Learn to Drive in a Manual..... Should it be Mandatory ?

[JamesR]

Originally Posted by T3man

Um, well actually, ... it does. "Why" you ask. "Because", I say "the driver has better control of the vehicle (if he's adept) and the vehicle is therefore better able to respond to driver input in any given situation."

It is true that a bad driver will not be turned into a good driver simply by putting him in a manual. But the basic skill of driving a manual car should be learned by everyone to help them better understand the dynamics of a vehicle. Only then should they be allowed to drive autos. It is very true that the more tasks that are made "auto" in our lives, then the less concentration we give to those tasks.

And finally ... measuring a person's driving "record" as per number of years or number of accidents means zilch. There ARE some lucky buggers out there who can't back a car into a parking space yet they have never had an accident in 40 years of driving. BIG DEAL.

just because someone can drive a manual doesn't make them a good driver or doesn't mean they understand the dynamics of a vehicle any more than an auto driver.

the majority of people out there drive cars for the sake of getting from A to B, and just because they can change gears smoothly, doesnt make them superior.
last time i checked, you can still lose concentration driving a manual, as everyone says, changing gears becomes second nature, you don't have to think about it. so whats the difference?

i do all the work on my car that i can, changed engines, set up suspension and i understand how it all works, how it handles, and what does what, so id like to think that i understand the dynamics of my car whether i drive an auto or not.

a ********** driver is a ********** driver regardless of what transmission is in their car the end.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

Also why would you bother forcing people who have no interest in learning manual to do so?

Why would you bother forcing people to vote when they have no interest voting at all?

That argument can be used for many many things.

[T3man]

Originally Posted by JamesR

just because someone can drive a manual doesn't make them a good driver or doesn't mean they understand the dynamics of a vehicle any more than an auto driver.

NO it doesn't - but it helps.

Originally Posted by JamesR

the majority of people out there drive cars for the sake of getting from A to B, and just because they can change gears smoothly, doesnt make them superior.

Absolutely - I never suggested otherwise.

Originally Posted by JamesR

last time i checked, you can still lose concentration driving a manual,

Again you are spot-on. However it is MORE likely to occur with an auto just like it is more likely to occur while driving on cruise control for instance.

Originally Posted by JamesR

as everyone says, changing gears becomes second nature, you don't have to think about it. so whats the difference?

What's the difference? If you don't know by now ... then I'm afraid that YOU JUST DON"T KNOW! - and never will.

Originally Posted by JamesR

i do all the work on my car that i can, changed engines, set up suspension and i understand how it all works, how it handles, and what does what, so id like to think that i understand the dynamics of my car whether i drive an auto or not.

I hope so. But unfortunately from you question above I don't think you do. No, really.

Originally Posted by JamesR

a ********** driver is a ********** driver regardless of what transmission is in their car the end.

Absolutely correct.

[DBourne]

Not really Damo.

If people drive as a means of getting from A-B thats all, then let them do that.

If it means they can do it safely by driving an auto, then sweet! why would you bother making it harder for them and potentially making them an unsafe driver?

[mrbaxr6t]

My wife for example got her "auto only" license and was happily puttering around in automatics to do shopping and the like then I bought a manual and she felt compelled to drive it and learnt to do it and once she mastered it she wanted a manual - must ask her why she wanted a manual but she was certain she wanted one I think she has discovered that she enjoys driving around more in a manual its the only conclusion I can come up with, people that drive auto only try a manual you might actually discover you enjoy driving a manual. Also she was really bad for stopping right behind cars at lights and things and now funnily enough after driving her manual she leaves a greater safety margin infront - arguably made her a safer driver. I have an old XF auto ute that pretty much gets used like a motorised trailer to haul stuff about driving it is so boring compared to the other two manual cars but it serves the purpose of being able to carry 3 ppl and a load of stuff in the back. I do think at the very least having a understanding of how manual cars differ to automatics in a practical sense is important information and should be known by all.

[auxr]

Originally Posted by mrbaxr6t

My wife for example got her "auto only" license and was happily puttering around in automatics to do shopping and the like then I bought a manual and she felt compelled to drive it and learnt to do it and once she mastered it she wanted a manual - must ask her why she wanted a manual but she was certain she wanted one I think she has discovered that she enjoys driving around more in a manual its the only conclusion I can come up with, people that drive auto only try a manual you might actually discover you enjoy driving a manual. Also she was really bad for stopping right behind cars at lights and things and now funnily enough after driving her manual she leaves a greater safety margin infront - arguably made her a safer driver. I have an old XF auto ute that pretty much gets used like a motorised trailer to haul stuff about driving it is so boring compared to the other two manual cars but it serves the purpose of being able to carry 3 ppl and a load of stuff in the back. I do think at the very least having a understanding of how manual cars differ to automatics in a practical sense is important information and should be known by all.

Why? - May have assisted your wife in becoming better acquainted with a vehicle, only one example - but the other 99% of the population that decided on purchasing an auto, why should it be a pre requisite to have knowledge of driving a manual.

[XR6_661]

Can't we all get along?

[MITCHAY]

I would make it mandatory but for reasons already stated it's not really practical.

[mrbaxr6t]

Originally Posted by auxr

Why? - May have assisted your wife in becoming better acquainted with a vehicle, only one example - but the other 99% of the population that decided on purchasing an auto, why should it be a pre requisite to have knowledge of driving a manual.

for the same reasons that automakers get and test and dissect each others' cars to know what everybody else is doing if automakers were to put their heads in the sand and ignore what the competition was doing they wouldn't last very long having a basic understanding that manuals under acceleration will accel then coast then accel again is helpful when driving an auto as alot of people have a habit if riding the bumper of the car infront while its accelerating around a corner on a green arrow doing this when the bloke in the manual swaps cogs the guy in back in the auto is sitting there going what the hell? why isn't he accelerating (tap) the idea behind this is to make road users accross the board regardless of what they are driving respect safety margins which many road users do not. understanding how manuals operate will show them the importance of safety margins. this is WHY

[jphanna]

i have had a mixture of auto/manuals since 82. when i got my licence. i actually started driving a 3 on the tree VC valiant in '76, in first gear only in a petrol station carpark on weekends (while my dad working in a shop next door. he couldnt see me..)

anyway i would say half my time was with manuals. in the 80' to early 90's it was a novelty and i enjoyed it. but with traffic the way it is now...yes even in ADELAIDE these days, you just sit in traffic queues. clutch, first, crawl, clutch, neutral, clutch first, crawl, clutch, neautral......etc etc. even on weekends its like that in the suburbs. not fun anymore unless you hit the hills and take off for a hour minimum to ge the nice twisty country roads.

AUTO for me now. if i was to fulfil a dream and get, say a convertible mustang, even then it would be auto.

[Bucknaked]

Look at all the professional drivers and their expert opinions on the evils of driving an auto. I think I hear your race teams calling for you.

[Copie]

No matter how much people whinge about it, it will never happen.

[auxr]

Originally Posted by mrbaxr6t

for the same reasons that automakers get and test and dissect each others' cars to know what everybody else is doing if automakers were to put their heads in the sand and ignore what the competition was doing they wouldn't last very long having a basic understanding that manuals under acceleration will accel then coast then accel again is helpful when driving an auto as alot of people have a habit if riding the bumper of the car infront while its accelerating around a corner on a green arrow doing this when the bloke in the manual swaps cogs the guy in back in the auto is sitting there going what the hell? why isn't he accelerating (tap) the idea behind this is to make road users accross the board regardless of what they are driving respect safety margins which many road users do not. understanding how manuals operate will show them the importance of safety margins. this is WHY

I can see your logic - but what you are saying really belongs with driver training, safe distance travelling behind a vehicle. Manual or auto driver will still do the same tailgating manouvre if they want to.

Still beggers the question as to why driving a manual makes one a better driver over the person who makes the decision to drive an auto - seem's to me to be an issue of a drivers attitude and experience in actually controlling a vehicle, whether it be manual or auto.

[glavas]

i agree autos are for girls, gays and disabeld people but so are 4 cylinders and even sixes. haha


i dont know why your saying you cant do stuff in a manual. i can drive a manual while eating yougaht or ice cream(with a spoon) talk on the phone(or text) change radio stations/cd's all the while staying alert and taking note of whats going on the road around me.

sometimes i have to use my elbow to change gears wich im preety good at now.

and for some reason the hardest thing i have found to eat while driving is nandos chicken but if theres a will theres a way.

if i woulda went for a auto permit my old man woulda called me a poof and gave me a flooging. so its been a manual all the way and ive never looked back. that being said i use to own a v8 calais that was a auto only baught it cause it was a good price. but yeah i felt like a gay driving it so i sold it never looked back!

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by glavas

i agree autos are for girls, gays and disabeld people but so are 4 cylinders and even sixes. haha


i dont know why your saying you cant do stuff in a manual. i can drive a manual while eating yougaht or ice cream(with a spoon) talk on the phone(or text) change radio stations/cd's all the while staying alert and taking note of whats going on the road around me.

sometimes i have to use my elbow to change gears wich im preety good at now.

and for some reason the hardest thing i have found to eat while driving is nandos chicken but if theres a will theres a way.

if i woulda went for a auto permit my old man woulda called me a poof and gave me a flooging. so its been a manual all the way and ive never looked back. that being said i use to own a v8 calais that was a auto only baught it cause it was a good price. but yeah i felt like a gay driving it so i sold it never looked back!

Your a champ...... Bet ya can steer with ya knee's when blowin' billie's too......

[glavas]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Your a champ...... Bet ya can steer with ya knee's when blowin' billie's too......

nahh im not that talented. and dont do drugs either.

[auxr]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Your a champ...... Bet ya can steer with ya knee's when blowin' billie's too......

Bwa hahaha that's gold

[kinksta]

Originally Posted by glavas

i agree autos are for girls, gays and disabeld people but so are 4 cylinders and even sixes. haha

i better sell the g6et, because i must be gay and disabled with a rack....

this thread is becoming a joke. A manual car is no safer than an auto. And will never be made mandatory to learn and so it shouldn't. Absolutly no point.

[PANELCORP]

Yes it should be mandatory to learn to drive a manual

If we continue to sell manual cars then everyone should know how to drive them

I don't think you can get an auto truck licence - despite the fact that concrete trucks and garbos are autos !!!

If it's on the road and you have a licence that says you can drive that class of vehicle - then you should know how to drive any transmission variant

[kinksta]

Originally Posted by PANELCORP

Yes it should be mandatory to learn to drive a manual

If we continue to sell manual cars then everyone should know how to drive them

I don't think you can get an auto truck licence - despite the fact that concrete trucks and garbos are autos !!!

If it's on the road and you have a licence that says you can drive that class of vehicle - then you should know how to drive any transmission variant

i won't be driving a truck or bus any time soon, if at all. nor will i ever buy a manual. why should i be forced to?

[sd1800]

It's really not practical for alot of people to learn manual. I agree 100% that they should and that it makes them better drivers but if thier parents don't have a manual car that means 120 hours of driving instructors car @ $70 per hour = $8400.

I understand that they don't have to do ALL of thier hours in manual but nethertheless it's not practical.

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Your a champ...... Bet ya can steer with ya knee's when blowin' billie's too......

CLASSIC

[Copie]

Originally Posted by PANELCORP

Yes it should be mandatory to learn to drive a manual

If we continue to sell manual cars then everyone should know how to drive them

I don't think you can get an auto truck licence - despite the fact that concrete trucks and garbos are autos !!!

If it's on the road and you have a licence that says you can drive that class of vehicle - then you should know how to drive any transmission variant

You can get truck licenses in Auto only, they have 3 types, non synchro, synchro and Auto.

Most people have non synchro.

[BOSHOG]

ill say no. not everyone has a manual car to learn in.

most people dont want to drive a manual these days, and with the great autos that are coming onto the market so why should they have to learn in a manual?

[Pinch]

Some posts here don't bear quoting or responding to.

But all the same, take your ill-conceived and factually wrong prejudice and xenophobia elsewhere if you feel you must post it. Not that I am in the target groups of your little 'insight', but there really is no need. What have you added to the thread? Nothing but a confirmation of your immaturity.

Something vaguelly on topic though: be prepared to either book well, well in advance and pay huge amounts for an auto Focus if you want to drive in Italy or France, or learn to drive a manual.

In all but the major international airports you will have buckleys of getting a manual for a decent price (if at all).

Australia and America might be increasingly the land of the self-shifter, but be wary that many other places like to do things for themselves.

[kinksta]

planning a holiday to europe and the majority of hire cars seem to be auto, unless I'm looking at the wrong thing...

mind you i'm not looking for the cheapest i can get...

[S3SR]

that comment about if you cant drive manual you cant drive, id bet $100 there are more people who drive autos only who have more road sense than most of us who drive manual or who have manual licences..... think about that one

heres a scenario

go to a dealership - take your pick - now you want a car, today, this very second. the only thing you have to choose from is a car that isnt commercial like a ute, van, wagon type and it cant be over the top FPV/HSV/euro/exotic
before you go blowing wind up my pants, these are the cars that are sold by the millions, plain boring A to B cars... right? not FPV's GT-E.

again go back to the dealer scenario, now ask for that car in manual, this second today..... good luck.... my point is in this day and age, the automatic gearbox is designed to do one thing... change gears automatically, simple fact is that while you complain you dont get to "experience the drive" anymore, you reactions are slower than a modern day gearbox, designed in a labratory not a garage in someones backyard.

fact is people drive from work to home back to home and somewhere in the middle

the ZF proved that YOU the human incapable of shifting gears to save your life let alone your fuel.... the auto box is so far advanced that the "driving experience" your after is so much more than changing gears, and proven by people classed as "hoons" who drive manuals and therefore by the comment above, know how to drive, but actually end up dead under a powerpole........ you still have to turn the wheel, indicate, control the car, accelerate/deccelerate..... but we would rather a manual gearbox

hmmmmmm

if the idea of learning to drive manual is suppose to save lifes, make people more concious of the road infront of them, then you take away the distractions..... (what speed am i doing, are the kids still in their seatbelt, did i remember to lock my doors, what gear am i in, do i have to indicate up ahead, check speed, check gear) ..... again point is driving is no longer about the cruise along the coast, its about making someone richer.... FACT - disprove it and ill send you $100



another FACT - education is what those people needed, not a manual..... well actually that too a user manual..... people get lazy and therefore dumb, the automatic box is about effeciency where we fail.

had the guy in the explorer known how to pull over that car in the scenario, alot of drama would be avoided, had ms daisy in townsville buckled her children in, maybe they wouldnt have died, had mr so and so not run the red light there wouldnt be 1hr delays

DRIVER EDUCATION

sorry for my rant, but i thought most of it would be commonsence by now...... seems i really need to be promoted to police commissioner sooner rather than later......

[Pinch]

Originally Posted by kinksta

planning a holiday to europe and the majority of hire cars seem to be auto, unless I'm looking at the wrong thing...

mind you i'm not looking for the cheapest i can get...

My experience was based on a few years ago though (2008). Don't tell me they're all auto's now too...

Hertz at Pompeii only had 1 auto, booked out months in advance. Same with the Hertz place at Reims (FR). All others were manual. Maybe the bigger places had auto's - but then again I did check the big airport fleets too???

I didn't get the cheapest, as I always wanted ABS - which was a few groups up the scale to be guaranteed. Plus I was doing some decent k's so didn't want to be stuck with a Panda on an Autostrada. I had manual Grande Punto's and Corsa 1.3CDti's which were quite good. And one of those Lancia's.

Things change though.

I rented a Statesman (auto) on the weekend and it suited my trip perfectly, but in Italy especially, I don't know. I would just always want a manual - just seemed right cruising the Amalfi coast and the backroads of Tuscany. Wonder if Hertz is planning on adding any Fiat 500 Abarths to the fleet? Mmmm

[alter_EGOXR]

I agree, the driving test for your Ps should be in Manual! If you can drive a manual, you can drive an auto with no issues.

[SLO AU XR8]

Originally Posted by S3SR

that comment about if you cant drive manual you cant drive, id bet $100 there are more people who drive autos only who have more road sense than most of us who drive manual or who have manual licences..... think about that one

heres a scenario

go to a dealership - take your pick - now you want a car, today, this very second. the only thing you have to choose from is a car that isnt commercial like a ute, van, wagon type and it cant be over the top FPV/HSV/euro/exotic
before you go blowing wind up my pants, these are the cars that are sold by the millions, plain boring A to B cars... right? not FPV's GT-E.

again go back to the dealer scenario, now ask for that car in manual, this second today..... good luck.... my point is in this day and age, the automatic gearbox is designed to do one thing... change gears automatically, simple fact is that while you complain you dont get to "experience the drive" anymore, you reactions are slower than a modern day gearbox, designed in a labratory not a garage in someones backyard.

fact is people drive from work to home back to home and somewhere in the middle

the ZF proved that YOU the human incapable of shifting gears to save your life let alone your fuel.... the auto box is so far advanced that the "driving experience" your after is so much more than changing gears, and proven by people classed as "hoons" who drive manuals and therefore by the comment above, know how to drive, but actually end up dead under a powerpole........ you still have to turn the wheel, indicate, control the car, accelerate/deccelerate..... but we would rather a manual gearbox

hmmmmmm

if the idea of learning to drive manual is suppose to save lifes, make people more concious of the road infront of them, then you take away the distractions..... (what speed am i doing, are the kids still in their seatbelt, did i remember to lock my doors, what gear am i in, do i have to indicate up ahead, check speed, check gear) ..... again point is driving is no longer about the cruise along the coast, its about making someone richer.... FACT - disprove it and ill send you $100



another FACT - education is what those people needed, not a manual..... well actually that too a user manual..... people get lazy and therefore dumb, the automatic box is about effeciency where we fail.

had the guy in the explorer known how to pull over that car in the scenario, alot of drama would be avoided, had ms daisy in townsville buckled her children in, maybe they wouldnt have died, had mr so and so not run the red light there wouldnt be 1hr delays

DRIVER EDUCATION

sorry for my rant, but i thought most of it would be commonsence by now...... seems i really need to be promoted to police commissioner sooner rather than later......

so having a manual means your a hoon hey? Well I'm stuffed then, Manual V8, I should be in jail then.......

[kinksta]

Originally Posted by Pinch

I rented a Statesman (auto) on the weekend and it suited my trip perfectly, but in Italy especially, I don't know. I would just always want a manual - just seemed right cruising the Amalfi coast and the backroads of Tuscany.

oh tuscany!!!! mate can you shut up, we aren't going till september I don't need to think about anything european hahaha we are going to 5 countries already haha (yes afl finals time but internet will save me) i just wana go now!