1) Seatbelt - Yes! Seatbelts are a must whenever you get into a car, whether manual or automatic. It might sound as a cliche, but prevention is better than cure.
Did you know that seatbelts cut down the risk of death by 45% and the risk of serious injury by 50% among drivers and front-seat passengers? Ignoring seatbelts can be very dangerous. In case of a major accident, you'll likely be thrown into a swiftly opening air-bag which can cause not only serious injuries, but also death.
2) Not Pressing The Clutch Pedal Completely- This is a mistake every beginner must have done while learning to drive a manual car.
When the clutch pedal is not pressed completely, both the clutch discs slip together resulting in wearing and friction, which in turn heats up everything. This heat on the clutch fries it and is known as frying the clutch, and if done for too long, your clutch discs can be destroyed in just a few hours. This is why it is recommended not to rest your foot on the clutch pedal while driving.
3) Releasing The Clutch Pedal Too Early - A surefire way to kill your clutch totally is releasing the clutch pedal too early which will put too much pressure on the engine and the transmission while causing your vehicle to jerk.
Another mistake made is accidentally shifting to neutral while your vehicle is in motion. But before you completely shift the gear, there's a high chance that you may release the clutch pedal early, and your vehicle ends up in the neutral position. This fortunately won't cause any damage to your car, but it will surely cause your car to sputter.
4) Braking Too Hard - When you're driving and suddenly spot an obstacle in your way, you try hitting the brakes as hard as you can. This is a big no.
Unless and until it's required, braking shouldn't be done suddenly. The proper way to do it is to depress the clutch pedal, bring the car into a neutral state and then apply the brakes.
5) Turns - On your way, you are bound to come across turns. A common mistake done is not calculating the distance between the car and an object near the turning, such as a divider or a tree.
Take the turn from a considerable distance. This is because the front part of the car turns the way you want but the rear part doesn't travel as much as the latter part. Your vehicle might end up getting scratches.
6) Accelerating In Jerks - For an amateur, it's tough to figure out the amount of pressure needed to be applied on the accelerator to achieve a particular speed. And this results in accelerating in jerks. Or course, it can be overcome through practice. Just take it slow and steady.
7) Accelerating Too Much - You find the road ahead empty, and the very next thing you do is accelerate. You want to feel the speed. But mind it, as much as it is exciting to race, it's equally dangerous especially because you are still in the learning stages.
8) Not Anticipating What Lies Ahead - Anticipating what lies ahead is one of the most important aspects of driving. Ignoring it can be very perilous. It need not take much to damage your car. Even a speed breaker can justle you pretty hard when you're at a good speed and fail to notice it from a distance.
9) Drifting - By drifting, it doesn't mean the cool stuff that they show in the Fast and Furious or other racing movies. Drifting is when you slowly and unknowingly edge to the sides of the road as you go ahead.
There is a good possibility that you drift to the sides while shifting gears or even when you're driving on a plain road. If unchecked, the vehicle might go offtrack and get damaged.
10) Gear Change - Shifting the gears must always be done smoothly. Most people who learn to drive have their own way with the gear and shift it roughly. If the clutch pedal is properly depressed, shifting the gear should be easy.
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