IMHO being able to use a manual transmission without unduly slipping the clutch, lugging the engine, and clashing gears shows at least some understanding of how cars work. Judging from the number of people who tailgate me at less than a car length at 70 mph, I assert that a large number of people don’t even understand the concept of inertia. Not to mention neurological response time.
@DrRocket They’re not daydreaming. They’re talking on their phones, texting, and/or using their infotainment systems. They don’t see their activities behind the wheel as driving. They’re just zooming down the highway, taking care of business and/or being entertained.
i like driving manuals, and agree that you kinda become one with the vehicle. unfortunately my knees and back prefer automatics these days. i d gladly suffer for the right car tho. but it would have to be special…, or cheap
@wesw Automatics certainly have their place. They make driving more comfortable, in some cases possible, for people with physical limitations. And they are an integral part of the drivetrain in most hybrid systems. (A manual in my Prius would not make any sense at all.) Also, spending a lot of time driving in urban traffic, especially in a hilly place like San Francisco, is considerably more difficult with a manual.
I will note that I drove manual transmission cars during the entire 12 years that I lived in San Francisco, so I know that it’s not really that difficult. My sister taught her daughter how to drive in a Mazda RX-7 with manual transmission in San Francisco in the 80s. Early in the lessons they came to a stop at a red light going up a steep hill. The driver behind my niece stopped close behind her. Despite the crying, when the light turned green, my niece learned how to use the parking brake and clutch to get the car going right then and there!
@kmccune I completely agree with you. The data clearly show that the vast majority of Americans agree that an automatic is an upgrade.
Perhaps you missed the tongue-in-cheek flavor of my comment: If we outlawed automatics, that would remove most of the drivers from the highways. That in itself would make the highways much safer.
My first 4-on-the-floor was a 1957 TR3. Bought it brand new when I was 18. Rear ended a '57 Chrysler on the Hollywood Freeway within a month. Left a little red paint on the Chrysler’s bumper. Had to replace the front end of my TR3. I think the Chrysler owner felt almost as bad about the damage to my car as I did. That’s when I learned about following too close. People who ride with me still comment about my following “too far back.”
I saw a fender bender in 1980 in San Francisco. A guy in a regular car (forget what kind) smashed into the front fender of a Ferrari at an intersection. The next week I was car shopping and happened to recognize one of the salesmen as being at the scene of the accident. He told me that he was on a test drive in the Ferrari. At a red light the potential customer mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake. He said the driver of the other car was a car nut and felt a lot worse about hitting the Ferrari than his customer did. He also said that the lowest estimate to repair what was a fairly small dent on the Ferrari was $8,000. Mind you, this was 1980 dollars. My whole car ('78 VW Scirocco) wasn’t worth that much.
I used to drive an Army Jeep Willy’s, 3 speed manual with no synchro’s and no brake booster in a hilly city with a lot of traffic like SF. Would sometimes get leg pain holding the brake on a red light when on an incline. Anything after that has been an upgrade.
I drove manuals for most of my life, but the joints in the ol’ bod just don’t articulate like they used to, and my current car is an automatic, a “slush” as we used to refer to them. If I win the lottery I’m going to complete my journey from vibrant young man to crumpled up old curmudgeon and hire a chauffer.
Re: the driving safety issues, particularly tailgating, it is my fervent hope that the earlier discussed proximity sensing systems will help with that problem. My bet, however, is that those who drive as if the almighty is using them to test he limits of idiocy will continue to find ways to provide data for the almighty’s test.
Proximity sensors with a yellow warning light on the dash for tailgating might be in the future.
How about all new drivers be required to learn manual?
How about all new drivers be required to learn manual?
Hmm...what about a separate endorsement required for MT--if you take the test in an AT car, your license displays something akin to "driver limited to automatic transmission vehicles."
Now, with my own personal bias against gov’t micromanagement of one’s daily life, I’d probably be opposed…but it’s at least thought-provoking.
Requiring new drivers to learn manual may make them more conscious of driving skills, even if they go on to an automatic after they get the license.
To get a motorcycle license you essentially have to learn manual.
The heck with manual trannys, I’d be happy if the driving schools would just teach the kids how to DRIVE!!!
The average graduate gets just barely enough skills to get the car from one end of town to the other. They learn to drive by figuring it out themselves… and the evidence would suggest that they teach themselves the wrong things almost as often as they teach themselves the right things.
@the same mountainbike I agree, although I would add that this should be tested more completely by the DMV. In many other countries the exams are much more rigorous. For example, the Wikipedia article about getting a driver license in the UK says that there is a modest vehicle safety test before the candidate gets into the car. A couple of example questions:
Show me how you would check that the power assisted steering is working before starting a journey.
Open the bonnet, identify where you would check the engine oil level and tell me how you would check that the engine has sufficient oil.
I’m guessing that the majority of Americans who operate vehicles on our highways could not answer either of these questions.
This is not restricted to kids. I had a friend in the 1970s who learned to drive when she was in her middle 20s. She went to the DMV to take her test. As she was backing out of the parking spot, the examiner tweaked the rear view mirror. He took points off because this showed that she didn’t use the rear view mirror often enough. She was pissed. I had ridden with her, so I was very pleased. Kept it to myself in order to maintain the friendship.