Geraldine Herbert

If somebody phones in sick, there's no replacement.

So we need more testers, more driving test centres and also a better way for people to cancel their tests as well, because this is just growing.

Okay, now the test is going to have to change because the old idea of the hill start where you had to use the handbrake and there are automatic handbrakes on many cars, also using the clutch and the stick shift, that may be a thing of the past fairly soon.

Yeah, it seems manual gearboxes are on life support basically at this stage.

They're chugging along, but they're going out.

Yeah, for the first time ever, Done Deal Cars reported that automatics have now overtaken manuals in second-hand car market.

Now we know in terms of new cars, I think 75% at this stage are automatic.

Now we see that actually filtering into the second-hand market.

So actually buying manual cars is becoming more and more difficult.

It's very difficult to buy one new, but now it seems it's very difficult to buy one second-hand.

Yeah, there is an issue which we've seen when Americans come here and they rent a car and it's a stick shift and they've never driven a stick shift in their lives.

Well, what's going to happen when kids pass their test, the new test with automatic only, then they go to rent a car in Spain or Portugal and it's a stick shift and they won't actually be insured in theory because their license only covers automatic.

Yeah, if you do your test in an automatic, you're only insured to drive, or you're only covered, sorry, your driving licence only covers you to drive an automatic car.

I think the problem is, Pat, though, even with the best will in the world, if you want to learn on a manual, people learn on what's available at home because that's where they practise.

So if your parents have bought an automatic car and that's all that's available, the chance of you having a manual car and actually getting up to speed with it, it's just not going to happen.

And the interesting thing, of course, is why are so many cars automatic?

Because most hybrids are automatic.

Hybrids, electric, and also they're more fuel efficient these days.

And there's less of them.

It's a bit like diesel.