can you drive a manual transmission?

[lynnerself]

Has anyone ever rented a manual transmission car in England where they drive on the other side of the road?

DH wants to attempt it when we go.


My understanding is that the clutch and brake pedals are the same, and although you shift left handed the gear arrangement is the same pattern.
Can anyone confirm this?

[Peace Of Mind]

Yes.  I learned to drive one when I was 14 back when the old Ford trucks had the shifting on the steering wheel.  I currently have a 5 speed that I've had since 1996 and DH can't get me to get rid of it to buy a luxury automatic.  He's such a girl!   

[chiver78]

lynnerself not England, but Ireland. it takes a little getting used to, but if you drive a stick here you should be okay. the weirdest thing to get used to was the spiral exits in the garages - not only are you on the other side of the car, but the spirals go in the opposite direction.

[milee]

Jun 10, 2014 12:19:05 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Has anyone ever rented a manual transmission car in England where they drive on the other side of the road?

DH wants to attempt it when we go.


My understanding is that the clutch and brake pedals are the same, and although you shift left handed the gear arrangement is the same pattern.
Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, the pedals are the same, but obviously the gear shifter is still in the middle so instead of being on your right, is on your left side.  That was what my reference about banging my hand was about.  For a while when you start to drive, your instinct is to reach out and shift with your right hand, so you bang it on the door/window next to you. 

It's really not hard.  But I think if the pedals were reversed, that would be much tougher.

[dannylion]

Yes. 

Not only can I drive a car with a manual transmission, I have also been taught to drive a 5-ton truck, a bus, and certain foreign tanks and APCs. 

[kittensaver]

I can do it, but I really don't like it.

[Baby Fawkes]

Jun 10, 2014 12:19:05 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Has anyone ever rented a manual transmission car in England where they drive on the other side of the road?

DH wants to attempt it when we go.


My understanding is that the clutch and brake pedals are the same, and although you shift left handed the gear arrangement is the same pattern.
Can anyone confirm this?

You're correct. Pedals are the exact same and the gear layout is the location (i.e. over here you'd typically go left and up for first, over there you would also go left and up.) The difference being you pull towards you and up here and push away and up over there.

[MN-Investor]

Heavens no!!!

I learned on an automatic, and that's what my family had until I was in college. But, with the expense of putting all of us kids through private college, Dad decided to go cheap and bought a Ford Pinto with manual transmission when I was about a senior in college. I guess Dad taught me how to drive it - I don't remember. I do know that I did drive it.

My DH knows vehicles and can drive about anything. He's told me that my dad was a terrible manual transmission driver. Since Dad taught me, I probably learned all sorts of bad things. Thankfully, except for Dad's Pinto, I've never had to drive a manual transmission.

[emma1420]

Yes.   The car I drive now is the first automatic transmission I have.

I also learned to drive in the UK, and it's difficult (or at least was back then) to even find an automatic transmission car.

[Regis]

Yes, learned on a stick.

And drove a race car with two sticks once (at 160 mph).  Would do it again in a heartbeat.

[lexxy703]

I learned on a manual transmission.  I never really did get very good at it & burned through clutches.  I haven't driven one in 30 years but could probably get us to the hospital if an emergency arose.  Other than that you probably don't want me driving a manual.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Nope. 

[milee]

Uh, remember my previous post about wanting to get older son a car with manual transmission to learn on? Scratch that. In fact, scratch the idea that he will be driving any of our cars ever.

We were just talking about driving and he shared how excited he was to learn. OK, sounds reasonable. Then, he started to talk about all the interesting things he wanted to try and learn with his car, including things like how to shift gears without using the clutch...   He also had that happy, maniacal gleam in his eye. 

[Opti]

Jun 10, 2014 12:43:05 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Yes. 

Not only can I drive a car with a manual transmission, I have also been taught to drive a 5-ton truck, a bus, and certain foreign tanks and APCs. 

Way cool, the only non-car manual transmissions I've driven have been various rental trucks.

[The Captain]

Jun 10, 2014 12:43:05 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Yes. 

Not only can I drive a car with a manual transmission, I have also been taught to drive a 5-ton truck, a bus, and certain foreign tanks and APCs. 

Show off

[irishpad]

Yes.  I get bored driving an AT.  Bought new this time and had to order the car so I could get manual.  

[sunshinegal1981]

Nope.  DH tried to teach me once, but it did NOT go well.  I think there were tears involved. He's not the most patient instructor.    

Would love to learn someday though. What's the best way to learn?

[wvugurl26]

Jun 10, 2014 13:50:46 GMT -5 milee said:

Uh, remember my previous post about wanting to get older son a car with manual transmission to learn on? Scratch that. In fact, scratch the idea that he will be driving any of our cars ever.

We were just talking about driving and he shared how excited he was to learn. OK, sounds reasonable. Then, he started to talk about all the interesting things he wanted to try and learn with his car, including things like how to shift gears without using the clutch...   He also had that happy, maniacal gleam in his eye. 

There are You Tube videos from the diesel doctor or something like that where the guy can shift without using the clutch. These are the big diesel engines though like semis have.

[tskeeter]

Jun 10, 2014 12:05:18 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I remember being asked if I wanted an automatic as a rental when I presented my MA driver's license at the counter, in pretty much every European country I've been to. I declined, even in Ireland where I'd be shifting with the "wrong" hand. I'm naturally lefty anyway, so it wasn't all that bad to get used to.

The first time I drove  in GB, I found it interesting how the shift pattern is the same configuration as in the US, not reversed.  Pretty easy to make the adjustment from right hand to left hand when you don't also have to remember the shift gates are reversed from what you are used to.

[tskeeter]

Jun 10, 2014 12:19:05 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Has anyone ever rented a manual transmission car in England where they drive on the other side of the road?

DH wants to attempt it when we go.


My understanding is that the clutch and brake pedals are the same, and although you shift left handed the gear arrangement is the same pattern.
Can anyone confirm this?

Yup.  Same pattern.  Low gear is up and on the left, and you move to the right as you advance through the gears.  Reverse can move around, depending on the make of car.  Sometimes it's on the far left.  Sometimes it's on the far right.  Sometimes it's up.  Sometimes it's down.  But, in most cases, the rest of the gears follow what is roughly an H pattern. 

[Chocolate Lover]

I can drive a stick, I just don't want to. Dad did do me the favor of not letting me use both feet to drive the automatic when I learned to drive so it made learning how to drive a stick in my 20s much easier. 

My cousin moved from here to GB and had to take the classes/test or whatever to prove she could drive a stick to get her license over there. She's been there so long I forget the details. 

[emma1420]

Jun 10, 2014 14:23:30 GMT -5 sunshinegal1981 said:

Nope.  DH tried to teach me once, but it did NOT go well.  I think there were tears involved. He's not the most patient instructor.    

Would love to learn someday though. What's the best way to learn?

Any place that lacks much in the way of traffic is best, and I think it's best to have someone who is not related to you teach you. Plus you need to accept that you will stall the car a lot in the beginning.  For me learning to start and stop the car was the toughest part (granted the car I learned on also had a choke which made things a bit more challenging to get a car started).  

I taught one of my friends in college to drive a manual transmission, and I think it went reasonably well, because we were peers and I learned only a couple of years before.  I remembered how frustrated I got during the learning process.  My dad tried to teach me have to drive a manual transmission and it was a nightmare.  Instead I got lessons.  It was far less frustrating for all involved.

[tskeeter]

Jun 10, 2014 14:47:00 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Jun 10, 2014 13:50:46 GMT -5 milee said:

Uh, remember my previous post about wanting to get older son a car with manual transmission to learn on? Scratch that. In fact, scratch the idea that he will be driving any of our cars ever.

We were just talking about driving and he shared how excited he was to learn. OK, sounds reasonable. Then, he started to talk about all the interesting things he wanted to try and learn with his car, including things like how to shift gears without using the clutch...   He also had that happy, maniacal gleam in his eye. 

There are You Tube videos from the diesel doctor or something like that where the guy can shift without using the clutch. These are the big diesel engines though like semis have.

You can pretty much shift any manual transmission without using the clutch if you can get the various transmission gears spinning at the same  speed so grinding is minimal when you go between gears.  But, the fact that it can be done doesn't make it a good idea.  Synchronizers are in transmissions because even double clutching, to get gears spinning at the same speed, was too much for a large portion of drivers.  People who like to shift without using the clutch must have lots of money for trasnmission repairs, or really llike dropping transmissions out of cars and rebuilding them.  And, with transverse mounted engines, that is a lot bigger job than with conventionally mounted engines. 

[emma1420]

Jun 10, 2014 16:08:11 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I can drive a stick, I just don't want to. Dad did do me the favor of not letting me use both feet to drive the automatic when I learned to drive so it made learning how to drive a stick in my 20s much easier. 

My cousin moved from here to GB and had to take the classes/test or whatever to prove she could drive a stick to get her license over there. She's been there so long I forget the details. 

The driving license test in the UK is very difficult.  I don't think it can be passed without taking lessons. My brother failed the practical test 4 times before he passed.  And he was failing over what I would consider minor things (crossing his arms when he turned the steering wheel rather than feeding it through his hands, etc.).   About 75% of all test-takers fail the driving test the first time.  

[Deleted]

Jun 10, 2014 14:23:30 GMT -5 sunshinegal1981 said:

Nope.  DH tried to teach me once, but it did NOT go well.  I think there were tears involved. He's not the most patient instructor.    

Would love to learn someday though. What's the best way to learn?

Well, DON'T try to start out in a driveway. There's a possibility you could drive through a wall on the house that the driveway belongs to. My teenage self, my stick shift car, my best friend, my Mom's house. I'm still a bit shocked my Mom didn't even yell at me. While I was making the call to tell her what happened, I kind of thought she might kill me.

[movingforward]

No, I can't drive a manual and while I was in Dublin people in a bar one night had me very concerned that the rental car place was going to give me a manual car the next day even though I reserved an automatic.  One guy asked me if I was going to be passing any churches on the way to Galway.  I said huh?  why?  and he said so you can stop and pray.  He said also get some holy water to throw around the car while you are there.  Fun guys... I am glad I called the rental car place that morning though because they told me I would have to wait for an auto car to come in.  I said happily... otherwise, we would be taking the bus to Galway.

[achelois]

Yes. 

Taught both my my sons, too. 

[wyouser]

My German Jetta doesn't speak automatic

[MarleyKeezy78]

Yes, my first car was a stick. Do I like it when I also have to drive a automatic, hell no!!! I always slamed on the break with my left foot  Haven't driven a manual in years thankfully.

[Deleted]

Yes for both of us. We both learned to drive in Haiti where automatic are close to non existent.