That is how it still is in Germany today. My German license does not have that restriction because I took my lessons and test in a manual. Most people over there still drive manuals anyhow.
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In the way back when, in my province, if you took your road test in an automatic, your drivers licence had a restriction on it..."Automatic Only"
B.C., almost in the middle. Hoping to move south shortly, out of snow(what its doing at the moment) and back into the rain
Ah the Valiant with the 3 on the tree. We had one of those on the family for like 35 years till my grandfather finally sold it. I'd wager that thing is still out there somewhere chugging along.Kevin,
When I turned 14 I was driving a 1961 4-spd. Volkswagon.
When I turned 15 I was driving a 1964 3-spd on the tree
Valiant station wagon. When I went to drivers-ed at 15.5
I had to have them show me how to drive an automatic.
True story, Jeff
I found the trick is to not get too seat sedentary. Nearly half my flight time was in the right (or in the case of stick-and-rudder machines, the back), either as CFI or FO. Even when flying the line, I was still getting some stick time in ragwings and gliders whenever duty time allowed. Keeps the brain engaged.In aircraft with sticks vis wheels one has to not rely on mechanical stick and throttle responses.
And the 6 on the slant!Ah the Valiant with the 3 on the tree.
Take your flight test in a Mixmaster, and your license says "Multi engine land, centerline thrust only".if you took your road test in an automatic, your drivers licence had a restriction on it..."Automatic Only"
Gear sticks are so much more fun.Kevin,
When I turned 14 I was driving a 1961 4-spd. Volkswagon.
When I turned 15 I was driving a 1964 3-spd on the tree
Valiant station wagon. When I went to drivers-ed at 15.5
I had to have them show me how to drive an automatic.
True story, Jeff
Yes agree. The more gears the better. Thats why I love my rigs with a 13 speed. ( they kinda suck in heavy traffic though)Gear sticks are so much more fun.
I do taxi at the moment, I prefer sports saloons for the work. Current one does 150 mph, but never tried it. 2 Litres with air con on full kills the acceleration above 70 mph, but you've still got plenty of it at lower speeds. You can jump gears too while accelerating.Yes agree. The more gears the better. Thats why I love my rigs with a 13 speed. ( they kinda suck in heavy traffic though)
Driving on the "wrong" side of the road for example in NZ, biggest obstacle was turn signals and wipers. Stay there long enough and reverse mirrored issue wipers and turn signals occurred. In aircraft with sticks vis wheels one has to not rely on mechanical stick and throttle responses. This also applies to flying from a left or right seat in a crew served aircraft, a different experience...
Yes agree. The more gears the better. Thats why I love my rigs with a 13 speed. ( they kinda suck in heavy traffic though)
Pretty much European vs Asian cars. European usually have indicators on the left, wipers on the right; Japanese have wipers on the left, indicators on the right.Interestingly, some right hand drive cars sold in Australia and New Zealand used the exact same steering columns, with wiper and indicator controls, so the same thing could happen to local drivers when they got into unfamiliar vehicles.
That looks EXACTLY like a 10 wheel dump I used to drive at a block plant I hauled out of back when I had my own rig in the early 2000s. Only the color is different. I owned a cabover freightliner and a 40 foot flatbed and I was friends with the owner of the company. It was my main account and they let me park my rig there. When things got slow and there were no loads to haul I'd load there old dump truck up with a cat 966 frontloader they had( load it with the reject block that didn't come out right) and haul it about a quarter mile away to a dumpsite. Both the loader and that old dump truck were truly on there last legs.First piece of heavy equipment I ran was an off-highway 1967 Pacific P-10 gravel truck, 24 speed: 6 on the main and 4 aux. Backing up in reverse and 4th was scary fast. Not mine......
Take your flight test in a Mixmaster, and your license says "Multi engine land, centerline thrust only".
Driver Ed teaches only in automatics these days, then the kids' first cars are old 4wd pickups or Jeeps, and they're instant road hazards. Everybody should be taught and tested ONLY on manual transmissions. Bar none. If they can't hack it, they don't belong on the road at all. When they lose it with their juggernaut machine, someone else is usually the victim.
Cheers,
Wes
Hello XBe02Drvr,
I would have to disagree with you on this point.
If you are trying to reduce the number of people that are qualified to drive, then this is an option, but I don't see it as being a particularly useful approach to teaching or testing.
You gave a specific example of a kid learning on an automatic and then inheriting something with a manual transmission.
The problem as I see it is that when one is learning to drive, there are too many sensory inputs and there isn't the experience to sort them out or know where to look for potential problems. Adding a manual transmission to the mix would not help things.
When they know the basics of navigating in traffic and can do it without white knuckles, then it makes sense to add something new.
Both my kids learned on regular sedans provided by the High School Driver Ed program. Considering where they were when they started "Behind the wheel", I don't think anyone teaching driving these days could afford to replace all the transmissions they would have busted when learning. Even after the kids pass their driving test, they are still quite dangerous for a while.
My Daughter is probably more typical of the kids in our area. She learned to drive about two years ago and now drives one of the family's mini vans. Most of her friends have more interesting cars or little econo boxes. My Son passed his driving test a month or two ago and will be getting his license at the end of this year.
I believe that my own introduction to manual transmissions was a pretty good one.
About a year after I got my license, my Dad bought a German 2000cc Capri for $200 and used it to teach me how to drive a manual. He knew the area around his workplace pretty well and picked the streets with the worst hills for me to learn on. There were a few times there was smoke coming from underneath when I was mishandling the clutch, but eventually I learned. It was a great little car. Not much for power but it handled well. Unfortunately my Dad sold it while I was off at College.
- Ivan.