And if you're willing to keep a safe distance behind a semi truck, they would have you rolling through rush hour traffic as much as possible. If you don't want to start and stop in a manual, those truckers really don't want to stop and go through 5 gears just to reach 20mph
I do that a lot. I stay behind a semi in the right lane and watch all the cars in the left lane pass us and then a hundred yards or so later they are all dead stopped as we pass them all back again. They are stopping and going while we are just steadily rolling along.
The semi drivers also have the advantage of a really high perch to see from. They see over the line of cars and it’s more obvious to them when accelerating is pointless.
Even when I do have to wait at a red light, instead of going right up to the red light and waiting, I’ll be two or three car lengths behind the red light but rolling at a slow walking pace. Usually the light turns green with me still rolling and I can do a start that puts little more wear on the clutch than shifting gears does.
In my neck of the woods, if you leave a “safe distance” between yourself and a semi in front of you . . . or any other vehicle, for that matter . . . somebody WILL see this an an “opportunity to come out ahead” and they WILL take that space, forcing you to slam on the brakes
So much for relaxed driving
So much for safe following distances
Those aggressive drivers that bob and weave know where there is an opening, and they will take it
They simply don’t care about your safe following distance
They only care about a perceived advantage for them, and the sense of being superior to others, in some small and pathetic way
I have driven the Yokohama/Yokosuka route for 3 years back in the 70’s with a stick shift Datsun. Three hours to go 7 miles. I have never seen that kind of congestion in the US, but to be fair, I haven’t driven in Boston or New York, but I have driven in most other cities at one time or another.
I don’t see an issue with a stick shift on surface streets. I watch the lights and try to get to them under the green so I don’t have to stop. That usually means also having to compensate for the jerks that will cut into my lane and rush up to the red light and stop, so I have to compensate for the time it takes them to accelerate as well.
The hardest part is urban freeways when they reach stop and go. There aren’t any lights to use to judge when traffic will stop, but I have become a good judge of driving character and can get a pretty good idea of ebb and flow. Its not 100% but I think I am better than most as I usually avoid coming to a complete stop, unlike most of those around me.
BTW, those drivers that often cut in front of me usually end up way back in my rear view mirror.
In my neck of the woods, if you leave a "safe distance" between yourself and a semi in front of you . . . or any other vehicle, for that matter . . . somebody WILL see this an an "opportunity to come out ahead" and they WILL take that space, forcing you to slam on the brakes
Well, if you have to follow at a less than safe distance, you might as well do it behind the semi and go at his steady speed.
Usually, the people who cut in front of you when you follow a semi, cut right back out and leave you behind the semi again.
You end up going about the same average speed as the jack rabbit drivers, you just spend a lot less time going zero miles per hour than they do.
In my neck of the woods, those guys that are bobbing and weaving ALWAYS wind up far ahead of 99.99999999999999999999% of everybody else
Because they are hell-bent on gaining an “advantage” over everybody else, no matter what it takes, no matter if they’re actually increasing the danger for everybody around them
One of my colleagues is like this . . . I honestly don’t know how he’s survived so long, without wrecking his car, getting forced off the road, getting shot dead for his revolting car behaviour, etc.
Everywhere he drives, he forces everybody else to slam on their brakes, honk their horns, cuss him out, etc.
@Bing I think your neighbor’s 1949 DeSoto had a fluid coupling between the flywheel and the clutch. In the 1940s through the early 1950s, this was standard equipment on the Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler lines. There were two different transmissions offered: a 3 speed manual and a 4 speed semi-automatic. On the three speed manual, you could stop the car in gear without depressing the clutch. You could start from a,stop sign in high gear, but the acceleration was quite slow. I owned a 1948 Dodge with this arrangement. The other arrangement had the 4 speed semi-automatic. My parents had a,1947 DeSoto with this set-up. There was a clutch pedal to put the car in reverse, low range or high range. Normal driving was done in high range. The car started in. 3rd gear. When you were above 15 mph you momentarily let up on the accelerator and the car shifted into direct drive or high gear. When you slowed below 10 mph, the transmission went back into 3rd gear. The clutch did not have to be depressed at a stop sign. Below 45 mph, flooring the accelerator forced a downshift from 4th speed to 3rd. Low range had first and second gears. If n low range, you could shift from first to second by momentarily letting up on the accelerator above 5 mph. Low,range was,used for faster acceleration from a,stop or when extra power was needed. Dodge offered both the fluid coupling with the 3_speed manual or the 4 speed automatic on its light duty trucks back from n 1949. I have seen a Dodge pickup with the fluid coupling and 3 speed, but I have only seen ads for Dodge delivery vans with the 4’speed semi-automatic.
In my experience, people seldom stay behind semi trucks in stop and go traffic. As soon as they notice other traffic around them are speeding up, they would join the stop and go crowd.
I’ve been driving manuals for 35 years or so. Commuting in city and highway traffic. the wife, too. We bought the wife an automatic when her left knee started giving her problems. I got an automatic in an SUV because manuals were not available. If I am going to be sitting in a line of traffic, I choose the automatic now. I’m thinking of swapping my Mustang for an automatic model because of the traffic during high season… and because they are so good now!
We had a manual transmission when my wife broke her left foot. She tried to use a crutch to depress the clutch pedal, but it didn’t have enough force. She was able to get the clutch down if she used both crutches. Hence, she shifted gears by double crutching.
We drove manuals primarily until til about 12 years ago. Never go to back to manuals again. Autos are just safer for us to use, towing, and off road situations. If we had a sports car, we would Feel different.
Having a manual should be and is a matter of personal preference. I am 49 years old and have had a manual my entire life in all kinds of traffic. No matter what others might say about computers and modern automatics, you’ll get more satisfaction driving a stick and better mileage. Think about it… red light ahead? Coast up to stopped traffic while everyone else zooms by and then brakes quickly.
It’s getting to the point where folks who CAN drive a “standard” are few and far between. One of my sisters never learned, and she’s pushing 70 now. I learned to drive on a standard shift English Ford Squire when I was nine years old. I taught two other sisters, all of my kids, and several others too. It seems like a handicap to not be able to drive one. One son was able to snag a delivery job when he was in high school simpley because he could drive the truck. Would I want to drive one in “big city” congestion? No, but only because I wouldn’t want to drive in big city congestion, AT ALL, ever again. You think Boston, DC, and NYC are bad? Try Mexico City. I’ve done all four.
“Standard”: An archaic term describing a transmission using a foot operated clutch to disconnect the engine from the transmission to facilitate changing the gear ratio by means of a hand operated lever.
Used cars with manuals cost less because so few people know how to drive one. The resale is also lower for the same reason. The benefit goes to those that buy used and drive them into the ground.
+1 to @Triedaq 's joke. Baa Daa bump-bump, tishshshsh. (hard to do a rim-shot in print!)
I’ve driven a MT for 20+ yrs. Slow traffic is okay, but stop 'n go traffic gets old real fast. You are constantly working the pedals as you inch along. I bought a AT last year because of all this traffic I encounter almost every day.
