And where are you from? And how old? Not “do you” but just if you know how.
I’m in the US, mid 30s and can (and do) drive a manual transmission.
In Germany nearly everyone can drive manual. Used to be that if you didn’t learn how to drive manual in driving school, you weren’t allowed to drive manual with your license.
Prettty sure that’s still the case. I talked to a young person two weeks ago who said she’s not allowed to drive a manual transmission car.
Yes, but it used to be that you had to do the majority of lessons in a manual, now it’s reduced, you can get B197 with a few hours of manual. And then you can drive both.
B197 I just learned about “Schlüsselzahl 78” and “Schlüsselzahl 197”. Interesting. 10 lessons of 45 minutes in a manual car and a 15 minute test drive apparently.
Still the case, got my B197 driving license last week in Bavaria. You have 10 lessons with manual as part of your education, then the rest + exam on automatic. B197 allows to drive both, B allows automatic only.
Not entirely accurate, B allows both manual and automatic, you get B by doing everything including the exam in a manual car, B78 is automatic only and B197 allows you to drive manual and automatic as well but as you described with only 10 manual lessons.
Thanks for clarification!
It’s like that in Australia.
23, US. Yes, but I find them pointless for daily driver cars. Modern automatics are more fuel efficient and just make more sense because they’re much easier to operate and less annoying in stop and go traffic.
They’re great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
31,Sweden
Yes, and I prefer a manual car to an automatic. It keeps me a lot more dialed in while driving.
35, living in Europe, I had to re-learn manual. I had only automatics in Latin America. It is certainly more fun and I feel I’m actually driving.
Where in Latin-America?
Yes. Europe. We pretty much all do. Automatics are becoming a bit more common in recent years, but 90% of cars here are still manual. Especially the old beat-up cars we learn to drive on are all manual. And if by chance you learned on an automatic, and pass your driver’s test on automatic, it says so on your driver’s licence and I think you’re not actually allowed to drive/rent manual cars.
I can, not well, but I can. damn hill starts.
Not sure how common it is now but some cars had a “hill holder” feature that would hold the brake for you when starting on a hill. Makes that whole process much, much easier.
When getting your driving license, you are supposed to know 3 so called ‘special manoeuvres’. Hill start, backwards turn and parallel parking. During your test you have to perform 2 of these (chosen by the examiner). Everyone always hopes that one of these two will be the hill start because it’s by far the easiest one.
Least american centric lemmy thread.
Poland. It comes by default.
Mid 30s Aussie living the the US. Yes I can drive a manual, yes I do drive a manual and yes I think it should be mandatory for 100% of learning drivers regardless of whether they plan to daily drive an automatic or manual when licensed.
The quality of driving here is considerably worse here than what I’ve experienced in Australia or Europe and I’m convinced requiring people to drive in a machine that forces them to consider the next ~100m leads to higher quality, more mindful drivers.
Yes.
In Europe you basically have to be handicapped to not learn to drive manual. Most people get the manual driving license because it allows you to drive both, whereas the automatic one doesn’t.
Manual transmission was and often still is cheaper, often cheaper to repair, often more reliable, often uses less fuel, and in cheap and less powerful cars the combination is often better. Because there are so many manual cars here, including at rental places, it’s a no brainer to learn to drive manual.
This being said, that’s changing. Also, less and less young people are getting a driving license due to affordability and cars no longer being the status symbol they once were.
My car has a manual transmission. I learned to drive on a manual transmission. I prefer it. When I drive a car with automatic transmission, I step on its nonexistent clutch.
Majority of people do in Europe.
Because it is better to also know how to drive manual, than to only know how to drive automatic.
Yes, unless you want to still have an engine, then no.
31, Germany, I can’t drive at all. City kid.
24, always driven manual, EU.
From my experience most people in the EU can or at least could: This is because many (if not all, not sure) countries make a distinction between manual and automatic licenses (see e.g. https://www.learn-automatic.com/qualified/automatic-driving-licence/).
I.e. if you want to drive manual, you have to take the test manual, but if you take the test on manual transmission, you are allowed to drive automatics as well.Early 40s from Australia. I can drive a manual, but my present car is automatic. My motorcycle is manual though. :p
Female, 34, from Indiana, USA. Currently driving a 2020 Honda Civic SI and I love it. My bro taught me to drive stick at 16 so that I’d never be in a situation where I needed to leave but couldn’t because I didn’t know how to drive manual. I’ve had both automatic and manual transmissions, manual being my favorite.
