I’m doing the driving lessons and I dread them every time. I don’t feel like I’m improving much and it’s just stressful. I feel like giving up. I’m only going because I passed the theory exam with that school, and i would had to spend more money (that I don’t have) if I start again with other school, basically I’m too deep into it to stop.
Btw I now understand the hate towards manual cars. Automatic should be the only option, one less BIG distraction on the road, especially when you’re new on these things, being too soft or too rough on the clutch is a matter of millimeters is ridiculous, watching the road, the signs, the traffic lights, the cars around you, the stupid people with their bikes, while fumbling in the car with the pedals is the worst… (unfortunately you must learn manual where I’m living).
Btw I now understand the hate towards manual cars. Automatic should be the only option
This is a big problem with people these days. You admitted you suck at driving, you’re just barely learning how to do it, but you think you’re qualified to mandate what is available to everyone else? You do not have enough experience to have an opinion that affects other people. Stick shift is completely intuitive when you know how to do it.
Not OP, not a bad driver, have a class A (used to drive a school bus), and can drive stick.
I still think automatic is safer just on the merit of being less to think about. Especially when you have an extra large vehicle filled with kids.
The thinking involved in driving a manual is very minimal once you get used to it, so I reckon any safety issues caused by that would be outweighed by a reduction in the unfortunately common situation of unintended acceleration crashes. You are lot less likely to drive through the nearest wall (or kids) if your instinctual reaction to moving when you should not be is to also go for the clutch and cut power instead of just pressing harder on the wrong pedal.
I taught my kids to drive using an automatic transmission, then once they were good at handling traffic, and all the more difficult parts of driving I let whoever wanted to learn to drive my stick shift. But I personally feel safer, not less safe, when I have to pay attention to operating the car, and as things stand now, think it makes me a better driver - that may not matter once cars are more advanced but for now, with driver-operated cars, stick shift is the right level of engagement for me to not get distracted. I do hate shifting motorcycles though, because I am not as familiar with it and it makes me feel less safe. Which is how I imagine OP feels.
I can’t imagine not shifting a motorcycle. It’s like being part of the bike. But I’ve ridden for 30+ years.
Yeah, it’s definitely an inexperience/lack of skill problem on my part. I know that because of how much I love manual shift cars. Anything with two wheels I am just trying to keep upright and point it in the right direction.
Riding a motorcycle has always been pretty intuitive to me, but I grew up glued to my bicycle, so it all clicked pretty fast once I learned how to manage the extra weight.
See this is so alien to me because I’ve been exclusively driving a manual my entire adult life and I don’t think about it. No more than I think about which pedal is the gas, which is the brake, and which direction the car goes when I turn the wheel this way. I just drive.
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I think you missed my point
Nope. You dont enjoy driving, by your own admission arent good at it but want to deprive people who are good at it of their options.
If your crap in bed do I have to stick to missionary for the rest of my life too?
What
Your logic makes no sense
Automatic should be the only option
Because you seem to be incapable of recalling what you said.
You are being called out for having zero knowledge and then declaring what should be allowed.
Is literally one less big distraction on the road dude, yeah after I dunno how many hundreds of hours becomes less of a problem but it is now
Skill issue
It becomes easy with practice, and driving a manual is not distracting at all once you get the hang of it
I think the roads would be safer everybody drove a manual. It makes it harder for drivers to do other things and be distracted.
Not really, most people here in Germany drive a manual and it doesn’t stop them from using their phone while driving
“Operating death machine is safer if it’s more difficult” is definitely a take
I have a car that’s both auto and manual and I use them both but I cannot agree with that.
It definitely gets easier in my experience. A lot of the things that take conscious effort right now are going to become reflexes and automatisms with more experience. Right now you are building that experience, and there isn’t really a way to speed it up. You just need to do each action dozens and hundreds of times, until you do it without thinking.
Driving a manual car, for example, is definitely more complex than an automatic one. You literally need to manage one more thing. But do not worry about it, you will change gears a lot during your practice sessions and build a lot of experience quickly. In a few months you will probably not think much about gears, and in a few years you will be managing them without giving it a single thought.
Fun anecdote, I recently got a new car and it is an automatic one while I previously only drove manuals. For a few days I couldn’t figure out how to start smoothly, and I was very confused… until I realized that starting mostly involved the clutch on my previous car. The first movements of my right foot used to be to keep the rpm under control while disengaging the clutch, which is just not needed on an automatic car. I was simply applying the same muscle memory to the new car without realizing it!
I’ve definitely tried to press in the clutch on an automatic a couple of times
Oh yeah, I know what you mean! I keep unconsciously reaching for the stick 😂
Your middle seat passenger doesn’t seem to mind so much.
Lol same
being too soft or too rough on the clutch is a matter of millimeters is ridiculous
On this point specifically, don’t think of it as millimetres of distance. You act based on how the car responds, not trying to hit a specific distance of pedal movement. You already do the same thing with your other foot - you don’t think “I need to press the accelerator down 55 mm”, you just press it a bit more or a bit less until the car is going the speed you want it to go at. Same deal with the clutch, there just isn’t a dial on the dashboard that tells you where you currently have it.
You’re right that driving involves processing a lot of information at once that nobody is particularly familiar with absorbing when they start. It is difficult and dangerous. That’s why there are tests and licences. But in much the same way that typing was once completely alien to you and is now something you do with little active thought, you’ll get there soon enough with the clutch too. And if you learn it now, you’ll never be caught out in a situation when there isn’t an automatic option available
Exactly. Driving is a continuous real-time control process, with PID loops for speed, steering, clutch, etc.
FUCK NO. I hated driving lessons, but I love driving ever since I got my license. It took me almost a decade to figure out why. First, I hate other people telling me where to go. GPS, no problem, but Kevin over here telling me to take a left 1 second before I’m past the intersection iterates me so much. I can’t concentrate on signs or the road if I have to constantly anticipate so arbitrary direction.
Also, not driving my own car makes me anxious. It feels like the car is 2 ft wider on the outside but more cramped on the inside. My field of view narrows, and I get clumsy on the clutch. All because my brain is on a constant loop of ‘this isn’t mine, don’t wreck it, this isn’t mine, don’t wreck it’.
Driving isn’t stressful, doing it by the book is. On the road you just go with the flow. If you turn the wrong way into a one way street, you wave, say sorry and back out again. If you take somebodies right of way and nothing bad happened then you just move on. Its not like the police is waiting around every corner. Driving lessons hold you to a way higher standard then most people adhere to on the road.
Yep! In my experience it’s awful and it stays awful for ever.
But just like with going to work, over time you come to accept that existence is suffering.
I taught my older daughter to drive a manual car and I really wish I had a reasonable manual car to teach my younger daughter. She will learn, but it will be like driving a tank. Not the most fun.
Your hate towards manual transmissions is exactly why it’s now an anti-theft device. If the thieves don’t show to drive it, it won’t be stolen.
My oldest daughter is trying to buy a manual transmission car now. It’s very hard to find…
It really depends. You need to train yourself to focus on the important stuff and let the rest become second nature.
Driving a manual car usually doesn’t take conscious effort to do, you just… drive. But that takes practice. Lots of it.
And some people just never get there. Or they are afraid to drive, which tends to provoke dangerous situations. Or they can drive okay but don’t pay enough attention to the road.
But usually driving with an instructor is stressful, once you get your license everything will be more relaxed and easier.
Practice your manual driving in a big open parking lot or something. Somewhere you don’t have to worry about rules of the road while still figuring out your muscle memory for shifting. Like everything else, it’ll become second nature in time.
It gets easy, manual is better because I’m more focused on everything. It doesn’t take that long to learn.
My two cents: don’t look at anything inside that car at all. Listen to the engine to know when to shift, go a speed that feels comfortable and is a bit slower than other cars. Forgive yourself when the engine stalls or you drive in the ‘wrong’ gear for a bit. If you got behind the wheel and didn’t hit anything, you’re won driving.
To make driving more appealing, I suggest living in an unwalkable American Midwest purgatory where there’s fuck-all to do but watch tractors circle fields or meth
You will begin to associate the positive emotions of escape and freedom with driving, which will make you enjoy it a lot more
Your mileage may vary, but it worked great for me
I sometimes wish I still had a manual transmission for more interaction in the driving experience, but they’ve been difficult to find here for the last couple decades. I did finally give up as I realized manual transmissions are no longer relevant for newer car technologies.
However to add to everyone’s comments about time and practice …. I have two teens who recently got their driving licenses. Both were technically fine but inexperienced and nervous after they got their licenses. However one has been driving to school every day for the last year, and already drives like any adult. A drivers license s just the beginning of learning to drive with you as the sole person responsible. It may seem overwhelming but you can gain confidence and experience faster than you expect. Just keep at it, do your best, learn from mistakes (as in do better, dont just criticize yourself)
Manual transmissions are operated almost entirely by “feel”. Once that sinks in, it’s a lot easier.
If you can, go find a quiet street, parking lot, or any place with an incline. Practice stopping in the middle of the incline and taking off without stalling. Don’t stress out when you inevitably stall. You will and that’s ok. If you can master starting on a hill, you’ll find that the rest of it comes a lot easier.
With the transmision in 1st and your foot on the brake, release the clutch very slowly until the engine starts dragging just a little. Slowly take your foot off the brake. You’ll know the clutch is in the right spot if it keeps you from rolling backwards. At that point, start to accelerate and let the clutch out slowly. Continue to accelerate and up the hill you go.
Don’t hesitate to hit the brakes at any time if you feel like you’re going to roll backwards. Better to stall than to roll back into someone behind you. Depending on the gearing, you may be able to start in 2nd and that will keep you from having to worry about shifting in the middle of the hill.
Don’t panic. Learning is good. If someone gets upset with you because you’re inexperienced and stall out then screw them. They should try to remember what it was like to learn how to drive. It just takes practice, practice, and more practice.
