Driving a manual makes you a better driver?

Pho3nix

Pho3nix

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Morning all,

As the title suggests what do you think?

More of an opinion piece then a question but I've recently noticed that most people that drive automatics don't drive very well compared to their manual counter-parts.
My uncle and a couple people I personally know are why I'm making the statement and while it's a generalization I believe it to be correct.
Thoughts? Are you a automatic driver?
 
would it be unfair to say automatic drivers can be a bit more lazy and subsequently not pay as much attention while they driving?
 
If The Amazing Race is anything to go by then yes, manual drivers are far better drivers.
 
My dad always says and I totally agree with him:

"To be a good motorcar driver, you first have to be a motorcycle rider."

Being a good driver comes with age, experience and using more than just two brain cells.

I'm not an automatic driver, I hate automatics and believe that they are either for lazy people or people who can't drive a manual vehicle. I find manual and automatic drivers to be equally bad drivers.
 
Pho3nix said:
Morning all,

As the title suggests what do you think?

More of an opinion piece then a question but I've recently noticed that most people that drive automatics don't drive very well compared to their manual counter-parts.
My uncle and a couple people I personally know are why I'm making the statement and while it's a generalization I believe it to be correct.
Thoughts? Are you a automatic driver?
Click to expand...

Of course it's just a generalization, but manual drivers tend to care more about the driving experience while automatic drivers just want to get it over with.
 
I will not as far as to say that they are better drivers but will venture that they are more 'in touch' with the vehicle and what it is doing.

I will also venture that I think that they [manual drivers] might be more in touch with the road i.e. concentrate more as they have to adjust their driving to turns etc... i.e. gearing down/changing gears etc...

So there might be some truth in it to some extent but I think if you can not drive for s**** then manual and or automatic will make no difference.
 
I feel much safer stopping behind an automatic on an incline than a manual. Every day I see someone roll backwards a bit before pulling away.

On the way home there's a stretch of road that looks flat but isn't. Once a month or so someone will take their foot off the brake (while digging around for something) and start rolling ever so slightly towards my car. Pisses me off no end.

More idiot proof == better.
 
dabean said:
I feel much safer stopping behind an automatic on an incline than a manual. Every day I see someone roll backwards a bit before pulling away.

On the way home there's a stretch of road that looks flat but isn't. Once a month or so someone will take their foot off the brake (while digging around for something) and start rolling ever so slightly towards my car. Pisses me off no end.

More idiot proof == better.
Click to expand...

That is called a bad driver.
That is what the handbrake is for.
That was a dumb argument.
 
100% I think this comes down to experience. I don't think one is better than the other.

Never having driven an automatic vehicle, let alone own one, I'm still trying to get my head around the "there is no clutch" idea. I imagine it will feel awkward for a while, and then probably be a lot easier to drive than a manual.

Looking at my father-in-law, he's the complete opposite. He can drive a manual, but tend to scratch it all the way.

All things being equal, I think an automatic might make your driving experience more enjoyable, i.e. less work, but I enjoy the technicality associated with a manual transmission.
 
Learnt on a manual, now i drive an automatic.Can drive and eat at the same time lol
Still miss manual though, pushing those RPMS ,wheelspins, handbrake turns, ag now i cant do any of that on my automatic.But it comes down to the driver and not whether his car is automatic or manual.
 
Chevron said:
Of course it's just a generalization, but manual drivers tend to care more about the driving experience while automatic drivers just want to get it over with.
Click to expand...

Well that's a big generalisation if I ever read one. You need to factor in people who:

A: Cannot drive a manual car (Due to some sort of disability, etc )
B: People who hate sitting in 45 minutes of traffic and changing between 1st and 2nd gear 20 times in 3 KM.
C: People in cars with DSG gearboxes - there is an "Automatic" mode on these cars as well as "Sport" (Manual)

Lastly - Manual or Automatic - both types of just as bad. Having to change the gear has nothing to do with it.
 
i enjoy driving. and with an auto i dont have to worry about gear changes. especially in traffic. would drive me insane. i think of it like this:

at home my tv has a remote. i dont get up to go change the channel because the remote is right there to be used. doesnt mean i enjoy tv any less than the guy who gets up to change it manually. it also doesnt make me lazy. the technology exists and i just choose to use it.
 
I'd expand the generalisation to say that it depends what type of transmission you wanted to, and did, learn to drive with. Manual is inherently more involved while an auto does allow one to 'switch off' to an extent. It remains a choice to be vigilant behind the wheel though; your car's type of transmission doesn't excuse brainless driving.

srothman said:
...

Never having driven an automatic vehicle, let alone own one, I'm still trying to get my head around the "there is no clutch" idea. I imagine it will feel awkward for a while, and then probably be a lot easier to drive than a manual.

...
Click to expand...

The first few times you try to slow to a stop are fun. See, your left foot tends to go for the clutch out of habit, but hit the bigger brake pedal instead. So rather than coming to a gentle stop you screech to a violent halt because you've got both feet jammed on the brakes. Muscle memory can be a bitch.
 
I love my manual car, but would have thought automatic drivers would be better since they dont have to worry about changing gears.
 
HapticSimian said:
The first few times you try to slow to a stop are fun. See, your left foot tends to go for the clutch out of habit, but hit the bigger brake pedal instead. So rather than coming to a gentle stop you screech to a violent halt because you've got both feet jammed on the brakes. Muscle memory can be a bitch.
Click to expand...

I've actually been told to start training myself to do left-foot braking in a controller environment, seeing as I'll be getting an automatic car in the next couple of months.
 
srothman said:
I've actually been told to start training myself to do left-foot braking in a controller environment, seeing as I'll be getting an automatic car in the next couple of months.
Click to expand...

There shouldn't ever be a need for that on public roads, and many modern cars with drive-by-wire throttles will simply cut the fuel feed when they register concurrent brake and throttle application.
 
Pho3nix said:
Morning all,

As the title suggests what do you think?

More of an opinion piece then a question but I've recently noticed that most people that drive automatics don't drive very well compared to their manual counter-parts.
My uncle and a couple people I personally know are why I'm making the statement and while it's a generalization I believe it to be correct.
Thoughts? Are you a automatic driver?
Click to expand...

Better driver in what way? When I'm in a manual i tend to drive a lot slower than I would in an auto. Drive mom's auto Merc every now and then, and its "gap, accelerate" all the way (which some might view as bad driving). On the other hand I have to think twice in a manual (which gear, how high the revs are, etc.)
 
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