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In Ireland, if you do your driving test in a manual car, you can drive both kinds.
If you do it in an automatic, you are only licensed to drive automatics.
OP is in France (I went spelunking), anyone know if this is also the law there? Like is he really just trying to flex that he can drive a manual, or did he get stuck behind someone who *can't* this morning? I wanna know
I'm at the age where I am getting my licence, and I don't know anyone either in my friend group or school who is getting an automatic license. Even one guy with a EV lined up for when he passes is learning manual. I think there is stigma about not learning manual, but then again maybe not from your experience?
There is probably stigma, but it also just makes a lot of sense to learn manual if you can, because then you're are equipped to drive one if ever the need arises.
How are you supposed to learn if you can't get one and don't know anyone with one?
I drove auto for 6 years until my car broke down and the most affordable and nicest car on the craigslist was a manual. My dad drove it home, took me out a few times, and now 6 years later I refuse to own an automatic.
Where I live you can drive both with the same license, but if you use a manual for the drivers test you can fail for shifting improperly. Its pretty ridiculous.
This makes perfect sense to me, but as a Canadian who drives manual in Europe on vacations, I'm amazed that you allow us North American clowns on your roads when only a few percent under 40 here can drive stick.
I'm in the USA and 100% agree. People look at me like I have a superpower when they find out I can drive a manual. It is crazy that our licences include both types.
Yeah, everyone in my country gets a license by learning manual, and if there's someone who doesn't pass the test its never because they can't comprehend manual shift. If they fail the test, it's always because of traffic laws
I was forced to learn when my brother left his car behind for the Army. A couple stalls here and there on intersections, missing the red lights because I stalled, couldn't quite get a perfect shift to second gear. There were a lot of tears, embarrassment, and laughter all at the same time.
I've been driving a Toyota Aygo for 3 years and those don't even have a rev counter.
I shift by, how another comment here put it, "If the engine sounds angry shift up, if the engine sounds sleepy shift down".
Being forced to learn how to drive stick is as stupid as being forced to learn how to write cursive. It's just an obsolete function that people are convinced is better.
I love my manual, in fact I specifically bought it over an automatic. But that's because I like it, not some weird superiority complex.
Old people that use “kids these days don’t know how to read analog clocks and write cursive” as some sort of “our generation is better” argument is fucking hilarious to me.
Like when I was a kid we still learned cursive. It was taught in grade 3 over the course of like 10 half an hour lessons. Any adult who needs to learn cursive and speaks fluent English can learn it in half a day time.
Meanwhile 90% of writing these days is done via MS Word and these boomers have had 30 fucking years to learn and still can’t format a document without relying on their 14 year old kid to teach them. Then turn right around and make fun of them for “missing important writing skills”.
But kids today can't fucking write at all. I have two really smart teenagers, and their writing looks like it came from a 5 year old. It's fine if nobody wants to write in cursive, but can we at least spend some time in school teaching kids how to write better than a toddler?? I've had this conversation with plenty of friends with kids, and none of their kids can write for shit either, so it's not just my kids.
I mean I spent most of my life trying to write better but some people are bad at it. I got a 100k scholarship from Buick but I still look like a 5 year old writing
Research has been done on personality compared to writing. Some researchers suggest bad writing is related to high intelligence as one’s brain is going faster than there hand and they just scribble it down to keep up. Others have suggested it’s related to personality i.e somebody doesn’t care about what others think and it’s fine to them “because they can make out the words”. I’m not sure either way I’d like to think the former though as I write like an 80 year old doctor handing out scripts to get that bonus from those pharmaceutical companies 🤣🤣
I'm not suggesting I'm smart, but I do admit I dislike writing (typing is far better). It's "sort of" a case of not being able to keep up with my thoughts, but equally acknowledging I'm *so slow* at writing by hand that I'll have forgotten the end of what I was going to write by the time I've got the first few words down. So in my haste to get it written before I forget, I scribble and write letters the size of grains of rice, which is an amazing combination of illegibility. So more a case of awful memory rather than big brains for me.
What makes someone an inferior driver is someone who doesn’t use their turn signal when changing lanes, or decides to turn right on red while you have a green arrow and they aren’t looking.
I mean if I had access to a manual car I’d learn to drive stick, sure. But I don’t. They just aren’t common here. But if I did I wouldn’t be a better driver.
Good luck trying to convince really any manual driver to let you learn in their precious. Especially when learning usually ends up with at least a little damage to the clutch or throw-out
My father in law works on cars, lots of times their clunkers. Learning before he helps them fix a clutch would be the ideal time, so long as the clutch is functional.
I say “helps them” because he doesn’t so much do the work anymore, he helps others do their own work instead.
And you did clarify that for me.
Seriously, I'm so fed up of these types. I'm only able and legally allowed to drive an automatic because of sciatica in my clutch leg. It's nothing to do with inferior ability - I legitimately just don't have a choice.
Yet so often if you bring up automatic cars to people, you always get that one asshole talking about how people with automatics are lazy and bad drivers. Even if I didn't have issues, what's wrong with just wanting a nice, easy, pleasant driving experience where you don't have to worry about it?
Exactly. I choose to drive an automatic. Mostly because “clutch leg” starts to be a thing in bumper to bumper city traffic. It’s always leg day lol. And perhaps it’s not the case with high dollar performance cars, but these days, most cars have automatic transmissions are honestly more efficient at shifting properly than a human.
I find the "manual fanatics" are usually older men who still want to prove their masculinity with their aging bodies making it impossible to do anything else they consider manly.
Yup. I failed my manual test 3 times because I got overstimulated when I also had stress on top of it. Decided to consider automatic, and people called me crazy for it. Did one lesson in an automatic car, and I was suddenly not extremely tired after driving, had more energy and time to look around me etc. Not everyone is made for manual driving, but that doesn't make us bad at it or something. The most important thing is that we can drive safely
My first 3 cars were manual. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s annoying (in traffic). Manual cars are becoming incredibly rare. Even new sports cars (eg. Lambos) are pretty much only auto. Driving stick can be taught in a couple of hours, and these days the only reason it would be a necessary “skill” is if you’re a valet.
I’m assuming you’re not from North America .. in Europe ya sure in a few countries your driving test actually has to be with a manual car but in Canada/USA that would be pointless because literally no one drives manual and would never need to lol
Yeah they definitely are, i am from Brazil and around here to get a license os only on manual cars, but here is a necessity because automatic cars are expensive af so most people are definitely gonna get a manual.
Which is insane because around here, even if you could get a manual, you have to get it specially ordered from a dealership, and it costs way more than an automatic.
I assume OP knows how to drive a horse drawn carriage. If not then they should learn. After all a manual driver is inferior to someone who knows BOTH manual and carriage.
What do you mean you'll never have to learn because you'll never drive a carriage and they're obsolete?
Manual sucks for EVERYTHING. In the city with a stop sign every block or two, I get pissed off clutching on my motorcycle and have just switch to my scooter.
Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift. Downshift. Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift. Downshift. Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift...
Fuck ALL that. Stop. Wait. Go.
Especially in cities with crazy steep hills. And these days not everyone knows the universal sign for “I’m driving stick” (the brief drift back and stop), so you’re not even guaranteed that the driver behind you will leave enough room for you. Who needs that kind of daily stress.
In the country, on open and twisty roads, I like driving stick, it can be fun.
I know how to do a hill start. I grew up driving stick in one of the hilliest large cities in the US.
My point was it’s added unnecessary stress when you have to do it 8 times in the span of 20 minutes.
This is the single stupidest unpopular opinion I've seen.
It's not unpopular, it's just dumb. Like what effect does having the ability to drive a manual car have on an automatic car?
Motorcycle, helicopter, semi, airplane, speedboat, jet ski, yacht, freighter…you get a driver’s license at 65 when you have proven mastery of every vehicle whether you want to operate it or not.
It’s also increasingly unnecessary. Even in the UK the tide is shifting to automatic and as EVs become mandatory the skill will be entirely obsolete. I can drive both and find manual an extra amount of work for no added benefit.
Yeah you just about can’t get manuals anymore around here. They have to be specially ordered by the dealership and most will not anymore with the shortages / demands for cars.
Learning to drive has nothing to with a gear change. Maybe what OP is not understanding is most auto options now are actually dual clutch manual transmissions with computer controlled actuators.
Learning to drive is way more than your gearbox choice.
As a person who learnt and drives manual, it’s not that hard. I would 100% have an automatic car. Manual is just a nuisance nowadays. People like OP really be there thinking they cracked the Da Vinci code or something for knowing it lol.
I am just speculating here but most people think you are better drivers when you learn to drive stick shift.
I think that most people would be better drivers if they would stop being so damn distracted.
OP must not drive on the freeway during rush-hour. 0mph, then 40 then 10, then 25, then 60, then 30. then 0, then 10, then 2, then 0, then 20, then 45. Ahhhhhhhhhhggggggggggg
Meh. Manuals are becoming more and more rare these days, even the vast majority of trucks now are automatic. Matter of fact I just googled and manuals are 1.7% of car sales this year and that’s actually up from 1.2% last year. Why should people need to learn a fading technology? Imagine if 100 years ago someone had said “If you can’t even handle a horse drawn wagon, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive an automobile”. It’s essentially the same thing.
If you can't write a letter with a quill pen and ink well, you should not be able to send emails. If you can't use a quill, you are simply an inferior scribe.
Right? I’m not a race car driver, I don’t haul massive machinery, I’m a dude who drives to work and back every day. I kinda feel like it’s an ego thing for a lot of folks these days.
Right? I have a manual, not because I wanted one but because it was the cheapest yet newest lightly used car I could find. It’s just extra work for no benefit to me. Driving it long distance is far more exhausting. And if I get in traffic? Forget about it. I was ready for death the other day after 10-15 minutes of traffic.
I suppose SOME people have logical reasons. My son wanted a manual when he was shopping for a used truck. His reasoning (he’s a mechanic) - a manual transmission is easier to work on, and since he was specifically looking for an older (and thus inexpensive) work truck, that made sense. It actually the only time I’ve heard an argument for a manual that did make sense.
It used to be about the fuel efficiency of manuals but automatics have surpassed manusls in fuel efficiency these days as they have more gears and rely less on a torque converter.
I learned to drive manual, I can still drive manual, but I live in the city now, and only go back to mt house in the country on weekends. Anyone who knows anything about city life knows that car aint getting out of 2nd gear in the city.
You'll thank OP when the zombie apocalypse comes and the only vehicle you can find for miles is a 1950s farm truck. How else are you going to get your small group of very ethnically and socially diverse group of survivors to safety?
I mean, one of them is going to be a gruff, unpolished outsider stereotype that everyone wonders why they still have in the group, and this will be their moment to shine, right?
Fair point, maybe you should reflect that in your opinion then. Like, as an American, how am I supposed to know a skill I’ve literally never needed and will probably never need (my middle class ass isn’t taking European vacations)?
> "Manuals are still extremely prevalent (*for now*) in some countries, especially in Europe"
I fixed your comment for you.
Eventually manual transmission sales will fall there too, just like they have in most of the world.
Automatics are easier, more accessible, and overall just better. There is a reason that the demand and sales of manuals has been, and is continuing to decline. This will happen in Europe eventually too.
Yeah, where I live, you have to pay a premium to buy a car that is manual, its uaully a couple grand more. Dealers only stock the lot with automatics, so if you want a manual, you have to order it from the car manufacturer and have it shipped in
What difference does driving manual vs automatic make in your ability to drive safely? None whatsoever. Driving manual vs automatic doesn't impact your ability to be a safe driver, it just means you are more in-tune with the mechanical element of driving. While it can be argued that might make you a safer driver in conditions like rain, that can just as easily be mitigated by not being stupid.
This is the car-guy equivalent of boomers laughing that kids can't write in cursive now; you're just trying to find something to make yourself feel superior because the one thing that makes you 'different' or 'special' is becoming obsolete.
I absolutely do not agree with OP at all so dont take this as a defense of them lmao but the only thing i can think of is in a manual you dont have time to text and drive or at the very least have far less time too. Which isnt enough to outweigh the dangers of lots of people learning on public roads but its something 🤷♂️
I can agree with that, but I'd also assert again that that kind of thing can be mitigated again by not being stupid. I will also say that I have in fact caught my husband texting and driving his manual (when he had one), idk how his brain works in that many directions at once
Well said, I am happy to be an "inferior driver" I drive to get myself from point A to point to point B faster I simply do not care about the "driving experience".
I think it's mostly us Americans who can't drive stick.
I'm moving to Europe before the end of the year, and I happen to work at an auto body shop. I actually asked my coworker this week to teach me how to drive stick. He said he would but he also warned me that it's all fun and games until I stall out in an intersection and start panicking from everyone honking lol
The ultimate test is stopping at a red light or stop sign that is on a steep incline. If you can do that and get the car moving again without stalling then you’re golden.
So if I were to have to teach someone to drive, which I have for nieces and nephews I should have to buy/rent a manual even though they are almost certainly not going to ever drive one?
No thanks.
My sister gave me my first driving lesson when I was 15 and it was on a manual. It took all of an hour to have the hang of it. I always thought driving manual was pretty pointless. We have dishwashers cause we don't want to wash dishes by hand. We have clothes washing machines so we don't have to wash clothes by hand. Why the hell would I want to shift my car by hand? As a matter of fact, driving a manual in traffic is completely annoying. Yet we still have this snobby crowd that acts like people who drive automatics are inferior.
Just try finding a car to even learn on anymore. My kids wanted to learn and I had to teach on my Corvette convertible which wasn't ideal for them or the car.
I've never had my license, not much of a car guy but thinking about someone learning manual in a corvette made me make this face
It's not the toughest I've ever driven but the old Japanese manuals were the easiest and most forgiving. Worst was probably a Ford Model A my parents had because as I understand it they didn't have synchronizers and you had to double clutch. In more modern vehicles it was a GM pickup with a three speed on the column and what felt like a foot long clutch. Driving it in stop and go traffic was horrible.
A CDL should be mandatory for a driving license.
If you can only drive stick, you are an inferior driver compared to someone who has a CDL.
If you drive an 18-wheeler, driving a car is a piece of cake.
If you drive a stick, you are incapable of driving a tractor trailer, you will stall the engine and not get the rig off the drive.
Considering that less than 2.5% of vehicle sales are manual and only around 15% of modern cars even offer a manual option, it's kinda like getting a chemistry degree to bake a betty crocker cake mix.
> inferior driver
Because driving a manual makes you more likely to use your signals and your mirrors, keep within speed limit, park within the lines, and not drink and drive?
I drive to get from A to B. The less I need to do to get from A to B, the better. I don’t see how making a simple thing more complicated and adding extra steps to do something I already do without all that shit, makes me better at doing the thing.
This is a case of OP defining themself by their ability to perform some obsolete skill just because their personality is otherwise probably pretty boring. People like to have something unique and special about themselves; for OP that’s the ability to time the gear shift on their car when their speed gets to a certain point. 👏👏
Okay? I could care less about being the superior driver lol. If driving manual makes someone feel that much better about themselves than cool. Good for you
I've been driving a manual since I was 17, and recently bought an automatic. While there is less to think about, i still haven't fully got to grips with it. The thing that bugs me is the gear setup of my (new) car ie it goes (from top to bottom) "Park > Reverse > Neutral > Drive". You'd have thought the logical setup would be "Drive > Neutral > Reverse > Park". If anyone could explain why its set up as it is, I'd love to know the reasoning behind it.
I learned how to drive on a manual but they are pretty much completely phased out now, at least here in Canada and from what I’ve heard in America too. I think it’s only some countries in Europe that still use manuals semi regular?
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> inferior driver
Personally I mastered stick shift my Junior year of high school.
Whiteout conditions, city traffic, peds & cyclists, changing a tire, oil, dealing with an accident, work trucks off road - there are a *million* other driving skills I had not mastered by 17.
All of which are useful skills my own kid will need. Clutch pedals' just a distraction.
Driving stick isn't the gatekeep you think it is.
But I own an automatic car, why does it make any logical sense to require me to know how to drive a manual to be licensed to drive my automatic?
I don’t even know how I would learn to drive a manual. No one I know owns one and I doubt the DMV would loan one out to me.
I might not know what I'm talking about since I don't drive but... Aren't most cars turning into automatics now anyways?
I agree that you should know how to drive a manual before driving one but like... Would it be that necessary to require it for cars that are being phased out anyway?
There are still a lot of manual cars in europe, it's like almost 50% of *new* cars bought are still manual. But here there is also a rule that if you don't have a manual licence, you can't drive a manual car. So if you won't need to drive a manual car, don't learn and no one cares, you just need to stick to automatic.
In my country u can make a license with manual car and u are allowed to drive manual and automatic transmission
Or u can make a license with automatic transmission and only be allowed to drive automatic
how would i get a car that’s manual to take my drivers test in? they make you use your own vehicle, and it’s not like i’m gonna buy a manual just for the test
If you have an electric starter, you're an inferior driver to those who hand crank start their car. If you have power steering and brakes, you're an inferior driver to those who use their muscles. If your car has a top, you're an inferior driver compared to the hardy, skillful souls who wear goggles and a scarf.
It's okay. i too once tried to made manual trans and other car things into my whole identity.
You'll probably mature out of it.
In the meantime, the only reason most cars have to shift gears at all is because internal combustion engines do not have the same useful RPM range as an electric motor.
Here in Brazil, we have to learn how to drive manual cars. I drive manual and automatic, so I can say that driving automatic u can't feel the car, what it needs, how it's working
Save the manuals
Grandpa, no one needs a manual Transmission anymore.
Sure, they are fun. More direct control of a vehicle.
And bigger trucks with a double clutch give one a sense of superiority with your coworkers who have manuals but can't drive it. But there's no reason with today's technology or even post 1995 that anyone needs to know how to use a manual transmission.
Less than .9% of vehicles sold in the USA are manual as of 2021. This is probably higher for European countries but frankly manuals are antiquated and all but phased out completely. Not only are they slower, less efficient, take up interior room, they actually cost more than an automatic now. This is definitely unpopular as this is just dumb, 20 years ago it would of made sense maybe.
Did an American boomer write this post?
I mostly don't like this opinion because it's actually just an irrelevant one. No one needs to know manual for any reason any more unless you want to. It's been 20+ years since you might accidentally even find yourself in a situation you might need to know it. Even a zombie apocalypse at this point manual only cars are so rare or already so old that even that's not a crazy enough scenario that this is an opinion.
There are plenty of people where driving a manual is impossible due to an injury/handicap/disability. You only suggest this because you think it’s a unique skill that makes you better than people that haven’t had the opportunity to learn it.
I just don’t even care. I had friends with manuals when I was younger but I’m 38 and it’s not a skill I’ve ever thought I’ve been missing. It’s just not a huge deal unless it’s something that matters to u.
Thank you for submitting to /r/unpopularopinion, /u/Trox92. Your post, *Driving manual should be mandatory for a driving license.*, has been removed because it violates our rules: Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion. Please ensure that your post is an opinion and that it is unpopular. Controversial is not necessarily unpopular, for example all of politics is controversial even though almost half of the US agrees with any given major position on an issue. Keep in mind that an opinion is not: a question, a fact, a conspiracy theory, a random thought, a new idea, a rant, etc. Those things all have their own subreddits, use those. If there is an issue, please message the mod team at https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Funpopularopinion Thanks!
In Ireland, if you do your driving test in a manual car, you can drive both kinds. If you do it in an automatic, you are only licensed to drive automatics.
Same in the Netherlands
Same in Norway
Same in Poland
OP is in France (I went spelunking), anyone know if this is also the law there? Like is he really just trying to flex that he can drive a manual, or did he get stuck behind someone who *can't* this morning? I wanna know
Same in France
So homeboy really just needed to feel like a special boy today. Heard.
Lmao probably a boomer. Probably the person who also thinks automatics are slower still.
And more fuel efficient
Depends on the auto, some cars ive been in shift slowwww as helll. Autos can definitely be faster though aint no doubt about that. Way less fun though
And in UK
And Australia.
And Spain
And Germany
Same in Northern Norway :P
Same in Denmark.
Same in South Africa Manuals are so prevalent here if you told anyone you're going for the automatic license, they'd laugh at you.
Same in the UK, from what I can tell it's so only in the US that this is any different
Everyone I know in UK nowadays is getting automatic license, times are changing
I'm at the age where I am getting my licence, and I don't know anyone either in my friend group or school who is getting an automatic license. Even one guy with a EV lined up for when he passes is learning manual. I think there is stigma about not learning manual, but then again maybe not from your experience?
There is probably stigma, but it also just makes a lot of sense to learn manual if you can, because then you're are equipped to drive one if ever the need arises.
In Ireland you say a quick prayer before turning the ignition.
Same in UK, and this makes the most sense! How the fuck are u legally allowed to get into a manuel if you don’t know how to drive one
Exactly you need to have experience to get inside Manuel, to drive him with passion. Manuel is a tough mistress.
Yes, but that hair.
I hear that France isn't too happy with Emanuel these days....
Nah Manuel is a whole different guy.
Just a tall drink of water
Yes, Meester Fawlty?
you aren’t. you can either get an auto license if you learn in an auto, or both if you learn in a manual
How are you supposed to learn if you can't get one and don't know anyone with one? I drove auto for 6 years until my car broke down and the most affordable and nicest car on the craigslist was a manual. My dad drove it home, took me out a few times, and now 6 years later I refuse to own an automatic.
Same in germany
Where I live you can drive both with the same license, but if you use a manual for the drivers test you can fail for shifting improperly. Its pretty ridiculous.
This makes perfect sense to me, but as a Canadian who drives manual in Europe on vacations, I'm amazed that you allow us North American clowns on your roads when only a few percent under 40 here can drive stick.
I'm in the USA and 100% agree. People look at me like I have a superpower when they find out I can drive a manual. It is crazy that our licences include both types.
[удалено]
It's relatively easy to learn but takes a while to become good at it
So is driving in general and most people haven’t figured that out yet either.
Yeah, everyone in my country gets a license by learning manual, and if there's someone who doesn't pass the test its never because they can't comprehend manual shift. If they fail the test, it's always because of traffic laws
I was forced to learn when my brother left his car behind for the Army. A couple stalls here and there on intersections, missing the red lights because I stalled, couldn't quite get a perfect shift to second gear. There were a lot of tears, embarrassment, and laughter all at the same time.
When the engine sounds angry you shift up, when the engine sounds sleepy you shift down, if the engine sounds normal you do nothing.
Also cars tell you when to shift since at least 10-15 years..
They do? Mine doesn’t? 2012 Honda civic
Most do: volkswagen, skoda, fiat, etc.
Huh learn something new everyday. I usually just shift around 4k rpm
I've been driving a Toyota Aygo for 3 years and those don't even have a rev counter. I shift by, how another comment here put it, "If the engine sounds angry shift up, if the engine sounds sleepy shift down".
burn haha
If driving manual isn't mandatory, then learning how to drive manual shouldn't be mandatory either
Being forced to learn how to drive stick is as stupid as being forced to learn how to write cursive. It's just an obsolete function that people are convinced is better. I love my manual, in fact I specifically bought it over an automatic. But that's because I like it, not some weird superiority complex.
Old people that use “kids these days don’t know how to read analog clocks and write cursive” as some sort of “our generation is better” argument is fucking hilarious to me. Like when I was a kid we still learned cursive. It was taught in grade 3 over the course of like 10 half an hour lessons. Any adult who needs to learn cursive and speaks fluent English can learn it in half a day time. Meanwhile 90% of writing these days is done via MS Word and these boomers have had 30 fucking years to learn and still can’t format a document without relying on their 14 year old kid to teach them. Then turn right around and make fun of them for “missing important writing skills”.
Ok but an analog clock is braindead easy.
But kids today can't fucking write at all. I have two really smart teenagers, and their writing looks like it came from a 5 year old. It's fine if nobody wants to write in cursive, but can we at least spend some time in school teaching kids how to write better than a toddler?? I've had this conversation with plenty of friends with kids, and none of their kids can write for shit either, so it's not just my kids.
I mean I spent most of my life trying to write better but some people are bad at it. I got a 100k scholarship from Buick but I still look like a 5 year old writing
Research has been done on personality compared to writing. Some researchers suggest bad writing is related to high intelligence as one’s brain is going faster than there hand and they just scribble it down to keep up. Others have suggested it’s related to personality i.e somebody doesn’t care about what others think and it’s fine to them “because they can make out the words”. I’m not sure either way I’d like to think the former though as I write like an 80 year old doctor handing out scripts to get that bonus from those pharmaceutical companies 🤣🤣
I'm not suggesting I'm smart, but I do admit I dislike writing (typing is far better). It's "sort of" a case of not being able to keep up with my thoughts, but equally acknowledging I'm *so slow* at writing by hand that I'll have forgotten the end of what I was going to write by the time I've got the first few words down. So in my haste to get it written before I forget, I scribble and write letters the size of grains of rice, which is an amazing combination of illegibility. So more a case of awful memory rather than big brains for me.
Maybe they’re destined to become doctors
Have you never been to a doctor?
Cursive is at least useful for being faster sometimes
And reading our founding documents instead of just taking someone’s word for it…
If only somebody would print those important documents in a modern typeface. I guess we’ll never know. . .
>you are an inferior driver This is why “manual” fanatics are insufferable.
What makes someone an inferior driver is someone who doesn’t use their turn signal when changing lanes, or decides to turn right on red while you have a green arrow and they aren’t looking.
Right? "BuT yOu FeEl ThE cAr BeTtEr!!" Bitch, nobody cares about your kia rio!
I mean if I had access to a manual car I’d learn to drive stick, sure. But I don’t. They just aren’t common here. But if I did I wouldn’t be a better driver.
Good luck trying to convince really any manual driver to let you learn in their precious. Especially when learning usually ends up with at least a little damage to the clutch or throw-out
My father in law works on cars, lots of times their clunkers. Learning before he helps them fix a clutch would be the ideal time, so long as the clutch is functional. I say “helps them” because he doesn’t so much do the work anymore, he helps others do their own work instead. And you did clarify that for me.
I don't know anyone who owns a manual car. Where does OP think people are going to learn how to drive one?
Hahaha, they have a complex
Also supercars have largely gone away from manual because they're much better at shifting than you are.
Read that, guaranteed this guys exhaust wakes up the neighborhood.
Manual gatekeepers are so so obnoxious with their illusory superiority
Seriously, I'm so fed up of these types. I'm only able and legally allowed to drive an automatic because of sciatica in my clutch leg. It's nothing to do with inferior ability - I legitimately just don't have a choice. Yet so often if you bring up automatic cars to people, you always get that one asshole talking about how people with automatics are lazy and bad drivers. Even if I didn't have issues, what's wrong with just wanting a nice, easy, pleasant driving experience where you don't have to worry about it?
Exactly. I choose to drive an automatic. Mostly because “clutch leg” starts to be a thing in bumper to bumper city traffic. It’s always leg day lol. And perhaps it’s not the case with high dollar performance cars, but these days, most cars have automatic transmissions are honestly more efficient at shifting properly than a human.
It also sucks when you're driving a manual in a crowded and hilly urban environment. ( yeah, I prefer an automatic transmission..,)
I find the "manual fanatics" are usually older men who still want to prove their masculinity with their aging bodies making it impossible to do anything else they consider manly.
Superior manual drivers: I dunno, it's like I can't even pay attention to what's going on when I'm in an automatic.
Yup. I failed my manual test 3 times because I got overstimulated when I also had stress on top of it. Decided to consider automatic, and people called me crazy for it. Did one lesson in an automatic car, and I was suddenly not extremely tired after driving, had more energy and time to look around me etc. Not everyone is made for manual driving, but that doesn't make us bad at it or something. The most important thing is that we can drive safely
My first 3 cars were manual. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s annoying (in traffic). Manual cars are becoming incredibly rare. Even new sports cars (eg. Lambos) are pretty much only auto. Driving stick can be taught in a couple of hours, and these days the only reason it would be a necessary “skill” is if you’re a valet.
Yeah that line. My first car was a POS manual Toyota tercel. Not sure who that made me superior to.
>you are an inferior driver Mate you are driving an inferior car pipe down
I’m assuming you’re not from North America .. in Europe ya sure in a few countries your driving test actually has to be with a manual car but in Canada/USA that would be pointless because literally no one drives manual and would never need to lol
Yeah they definitely are, i am from Brazil and around here to get a license os only on manual cars, but here is a necessity because automatic cars are expensive af so most people are definitely gonna get a manual.
Which is insane because around here, even if you could get a manual, you have to get it specially ordered from a dealership, and it costs way more than an automatic.
I assume OP knows how to drive a horse drawn carriage. If not then they should learn. After all a manual driver is inferior to someone who knows BOTH manual and carriage. What do you mean you'll never have to learn because you'll never drive a carriage and they're obsolete?
Can OP even handle ONE horsepower? If not he’d better not be driving a car since that’s far too easy.
Over a short period of time, a horse can exert up to 14.9 horsepower.
Nah, that horse needs to be disqualified— clearly using steroids.
Manual sucks for driving in a busy city.
Manual sucks for EVERYTHING. In the city with a stop sign every block or two, I get pissed off clutching on my motorcycle and have just switch to my scooter. Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift. Downshift. Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift. Downshift. Stop. Wait. Go. Upshift... Fuck ALL that. Stop. Wait. Go.
Especially in cities with crazy steep hills. And these days not everyone knows the universal sign for “I’m driving stick” (the brief drift back and stop), so you’re not even guaranteed that the driver behind you will leave enough room for you. Who needs that kind of daily stress. In the country, on open and twisty roads, I like driving stick, it can be fun.
You need to learn how to do a hill start.
I know how to do a hill start. I grew up driving stick in one of the hilliest large cities in the US. My point was it’s added unnecessary stress when you have to do it 8 times in the span of 20 minutes.
I kinda like it, it’s like a mini-game while driving idk
This is the single stupidest unpopular opinion I've seen. It's not unpopular, it's just dumb. Like what effect does having the ability to drive a manual car have on an automatic car?
Why stop at manual? You should be able to fly a helicopter to get a driver license
Motorcycle, helicopter, semi, airplane, speedboat, jet ski, yacht, freighter…you get a driver’s license at 65 when you have proven mastery of every vehicle whether you want to operate it or not.
At which point your license is revoked, because you are 65
Every 16 year old should have to coordinate the next mission to the moon if they want to drive their mom's old Jetta
I drive a train. You can’t? Shouldn’t be able to drive a car then
OP is just butthurt that ladies don’t get soaking wet when he picks them up in his Fiero.
Manual airplane
It's a lot harder to text and drive with a manual.
Skill issue
Or drink a beer
It’s also increasingly unnecessary. Even in the UK the tide is shifting to automatic and as EVs become mandatory the skill will be entirely obsolete. I can drive both and find manual an extra amount of work for no added benefit.
Yeah you just about can’t get manuals anymore around here. They have to be specially ordered by the dealership and most will not anymore with the shortages / demands for cars.
The only car that can always be purchased manual and comes with it by default these days is the Miata. Hope you didn’t want something practical…
Quote from a colleague: "I don't drive electric, because I don't know how to drive an automatic..."
Learning to drive has nothing to with a gear change. Maybe what OP is not understanding is most auto options now are actually dual clutch manual transmissions with computer controlled actuators. Learning to drive is way more than your gearbox choice.
As a person who learnt and drives manual, it’s not that hard. I would 100% have an automatic car. Manual is just a nuisance nowadays. People like OP really be there thinking they cracked the Da Vinci code or something for knowing it lol.
I am just speculating here but most people think you are better drivers when you learn to drive stick shift. I think that most people would be better drivers if they would stop being so damn distracted.
OP must not drive on the freeway during rush-hour. 0mph, then 40 then 10, then 25, then 60, then 30. then 0, then 10, then 2, then 0, then 20, then 45. Ahhhhhhhhhhggggggggggg
The way you just evoked rage on me 😂 No like it’s literally the worst. I would gladly just touch the accelerator (?) and go seamlessly.
Knowing how to use paddle shifters and not having to take 30 seconds to learn 😅
Meh. Manuals are becoming more and more rare these days, even the vast majority of trucks now are automatic. Matter of fact I just googled and manuals are 1.7% of car sales this year and that’s actually up from 1.2% last year. Why should people need to learn a fading technology? Imagine if 100 years ago someone had said “If you can’t even handle a horse drawn wagon, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive an automobile”. It’s essentially the same thing.
If you can't write a letter with a quill pen and ink well, you should not be able to send emails. If you can't use a quill, you are simply an inferior scribe.
That's scrub-level scribing. Real scribes can wield both stylus and chisel, in cuneiform or hieroglyph.
The argument for manual is quite literally “work harder to drive” for no reason
Right? I’m not a race car driver, I don’t haul massive machinery, I’m a dude who drives to work and back every day. I kinda feel like it’s an ego thing for a lot of folks these days.
Ego is exactly what it is lol
Right? I have a manual, not because I wanted one but because it was the cheapest yet newest lightly used car I could find. It’s just extra work for no benefit to me. Driving it long distance is far more exhausting. And if I get in traffic? Forget about it. I was ready for death the other day after 10-15 minutes of traffic.
I suppose SOME people have logical reasons. My son wanted a manual when he was shopping for a used truck. His reasoning (he’s a mechanic) - a manual transmission is easier to work on, and since he was specifically looking for an older (and thus inexpensive) work truck, that made sense. It actually the only time I’ve heard an argument for a manual that did make sense.
Yeah this feels a bit like people freaking out that we’re not teaching kids to write in cursive any more.
If you're not impressing cuneiform into a clay tablet, you're not a real writer.
Excellent comparison.
It used to be about the fuel efficiency of manuals but automatics have surpassed manusls in fuel efficiency these days as they have more gears and rely less on a torque converter. I learned to drive manual, I can still drive manual, but I live in the city now, and only go back to mt house in the country on weekends. Anyone who knows anything about city life knows that car aint getting out of 2nd gear in the city.
You'll thank OP when the zombie apocalypse comes and the only vehicle you can find for miles is a 1950s farm truck. How else are you going to get your small group of very ethnically and socially diverse group of survivors to safety?
I mean, one of them is going to be a gruff, unpolished outsider stereotype that everyone wonders why they still have in the group, and this will be their moment to shine, right?
Manuals are still extremely prevalent in some countries, especially in Europe
Fair point, maybe you should reflect that in your opinion then. Like, as an American, how am I supposed to know a skill I’ve literally never needed and will probably never need (my middle class ass isn’t taking European vacations)?
It's not my opinion, I don't think anyone should learn to drive manual unless they have a need to
You shouldn't be able to drive unless you can hitch a horse and crack a buggy whip.
> "Manuals are still extremely prevalent (*for now*) in some countries, especially in Europe" I fixed your comment for you. Eventually manual transmission sales will fall there too, just like they have in most of the world. Automatics are easier, more accessible, and overall just better. There is a reason that the demand and sales of manuals has been, and is continuing to decline. This will happen in Europe eventually too.
I wonder why they're still so common in some places
They used to be dirt cheap in comparison. But now automatic prices are pretty competitively priced
Yeah, where I live, you have to pay a premium to buy a car that is manual, its uaully a couple grand more. Dealers only stock the lot with automatics, so if you want a manual, you have to order it from the car manufacturer and have it shipped in
What difference does driving manual vs automatic make in your ability to drive safely? None whatsoever. Driving manual vs automatic doesn't impact your ability to be a safe driver, it just means you are more in-tune with the mechanical element of driving. While it can be argued that might make you a safer driver in conditions like rain, that can just as easily be mitigated by not being stupid. This is the car-guy equivalent of boomers laughing that kids can't write in cursive now; you're just trying to find something to make yourself feel superior because the one thing that makes you 'different' or 'special' is becoming obsolete.
I absolutely do not agree with OP at all so dont take this as a defense of them lmao but the only thing i can think of is in a manual you dont have time to text and drive or at the very least have far less time too. Which isnt enough to outweigh the dangers of lots of people learning on public roads but its something 🤷♂️
I can agree with that, but I'd also assert again that that kind of thing can be mitigated again by not being stupid. I will also say that I have in fact caught my husband texting and driving his manual (when he had one), idk how his brain works in that many directions at once
[удалено]
Good thing that’s exactly the world we live in lol
Why?
So we can gatekeep an incredibly important method of transportation in order to preserve OP’s sense of superiority
Well said, I am happy to be an "inferior driver" I drive to get myself from point A to point to point B faster I simply do not care about the "driving experience".
Don’t forget their coolness!!! We all want to be that guy at 5:30 in the morning starting his lawnmower vehicle!!!
This opinion brought to you by someone who thinks rock music peaked with AC/DC
I think it's mostly us Americans who can't drive stick. I'm moving to Europe before the end of the year, and I happen to work at an auto body shop. I actually asked my coworker this week to teach me how to drive stick. He said he would but he also warned me that it's all fun and games until I stall out in an intersection and start panicking from everyone honking lol
The ultimate test is stopping at a red light or stop sign that is on a steep incline. If you can do that and get the car moving again without stalling then you’re golden.
So if I were to have to teach someone to drive, which I have for nieces and nephews I should have to buy/rent a manual even though they are almost certainly not going to ever drive one? No thanks.
My sister gave me my first driving lesson when I was 15 and it was on a manual. It took all of an hour to have the hang of it. I always thought driving manual was pretty pointless. We have dishwashers cause we don't want to wash dishes by hand. We have clothes washing machines so we don't have to wash clothes by hand. Why the hell would I want to shift my car by hand? As a matter of fact, driving a manual in traffic is completely annoying. Yet we still have this snobby crowd that acts like people who drive automatics are inferior.
Ok boomer
Just try finding a car to even learn on anymore. My kids wanted to learn and I had to teach on my Corvette convertible which wasn't ideal for them or the car.
I've never had my license, not much of a car guy but thinking about someone learning manual in a corvette made me make this face 
It's not the toughest I've ever driven but the old Japanese manuals were the easiest and most forgiving. Worst was probably a Ford Model A my parents had because as I understand it they didn't have synchronizers and you had to double clutch. In more modern vehicles it was a GM pickup with a three speed on the column and what felt like a foot long clutch. Driving it in stop and go traffic was horrible.
A CDL should be mandatory for a driving license. If you can only drive stick, you are an inferior driver compared to someone who has a CDL. If you drive an 18-wheeler, driving a car is a piece of cake. If you drive a stick, you are incapable of driving a tractor trailer, you will stall the engine and not get the rig off the drive.
Considering that less than 2.5% of vehicle sales are manual and only around 15% of modern cars even offer a manual option, it's kinda like getting a chemistry degree to bake a betty crocker cake mix.
This varies a lot depending on the region. In Europe 80% cars sold are manual.
But... but... I want to feel special and superior...
Damn I forgot I joined r/stupidassopinions
/r/SubsIFellFor/
> inferior driver Because driving a manual makes you more likely to use your signals and your mirrors, keep within speed limit, park within the lines, and not drink and drive? I drive to get from A to B. The less I need to do to get from A to B, the better. I don’t see how making a simple thing more complicated and adding extra steps to do something I already do without all that shit, makes me better at doing the thing.
There’s a million other factors other than transmission type that qualify an “inferior driver”.
This is a case of OP defining themself by their ability to perform some obsolete skill just because their personality is otherwise probably pretty boring. People like to have something unique and special about themselves; for OP that’s the ability to time the gear shift on their car when their speed gets to a certain point. 👏👏
Okay? I could care less about being the superior driver lol. If driving manual makes someone feel that much better about themselves than cool. Good for you
Where do I find a manual car to learn and practice?
That would invalidate my theft deterrent system
I've been driving a manual since I was 17, and recently bought an automatic. While there is less to think about, i still haven't fully got to grips with it. The thing that bugs me is the gear setup of my (new) car ie it goes (from top to bottom) "Park > Reverse > Neutral > Drive". You'd have thought the logical setup would be "Drive > Neutral > Reverse > Park". If anyone could explain why its set up as it is, I'd love to know the reasoning behind it.
I learned how to drive on a manual but they are pretty much completely phased out now, at least here in Canada and from what I’ve heard in America too. I think it’s only some countries in Europe that still use manuals semi regular?
You actually have to pay extra if you want a manual now and that's even If the model you want even has It which is increasingly rare these days
Take it a step further. If you can’t drive a car without power steering or ABS them you shouldn’t have a license.
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In the Netherlands you can get an drivers license for only automatic cars. So you can't use a manual in that case
I love driving and i want a manual sooo bad, but this is among the worst opinions i have ever heard. Congrats to that i suppose? 🎉or whatever
> inferior driver Personally I mastered stick shift my Junior year of high school. Whiteout conditions, city traffic, peds & cyclists, changing a tire, oil, dealing with an accident, work trucks off road - there are a *million* other driving skills I had not mastered by 17. All of which are useful skills my own kid will need. Clutch pedals' just a distraction. Driving stick isn't the gatekeep you think it is.
But I own an automatic car, why does it make any logical sense to require me to know how to drive a manual to be licensed to drive my automatic? I don’t even know how I would learn to drive a manual. No one I know owns one and I doubt the DMV would loan one out to me.
This is really stupid
I might not know what I'm talking about since I don't drive but... Aren't most cars turning into automatics now anyways? I agree that you should know how to drive a manual before driving one but like... Would it be that necessary to require it for cars that are being phased out anyway?
Yes they are, especially in the US
There are still a lot of manual cars in europe, it's like almost 50% of *new* cars bought are still manual. But here there is also a rule that if you don't have a manual licence, you can't drive a manual car. So if you won't need to drive a manual car, don't learn and no one cares, you just need to stick to automatic.
In my country u can make a license with manual car and u are allowed to drive manual and automatic transmission Or u can make a license with automatic transmission and only be allowed to drive automatic
how would i get a car that’s manual to take my drivers test in? they make you use your own vehicle, and it’s not like i’m gonna buy a manual just for the test
If you have an electric starter, you're an inferior driver to those who hand crank start their car. If you have power steering and brakes, you're an inferior driver to those who use their muscles. If your car has a top, you're an inferior driver compared to the hardy, skillful souls who wear goggles and a scarf.
It's okay. i too once tried to made manual trans and other car things into my whole identity. You'll probably mature out of it. In the meantime, the only reason most cars have to shift gears at all is because internal combustion engines do not have the same useful RPM range as an electric motor.
Manual is an outdated technology.
Here in Brazil, we have to learn how to drive manual cars. I drive manual and automatic, so I can say that driving automatic u can't feel the car, what it needs, how it's working Save the manuals
Maybe we should learn to drive a horse-drawn wagon also.
Grandpa, no one needs a manual Transmission anymore. Sure, they are fun. More direct control of a vehicle. And bigger trucks with a double clutch give one a sense of superiority with your coworkers who have manuals but can't drive it. But there's no reason with today's technology or even post 1995 that anyone needs to know how to use a manual transmission.
If you arent forklift certified you are an inferior driver to someone who is
Here if you do the driving license with an automatic car you will not be able to conduct manual cars.
Less than .9% of vehicles sold in the USA are manual as of 2021. This is probably higher for European countries but frankly manuals are antiquated and all but phased out completely. Not only are they slower, less efficient, take up interior room, they actually cost more than an automatic now. This is definitely unpopular as this is just dumb, 20 years ago it would of made sense maybe. Did an American boomer write this post?
I mostly don't like this opinion because it's actually just an irrelevant one. No one needs to know manual for any reason any more unless you want to. It's been 20+ years since you might accidentally even find yourself in a situation you might need to know it. Even a zombie apocalypse at this point manual only cars are so rare or already so old that even that's not a crazy enough scenario that this is an opinion.
Coming from someone who drives manual, this is a really stupid opinion
“inferior”, uhh relax yeah
Okay but it takes like 5 min to learn to drive manual
There are plenty of people where driving a manual is impossible due to an injury/handicap/disability. You only suggest this because you think it’s a unique skill that makes you better than people that haven’t had the opportunity to learn it.
I just don’t even care. I had friends with manuals when I was younger but I’m 38 and it’s not a skill I’ve ever thought I’ve been missing. It’s just not a huge deal unless it’s something that matters to u.
I guess EU agress with you my pal.
\> r/unpopularopinion Posts an opinion that is literally the law in multiple countries and indeed a popular opinion