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.
this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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AFAIK that is still the case, no?
I can vouch for Belgium, where this is still the case. I have yet to meet someone who can only drive automatic (except for people with disabilities ofcourse)
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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.
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Same in Sweden. Most people get a license for manual and then buy an automatic.
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I'm from Europe, I was taught on manual transmission and drove with it for 10 years. But I switched to automatic (actually not on purpose, I didn't notice the car I was buying had it), and now vastly prefer it.
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.
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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.
Just pull the parking brake and accelerate until you feel the car slightly raising and then drop the parking brake.
Eventually you get a feeling for it and drop the parking brake before it's "fighting" the accelerator.
This might sound trivial to some, but I know several people that never use the parking brake in these situations and instead do a manic race with their feet and the car drops a couple meters back and they over accelerate to compensate.
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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.
I'm almost 30, living US and don't know how to drive a manual.
I just don't understand the purpose of learning or the superiority complex around those that drive manual. In my region of the world, the vast majority of cars are automatic to the point where you might have to straight up custom order a vehicle to get manual.
Sure, if I'm outside of the US, manual might be the standard in some areas...but I have no interest in attempting to drive a vehicle in a foreign country where I don't know their local laws of the road. I'd rather take public transport or use services like taxis, Ubers, Lifts, etc.
It's the year 2023. Automatic cars nowadays are more efficient than manuals in a majority of cases.
If you want to drive a manual or you prefer manuals, that's great! More the power to you and I'm glad you like it! But to have a superiority complex about it is just odd.
It's like some boomer making fun of a gen Z kid for not knowing how to use a VCR. So what? You don't to learn how to use a VCR in 2023.
Again, this is in terms of my region. I get that manuals are common in other regions. But again, I have no interest in driving in a region where I don't know the local rules of the road.
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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.
I still instinctively press the non-clutch when I have to slam on the brakes
And when youβre in an automatic and you reach for the phantom gear shift. At least once every time i drive one.
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.
In Europe you basically have to be handicapped to not learn to drive manual.
That's changing though, I see many people taking their driving lessons in EVs, which in turn means they'll only be able to drive automatics. I guess that won't bother them too much as they'll probably only want to drive EVs anyway, or else they would've chosen to take their lessons in a regular manual like most people
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31, Germany, I can't drive at all. City kid.
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.
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I'm pretty sure North America is the only part of the world where automatic is the default.
I'm American and learned on a manual, which I drove for a decade and a half. But I'm one of the few people I know my age who can drive a stick.
Plenty of Boomers can drive stick though.
Of course, 28, French. 99,99% of people here drive manual (or at least know how to).
Yes, but only on motorcycles. That's because there's no such thing as an automatic motorcycle[^1][^2][^3][^4][^5], so you have to learn manual if you want to ride one. Unfortunately this skill doesn't transfer well to manual driving because on bikes you operate the clutch with your hand and the shift with your foot. I'm not terribly worried about that, though... I've literally never even been on the inside of a manual drive car before!
For context: I'm mid-20s from the American south.
[^1]: No, electrics don't count. [^2]: No, semi-autos don't count. [^3]: No, three-wheelers don't count. [^4]: No, the 2006 Yamaha bikes don't count because that line was a sales failure. [^5]: Ok, fine. Honda's DCT bikes do count, but holy shit are they expensive!
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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.
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Yes, unless you want to still have an engine, then no.
Germany, 25, yup
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.
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.
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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.
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Early 40s from Australia. I can drive a manual, but my present car is automatic. My motorcycle is manual though. :p
Least american centric lemmy thread.
Poland. It comes by default.
US. I can and have. Learned on a crappy stick shift truck where I had to nudge the clutch up with my toe. Launched boats with it.
Drove drunk friend home in his stick shift car. VW because of course he did.
Swapped cars with Mom when she hurt her clutch leg. Drove stick for a summer, a little Echo that shifted nicely.
So I can and will if I need to but I have no desire to. I have never really liked cars, just used them for utility. Now that I drive hybrids I do like them more. CVT, no gears at all!
28, Germany. Yes I can and I dont know anybody with a drivers license who cant.
Germany, 25. Always driven manual, don't even know how to drive automatic.
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I can from Texas. Just turned 40. I was taught on a manual transmission and have owned several vehicles with one. I prefer it, except for in traffic!
My parents forced me to learn in case I ever needed it.
I'd buy one again in a heartbeat if I could. Love the fact that it was easy AF to rock myself out of snow banks
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Italy. 21, We only drive manual here
No, on account of I cannot drive at all. I'm 25 and live in Vermont. The particular part I live in, everything's accessible by bus, so I've just never felt the urgency to learn.
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German, late 30s. Automatic cars are rather uncommon in Germany, we sure like our manuals. Not being able to push my car into high RPMs when needed to overtake or accelerate quickly takes the fun out of driving. I'd never switch to automatic as long as I still have both arms and legs. And yes I know kickdowns are a thing, but it really doesn't compare.
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Yes. Early 40s, USA, both mine and my wife's cars are manual Subarus.
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Yes. 44, Australian, drove a manual until very recently actually.
In Australia (Queensland at least) you have to pass a manual driving test in order to be legally allowed to drive a manual vehicle. At the time I was getting my license (1995 - 96) manual vehicles were still extremely common, plus I like driving a manual so it made sense for me.
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