Yeah well, it sounds like Windows 10 is going to decide what upgrades are best for you now so maybe it's all going to hell.
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Can you drive a stick shift car?
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Yeah well, it sounds like Windows 10 is going to decide what upgrades are best for you now so maybe it's all going to hell.
I have only owned manual cars and motorcycles, and likely only ever will. However I did rent an scooter with CVT auto for a few days, when there was no manual available. I kind of got used to it, and found it good in traffic once I had become accustomed to the lack of engine braking when I backed off the throttle. It was very quick away at the lights. So, ok with reservations on city streets, but come highways, on unsealed roads, or off road, give me a manual anytime.
I look forward to electric vehicles getting a better range, thus becoming more practical. Because of the torque they have from low speed, they don't require a gearbox, so are effectively automatic. Back off the power and regenerative braking creates as much deceleration as is engineered into the system, which would get rid of the main auto weirdness.
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Yes my father started teaching me how to drive on his stick shift truck when I was 14 years ago. I was doing so good that day that he almost let me drive home.
Drove manual for a long time but switched to auto when I messed up my leg. I still always look for a clutch... force of habit. It's like a right to passage in my opinion, but not everyone can do it. It's easy but I have seen people not understand how to do it, even with practice.
Yeah well, it sounds like Windows 10 is going to decide what upgrades are best for you now so maybe it's all going to hell.
Hahahhaha...touche'.
You probably could drive an auto; anybody can.
I "taught" a 12-year old kid to drive in an automatic Range Rover. We wanted it up the top of the paddock, so told her to get in start it (she had seen that done before) then push the gear change into D, then gently press the right pedal to go and the left one to stop. She had already seen how to steer. She managed the half mile trip, her first time ever behind the wheel, without supervision or incident. No worries, and then she did it some more.
In countries with proper road tests, e.g. England, they require you to drive properly so manual transmission is the norm. They also understand what engine braking is but most Americans don't.
What is a proper road test? Wouldn't what is proper be mostly based on the locale of where the test is given and the type rules, roads, cars, etc. that are prevalent there?
Did you learn to feed the wheel and apply that technique when taking your driving test? If not, then you'd fail the UK driving test. That's the benchmark.
Driver training and the driving test in the UK does reflect real world driving. The drivers are well trained and disciplined, and it shows in the road statistics. In 2012 UK's fatality rate was 3.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, 6.2 per 100,000 vehicles, and 4.2 per billion km travelled. These are among the lowest in the world. Most folks there learn to drive in manual cars, which are still more popular than automatics.
I have driven and ridden motorcycles in the UK, and many European countries.
For the USA they were 11.6, 13.6 and 7.6 respectively……
In my home country, New Zealand, the figures were 7.4, 10.3 and 8.3, also in 2012. Driver training and testing there is not as rigorous as in the UK, but it standards are rising and the fatality rate is going down. As in the UK, most drivers learn in manual cars, which also remain popular there.
And where I live at present, in 2010 they were 38.1, 92.4 and not available…… and increasing!
the rigourness of the UK driving test is second to none.
I live in the USA and have done for 20 years. My experience with this country and the UK is that few would pass the UK test. They can't unlearn the incompetence which is ingrained here. Not sure where you are.
It's great that things might be somehow harder and better there, it doesn't mean that what works in other places is less proper for those places though.
Yeah, back when I was on my second car and delivering pizza I was looking at the best options for gas mileage and found that the Geo Metro 3cyl stick got like 45MPG so I went on the hunt for one. I watched as many YouTube videos as possible because nobody I knew was able to teach me. I caught on quick and learned how to shift smoothly during my first test drive. I won't lie though it was a full two weeks before I was completely comfortable driving it on steep inclines and different road conditions like snow and ice. That car was really fun to drive even though it was basically an egg death trap, ha. It's funny I have fond memories of such a beater. These days I wouldn't buy a car that small with so little safety features.
So the benchmark is based upon a standard that was designed around the lack of power steering? Is this odd apparent lack of power steering in the 21st Century the reason it's still the benchmark over there or is it just more British snobbery (1) based on proper sticking one's nose in the air relative to everyone around them? It has even been called the "religion of England" (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/may/22/nick-clegg-british-class-snobbery). When you learn to cook proper fish and chips you will realize that a chip is still a french fry, after all.
Feeding the wheel is helpful if you're driving a bus in the United States. Otherwise, it's about as antiquated as the 10-2 "hands on the wheel" technique (now supplanted in modernized societies by the 9-2 (or 9-3) method (to avoid air bag deploying damage of the air bag knocking your hand into your own face) or better yet the 11-4 method that lets you rest your opposite arm and get more leverage with power steering. (2)
(1) Footnoted for your reading pleasure:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11043972/Britains-best-export-is-its-snobbery.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9561968/Still-a-land-of-nobs-and-snobs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/sunday-review/british-noses-firmly-in-the-air.html?_r=0
http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/07/are-you-a-snob-4134407/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/john-bishop-attacks-british-snobbery-3786786
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/middle-class-snobbery-about-being-middle-class
(2)
http://www.businessinsider.com/holding-the-steering-wheel-at-10-and-2-is-dangerously-outdated-2013-1
http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html
So the benchmark is based upon a standard that was designed around the lack of power steering? Is this odd apparent lack of power steering in the 21st Century the reason it's still the benchmark over there or is it just more British snobbery (1) based on proper sticking one's nose in the air relative to everyone around them? It has even been called the "religion of England" (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/may/22/nick-clegg-british-class-snobbery). When you learn to cook proper fish and chips you will realize that a chip is still a french fry, after all.
Feeding the wheel is helpful if you're driving a bus in the United States. Otherwise, it's about as antiquated as the 10-2 "hands on the wheel" technique (now supplanted in modernized societies by the 9-2 (or 9-3) method (to avoid air bag deploying damage of the air bag knocking your hand into your own face) or better yet the 11-4 method that lets you rest your opposite arm and get more leverage with power steering. (2)
(1) Footnoted for your reading pleasure:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11043972/Britains-best-export-is-its-snobbery.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9561968/Still-a-land-of-nobs-and-snobs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/sunday-review/british-noses-firmly-in-the-air.html?_r=0
http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/07/are-you-a-snob-4134407/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/john-bishop-attacks-british-snobbery-3786786
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/middle-class-snobbery-about-being-middle-class
(2)
http://www.businessinsider.com/holding-the-steering-wheel-at-10-and-2-is-dangerously-outdated-2013-1
http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html
Power steering…. another bit of weirdness, I thought when I first encountered it and still do on the odd occasion I drive a modern car. Along with power brakes, power windows, power this that and the other thing, air conditioning and automatic transmission.
The last car I owned was a early 80's Honda City, that weighted about 750 kg / 1,600 lbs, and had no auto or power extras. The most useful vehicle I owned was a similarly specced Morris Minor van. Even the heater was an aftermarket extra for that.
It seems strange the way engineers have provided us with ever more efficient engines, and designers / marketers have created cars with ever more power sapping, weight adding devices that negate those efficiency gains.
I seldom drive….. prefer stick with a bicycle within a 8 - 10 radius of home, and a small motorcycle (sans ABS and all the rest of the alphabet soup) for medium distances beyond.
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So the benchmark is based upon a standard that was designed around the lack of power steering? Is this odd apparent lack of power steering in the 21st Century the reason it's still the benchmark over there or is it just more British snobbery (1) based on proper sticking one's nose in the air relative to everyone around them? It has even been called the "religion of England" (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/may/22/nick-clegg-british-class-snobbery). When you learn to cook proper fish and chips you will realize that a chip is still a french fry, after all.
Feeding the wheel is helpful if you're driving a bus in the United States. Otherwise, it's about as antiquated as the 10-2 "hands on the wheel" technique (now supplanted in modernized societies by the 9-2 (or 9-3) method (to avoid air bag deploying damage of the air bag knocking your hand into your own face) or better yet the 11-4 method that lets you rest your opposite arm and get more leverage with power steering. (2)
(1) Footnoted for your reading pleasure:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11043972/Britains-best-export-is-its-snobbery.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9561968/Still-a-land-of-nobs-and-snobs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/sunday-review/british-noses-firmly-in-the-air.html?_r=0
http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/07/are-you-a-snob-4134407/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/john-bishop-attacks-british-snobbery-3786786
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/middle-class-snobbery-about-being-middle-class
(2)
http://www.businessinsider.com/holding-the-steering-wheel-at-10-and-2-is-dangerously-outdated-2013-1
http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html
So the benchmark is based upon a standard that was designed around the lack of power steering? Is this odd apparent lack of power steering in the 21st Century the reason it's still the benchmark over there or is it just more British snobbery (1) based on proper sticking one's nose in the air relative to everyone around them? It has even been called the "religion of England" (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/may/22/nick-clegg-british-class-snobbery). When you learn to cook proper fish and chips you will realize that a chip is still a french fry, after all.
Feeding the wheel is helpful if you're driving a bus in the United States. Otherwise, it's about as antiquated as the 10-2 "hands on the wheel" technique (now supplanted in modernized societies by the 9-2 (or 9-3) method (to avoid air bag deploying damage of the air bag knocking your hand into your own face) or better yet the 11-4 method that lets you rest your opposite arm and get more leverage with power steering. (2)
(1) Footnoted for your reading pleasure:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11043972/Britains-best-export-is-its-snobbery.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9561968/Still-a-land-of-nobs-and-snobs.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/sunday-review/british-noses-firmly-in-the-air.html?_r=0
http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/07/are-you-a-snob-4134407/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/john-bishop-attacks-british-snobbery-3786786
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/middle-class-snobbery-about-being-middle-class
(2)
http://www.businessinsider.com/holding-the-steering-wheel-at-10-and-2-is-dangerously-outdated-2013-1
http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html
I'm not sure where all that came from as I'm an American. The Brits have it right regardless of the tools for driving that are presented nowadays. 10-2 and 9-3 are the only proper ways to hold a steering wheel that allows you to react quickly to unknowns. If you can't feed the wheel then you need to take one hand off the steering wheel when turning and that is the big problem feeding the wheel is meant to prevent. Further, power steering is no impediment to feeding the wheel.
By the way, in the end the reign of the manual transmission will start to disappear for two reasons:
1. Manufacturers find it easier to certify emission levels with automatics, especially today's six to nine-speed conventional, dual-clutch and CVT automatics. That's one reason why Porsche spent a fortune to develop their PDK dual-clutch transmission technology original developed for the 956 race car to road cars.
2. Electric cars don't have transmissions as we know it, so as electric cars become more popular, less and less drivers will understand how to operate a manual transmission.
1. Manufacturers find it easier to certify emission levels with automatics, especially today's six to nine-speed conventional, dual-clutch and CVT automatics. That's one reason why Porsche spent a fortune to develop their PDK dual-clutch transmission technology original developed for the 956 race car to road cars.
2. Electric cars don't have transmissions as we know it, so as electric cars become more popular, less and less drivers will understand how to operate a manual transmission.
Most of them do not drive or drive much period (trains are extremely popular over there and go almost everywhere in the country) and even if they do, they do not drive far because you can traverse most of the length of the entire United Kingdom in less than half a day so things like long-haul driving, driving in strange locales, etc. don't apply the same way they do in the U.S. The number of freeways over there is minuscule compared to the U.S. as well and most vehicles are much lighter and smaller.
Actually, 9-3 is not that great, IMO due to a lack of leverage on the steering wheel (i.e. you have only a half turn before you hit 12-6, which is awkward relative to the human body's perpendicular relationship to the steering position. Feeding the wheel may keep your other hand on the wheel, but (especially without power steering), you still need to be able to MOVE the wheel quickly in a split second emergency and running out of leverage would be bad. With power steering, I think it's just a bit more awkward feeling as you don't really need to move the wheel much to avoid a collision at medium to higher speeds. It's less of an issue with power steering than without, but I think there's a reason 10-2 was originally chosen and leverage action relative to either turning direction is it. 11-4 feels less awkward to me and provides massive leverage in one direction and lets you rest your arms on the freeway (where I most use it and where you don't want much steering wheel movement; the 4 position steadies the wheel and rests the right arm and keeps it very close the manual transmission lever on left-hand drive cars (11-4 seems to be a current favorite of the California Highway Patrol). On long drives, you reverse the position to 2-7 to rest the other arm and in places like the UK, would keep your left arm near the stick.
In nearly a quarter century of driving, I've never caused an accident on the road and the two accidents I've been involved in had the other driver either drunk or asleep in the other vehicle (latter the result of a long-haul drive from Myrtle Beach to the Mid-West). Of course, I have driven a stick shift 22 of those 23 years so I'm not saying it's not good to learn on one.
My point is that most collisions don't occur in a turn so much as you need to be able to turn (react) quickly if someone moves out of the lane, etc. Braking is rarely useful in such circumstances (I've avoided 10x more potential collisions with people moving over the center line from the other weay, etc. by quick steering adjustments than any kind of braking). This is where I fear computer-driven cars will always fail over a real driver. It's not that Google's automatic cars are at fault in the accidents they've been in, but rather they totally fail to avoid many of the accidents an actual human would easily react to better (assuming that human isn't trying to text, shave or eat a hamburger at the time). Truck drivers, meanwhile, have successfully been driving one-handed on the freeway to talk on the CB for many decades now with relatively few incidents not involving falling asleep (the number one cause of most fatal trucking accidents where the driver is at fault).
It's not that one cannot make short uses of one of their hands in appropriate driving conditions (i.e. the freeway where you don't typically make a lot of quick turns), but rather people are trying to do things that aren't possible with one hand (e.g. text) or talk in situations (city driving in traffic around 90-degree intersections, etc.) where they need both hands on the wheel. That is the real problem in the U.S. People don't care about driving. To them, it's just a way to get where they going and that is why so many are turning in favor or self-driving cars, especially in the Millennial generation that cares more about updating their Facebook account than breathing. Personally, I think it's travesty (social media) as people no longer care about something they used to yearn to do (driving) and social interactions have been reduced to two people texting each other that are sitting next to each other on the couch (rather than talk).
I'm not an expert by any means, but I was trained in aggressive driving to be around 1-8. But my habit was more 8/10-2.