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[Del Boy]

No car that is roadworthy is unsafe, the unsafe bit is the person behind the wheel. Another thing is, to the OP, the driver who coasted up to the roundabout was unsafe, not the car. You should already be in the right gear when coming up to any corner in a manual. Some autos I find unsafe to be honest, the thing is with an Auto it decides what gear it wants to be in, but the auto can't see the cars coming at a roundabout so if it decides it wants to be in second and you want to come out of the roundabout fast, second is wrong.

 My 7 series for example, Jags with the 6 speed auto suffer the same issue, unless you come to a complete stop it stays in second gear, now if you accelerate hard without stopping, it starts to drive in second at full power but it can't do it, so it thinks right you're asking for full power here, now I need to change into first, that second it takes to do that, a manual car would've been and gone.

 In a manual any good driver should always be in the right gear and ready to go. Autos just cannot do that like you can in a manual, unless you change it manually which defeats the point of an auto. I find autos much nicer to drive and I wouldn't really want another manual car, unless I get something stupidly fast again. But in my opinion manuals are safer if you're any sort of half decent driver.

[aaronjb]

Yeah, as Del and others have said - the only unsafe thing is the loose nut behind the wheel..

[cem_devecioglu]

Just that we have become very PC apparently. ......and that Im a complete idiot.
I have a habit of driving with just one hand on the wheel,when Im driving quite slowly.Not the best of habits granted,but doesnt really do any harm either imo,when ambling along at 30mph.Probably comes from having been a smoking driver for years (in the past),and years of driving manuals,which led to the habit of driving with left hand on the gearstick.

 
I'm curious how you shift with left hand
 
my left is very good for steering but dont think will shift quickly.. seems I cant drive there
 

[Marks DTM Calib]

i'd be interested to see stats on crashes of auto cars vs manual ones. relative to the amount of manual / auto cars on the road of course

Bound to be more auto crashes due to them being driven by the old and infirm 

[cem_devecioglu]

just back from outside lunch, on the road back I have given it some nuts.. god, I love this manual

[Marks DTM Calib]

Just that we have become very PC apparently. ......and that Im a complete idiot.
I have a habit of driving with just one hand on the wheel,when Im driving quite slowly.Not the best of habits granted,but doesnt really do any harm either imo,when ambling along at 30mph.Probably comes from having been a smoking driver for years (in the past),and years of driving manuals,which led to the habit of driving with left hand on the gearstick.

 
I'm curious how you shift with left hand
 
my left is very good for steering but dont think will shift quickly.. seems I cant drive there

Its amazing how quick you adapt cem, when I travel to europe and get a hire car its a very quick learning curve.

[henryd]

Just that we have become very PC apparently. ......and that Im a complete idiot.
I have a habit of driving with just one hand on the wheel,when Im driving quite slowly.Not the best of habits granted,but doesnt really do any harm either imo,when ambling along at 30mph.Probably comes from having been a smoking driver for years (in the past),and years of driving manuals,which led to the habit of driving with left hand on the gearstick.

 
I'm curious how you shift with left hand
 
my left is very good for steering but dont think will shift quickly.. seems I cant drive there

Its amazing how quick you adapt cem, when I travel to europe and get a hire car its a very quick learning curve.

I find that driving abroad the gearchange is picked up quickly but I still tend to look out of the window looking for the interior mirror

[Kevin Wood]

I'm curious how you shift with left hand
 
my left is very good for steering but dont think will shift quickly.. seems I cant drive there

Its amazing how quick you adapt cem, when I travel to europe and get a hire car its a very quick learning curve.

Agreed. I find it's only when I get back home I have problems.

[bob.dent]

Although mine's an auto, I still prefer manual for complete control. I get hacked off with the auto box dropping down or going up a gear unecessarily due to a slight incline or decline in the road, particularly between 30 - 45mph. No wonder petrol consumption is worse for auto's.

[aaronjb]

Although mine's an auto, I still prefer manual for complete control. I get hacked off with the auto box dropping down or going up a gear unecessarily due to a slight incline or decline in the road, particularly between 30 - 45mph. No wonder petrol consumption is worse for auto's.

That's more to do with the hideously lossy connection between engine & box - the big swirling mass of oil, rather than a nice directly coupled clutch

I agree on the rest, though.. mine never seems to be in the gear I want it to be, and when I get off the throttle a bit of engine braking would be nice!

[cem_devecioglu]

Just that we have become very PC apparently. ......and that Im a complete idiot.
I have a habit of driving with just one hand on the wheel,when Im driving quite slowly.Not the best of habits granted,but doesnt really do any harm either imo,when ambling along at 30mph.Probably comes from having been a smoking driver for years (in the past),and years of driving manuals,which led to the habit of driving with left hand on the gearstick.

 
 
I'm curious how you shift with left hand
 
my left is very good for steering but dont think will shift quickly.. seems I cant drive there

Its amazing how quick you adapt cem, when I travel to europe and get a hire car its a very quick learning curve.

driving in UK with Turkish habits ..   no thanks, not long after I'll be arrested
 
at least those road signs and roundabouts will shoot me down

[Nick W]

i'd be interested to see stats on crashes of auto cars vs manual ones. relative to the amount of manual / auto cars on the road of course

Bound to be more auto crashes due to them being driven by the old and infirm 

I've recovered lots of cars embedded in parked cars/walls/conservatories/road signs/gates etc, or off low walls and on one memorable occasion out of a swimming pool. All have 4 things in common: low speeds,  OAP drivers, auto gearboxes and "I don't know what happened" statements.

Anyone who is confused enough not to back off the throttle when something 'unexpected' happens is unlikely to be managing a clutch and gearshift effectively, and will tend to stall the car.

This does not make either more dangerous, but autos increase the chances of operator error.

[henryd]

i'd be interested to see stats on crashes of auto cars vs manual ones. relative to the amount of manual / auto cars on the road of course

Bound to be more auto crashes due to them being driven by the old and infirm 

I've recovered lots of cars embedded in parked cars/walls/conservatories/road signs/gates etc, or off low walls and on one memorable occasion out of a swimming pool. All have 4 things in common: low speeds,  OAP drivers, auto gearboxes and "I don't know what happened" statements.

Anyone who is confused enough not to back off the throttle when something 'unexpected' happens is unlikely to be managing a clutch and gearshift effectively, and will tend to stall the car.

This does not make either more dangerous, but autos increase the chances of operator error.

At least with an auto there's a 50/50 chance of hitting the right pedal

[Nick W]

I've recovered lots of cars embedded in parked cars/walls/conservatories/road signs/gates etc, or off low walls and on one memorable occasion out of a swimming pool. All have 4 things in common: low speeds,  OAP drivers, auto gearboxes and "I don't know what happened" statements.

Anyone who is confused enough not to back off the throttle when something 'unexpected' happens is unlikely to be managing a clutch and gearshift effectively, and will tend to stall the car.

This does not make either more dangerous, but autos increase the chances of operator error.

At least with an auto there's a 50/50 chance of hitting the right pedal [/quote]


When you've already floored the wrong pedal, and fear keeps it pinned there, that isn't going to help very much!

[Kevin Wood]

I've recovered lots of cars embedded in parked cars/walls/conservatories/road signs/gates etc, or off low walls and on one memorable occasion out of a swimming pool. All have 4 things in common: low speeds,  OAP drivers, auto gearboxes and "I don't know what happened" statements.

Anyone who is confused enough not to back off the throttle when something 'unexpected' happens is unlikely to be managing a clutch and gearshift effectively, and will tend to stall the car.

This does not make either more dangerous, but autos increase the chances of operator error.

At least with an auto there's a 50/50 chance of hitting the right pedal

When you've already floored the wrong pedal, and fear keeps it pinned there, that isn't going to help very much!
[/quote]

.. and, at least, with a manual, if you're that infirm you're more likely to be travelling by bus.

TBH, I think that if you lack the mental faculties to drive a manual, an auto isn't the answer.