Thread: How many of you drive stick?

Damn, and here I was thinking it was everyone else that got it wrong! It was a great idea to drive on the left in the days of the sword...But it does play havoc with steering wheel placement in the modern age I suppose.


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Damn, and here I was thinking it was everyone else that got it wrong! It was a great idea to drive on the left in the days of the sword...But it does play havoc with steering wheel placement in the modern age I suppose.


Mick

I always thought that you have it on the wrong side because you live on the wrong side of the equator, asses up and heads pointing downwards

Originally Posted by Sailor

Hey Aussie,

Ok. Someone has to say this: Sorry, but did you ever notice that you have steering wheel at the wrong side of the car?

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.

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've driven few cars with a wrong side steering & manual shift (with a wrong hand) for few times. Driving by itself is not difficult at all. Foot pedals have the same order. You get used to that within a minute.

What's difficult is bypassing the car that going in front of you. You sit already at the wrong side of the lane and you cannot see a damn thing whether someone is coming towards you or not. You need to steer the whole car into opposite lane before you can see what is ahead.

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.

Several years ago, I was on the ferry going from the UK to Spain on my old BMW bike. Some bloke asked me how it could be changed from right hand drive to left hand drive...

There's always one.

Gareth

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.

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.

I had to learn to drive stick on the spot. My first car was a stick and I had no other choice. I avoided hilly areas for awhile.

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 used to travel to tech service jobs in the EU quite a lot, which meant a lot of hire cars. the only issue i had was trying for the handbreak and fishing round the drivers door pocket!
steve

ps manual all the way

All of my cars for years now (always really) are sticks, the wife even prefers them. '55 IH 300U tractor (5spd), '79 Jeep wrangler (5spd), '99 Ford F350 crew cab dually 4X4 diesel (6spd), '10 Subaru outback (6sp). Way better mileage, control, and driving experience. Kinda like: sure I can shave with a throw away.......but what fun is that?