educations in school.
Secondly, most of the driving institutes offer the same price package for manual and automatic motorcar lessons. The parents believed that they were able to obtain a manual motorcar license during their time. their young adult children should have no problem learning to drive manual cars from the driving institute. The majority of the parents obtained their motorcar driving license with a manual motorcar, this is because the Malaysia Road Transport Department (JPJ) only introduced the DA motorcar driving license as a separate driving license after the year of 2009.
Thirdly, the parents also take into consideration their son/daughter’s future need to own a car. From their experiences; budget and the cost of maintaining a car is the important factor to consider regarding the type of car owned.
A new manual car is cheaper than an automatic car. Take, for example, the model of Perodua Axia motorcar, the price difference between the automatic and manual models is in the range of slightly more than RM 1,000.
Owing a manual car is cheaper to maintain. This is because a manual car’s engine has simple mechanical layouts, as such, the cost of repairs and replacing parts are cheaper than the automatic model.
Contrary to what many people believed, learning to drive a manual car is not difficult under the guidance of a qualified driving instructor.
For the new learners of the manual car, the instructor would explain in detail how the working mechanism of the car’s engine. At the same time, He/she would explain in length the application of the various features of the car to enable he/she to drive safely.
It is the same as learning with an automatic car, it needs at least a total of 16 hours of driving lessons and a Pre-Driving Test (QTI) to be eligible to take a JPJ Driving Test.
However, for the automatic car’s test module. In the Circuits Driving Test (KPP2). They need to master the skill of Ramp Driving. This is an additional element besides the other elements they also must pass like driving on
- (1) Slope Driving
- (2) Parallel Revere Side Parking
- (3) 3 Points-Turns
- (4) ‘S’ curve, and
- (5) ‘Z’ curve.
There is a popular saying among young teenagers, ” automatic car driving can be learned at an amusement park’s arcade”. This is because according to them, it only required acceleration and brake pedals to operate it.
Whereas, learning a manual car needs practicing on clutch control and manual gear changing. However, many D license holders found that driving a manual car is in fact, much more fun than an automatic car because they liken the clutch and acceleration pedal to a dance.
