Thread: How many of you drive stick?

Originally Posted by rolodave

How difficult is it to change from left steering to right steering? I do not think I would want to try with my muscle memory being so ingrained.

I drove a left hand drive car in England for two years. I rented a right hand drive car in Scotland and the hardest part was changing where in the lane my body was. When I switched to the right hand drive, I drifted to the left for a day or two and then did the opposite when I got back to my car. That was also my second time driving a stick. I did pretty well until I got stuck on a hill in Glasgow.

I had no problems when I drove in the US. I found the temporary change to the wrong side of the road easy enough. I didn't kill anyone and only once, right at the very beginning, tried to move over to the 'correct' side of the road. Gave myself a start and never did it again...Until I had to whne I got home again.


Mick

Jumping back and forth between the US, the UK, and Germany wasn't really an issue. I ended up on the wrong side of a divided neighborhood road once (backed up 10 feet and got on the correct side) and then forgot to move back to the left once in England while navigating the maze of cars parked on both sides of the road leading to my neighborhood after landing at midnight from Germany. Took me about 20 feet and then remembered to merge back to the correct side of the road.

I learned to drive on my dad's '83 Golf, 5 speed. I've owned sticks since then and hadn't driven an auto until that fateful day in college...

Note: I'm not a heavy drinker and prefer flavor to quantity, always been that way.

Friends - "We're hammered... you're gonna need to drive."
Me - "Alright."
Friends - "It's the blue Taurus, don't move the seat."
Me - "Cool. I'll grab the car and swing around to get you guys."

Five minutes pass...

Friends finally walk the block to the car and knock on the window, "What the hell man?"
Me - "Uh... how do you get it into drive?"

Yeah, I've been in the reverse of that situation many times... it's strange being on the other side.

Originally Posted by rolodave

How difficult is it to change from left steering to right steering? I do not think I would want to try with my muscle memory being so ingrained.

I didn't find it too hard at all. The first time I drove in the UK was when I rented a car in Steòrnabhagh on the Isle of Lewis. It probably helped the transition that I was one of very, very few cars on the road. I found the shift in spatial relationships odd at first, and damn near took out a pump on my first visit to a petrol station, but once I got used to that and to shifting with my left hand, it was fine. The absolute BEST part of driving in Scotland though were the single-track roads in the highlands. They keep you on your toes for sure.

The biggest problem was actually when I came back to Canada after having lived and driven in the UK for a number of years. It was then that I found I really had to pay attention and not end up on the wrong side of the road. At least for the first couple of kms on each return home.

Originally Posted by falingore

I learned to drive on my dad's '83 Golf, 5 speed. I've owned sticks since then and hadn't driven an auto until that fateful day in college...

Note: I'm not a heavy drinker and prefer flavor to quantity, always been that way.

Friends - "We're hammered... you're gonna need to drive."
Me - "Alright."
Friends - "It's the blue Taurus, don't move the seat."
Me - "Cool. I'll grab the car and swing around to get you guys."

Five minutes pass...

Friends finally walk the block to the car and knock on the window, "What the hell man?"
Me - "Uh... how do you get it into drive?"

Yeah, I've been in the reverse of that situation many times... it's strange being on the other side.

That's funny right there!

My new vehicle and it cost a heck of alot more than my last truck, 65 Chevy 1 ton with a 292 straight six... I miss that beast...

Is that a Disc Trucker I see?!


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Is that a Disc Trucker I see?!


Mick

Oh Yaaa Next weekend I do a fully loaded 50 mile ride with it, see how she handles

Nice. I hope that 50 miler is a round trip and not just one way. I don't own a bike that fancy but mine does the job just nicely. It ain't the cheapest, but it isn't the top of the line either. I've done quite a few thousand K's on mine. Been off it for a while though and only just getting back into it over the last couple of months.
Have fun with yours mate, they really are the best mode of transport if you can use them.


Mick