I once saw a woman wrapping a present while driving.
FWIW, I learned to drive in '86 in my parent’s automatic transmission cars.
When I went away to college, I decided that I needed a new car (had to dump the used lemon '82 K-car), and decided to go for the line of econ-cars that were available on the market in '88.
As I was looking for a car as cheap as possible, I was set on a manual transmission. I set out to test drive the variety of low end models out there in manual transmission. The only problem was that I had never driven one before! :eek:
On the first test drive, I, of course, didn’t tell the salesman that. 
I knew the theory though, and got into the car, and didn’t have a problem making it work properly. The buddy I brought with me commented about 5 minutes into the test drive that I was doing pretty well, and the salesman just stared at me, then responded “You’ve really NEVER driven a stick before?” I just smiled.
I ended up with an '88 Ford Festiva (designed by Mazda, built by Kia, sold by Ford) which I had through college and beyond. 7 years of ownership, 180K miles, and never had to replace the clutch.
Of course, I’m skilled in operating things that I’ve never used before, as long as I understand how they work, I just seem to be able to “do it.” 
I’ve owned a few cars now, and only one of them has been an automatic. That car was the bane of my existance, and I wanted to push it off a cliff within a few weeks of purchase.
Though driving in traffic can be a problem (tired leg), I think the control you get is worth the effort. Perhaps a tiptronic type automatic would work, but there is nothing better than downshifting with a heel-toe action entering a turn during some “spirited driving,” and pulling through the turn in just the right gear.
Some other thoughts:
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Driving a stick is 5% shifting gears, 20% taking off from a stop, 75% knowing when to shift.
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Worked for a company once making deliveries, drove their Honda Civic an entire day without using the clutch for shifts (only for taking off from a stop) just to see if I could do it without grinding. Once you learn how to do it, it’s pretty easy, although downshifts can be tough.
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Gotta car that grinds when you put it in reverse? Put it in second gear before putting it in reverse (no need to let clutch out when you’re in second). Guy who knew about transmissions told me about that, and it seems to work.
I suspect you’ve never tried teaching stick to someone, then. Everybody I’ve ever been with driving stick for the first time has caused the car to jerk and stall. Even people who know the theory (hell, who doesn’t know the theory?). One female friend of mine has been instructed by at least a half dozen people and she still has no idea how to do it and end up burning the hell out of the clutch.
Even though I’ve been driving stick for the last 7 years, when I first started it took me about a week of driving before I could confidently get into first without stalling, and I’m a fairly coordinated person. Some cars are simply trickier than others. With the Mercedes G-Wagen, it was impossible to miss first. That sucker had so much torque on the low end that you really had to try to stall it. With an old Mercedes W123, though, I always ended up either under-revving or releasing the clutch too fast and stalling the sucker.
Maybe for some people it is immediately intuitive. I know the modern manuals are fairly easy to drive compared with older ones. But for most people, it will take at least a few days of constant driving to become comfortable with it. It’s not hard, no, but it does require getting a feel for it. And knowing how to use your parking brake for hill starts is important for your safety and the safety of others, and that’s a skill you do not learn driving an automatic.
Learned on three on the tree and motorcycles myself. And tractors. I suspect the problem for some is that pretty much every thing that goes on under the hood/transmission is completely unknown. Slipping a disk a little, is a back problem. A clutch is when you don’t know what to say in an awkward situation.
The very first lesson must be the basics of how a manual works. And it should not happen in the car.
In Drivers Ed., 22 years ago, our driving simulators were standard transmissions. (three on a tree.) I only ever drove one once, a car of my aunts, some early 70s beast of a sedan.
But I have. 
Sometimes I miss driving stick, My first two cars were stick, my last two, slushboxes.
Also learned to drive on a “three on the tree” (1950 Chevy Pickup). Worked for a bit last year in an oil change and tire center. Most of the people working there under 25 years old didnt know how to drive a stick until we gave driving lessons one evening after closing in the parking lot just so they could move the cars into and out of the work bays when we were busy. One day a gentelman brought in his 1945 Ford pickup for an oil change and out of 20 or so working that day I was the only one who knew how to start it (floor starter button) much less drive a “three on the tree”. Family still owns 4 old column shift trucks and we are in the process of rebuilding them cant wait to get them on the road again.
I’ve observed that activity also, but it didn’t involve paper or tape. 
I’ll offer the exception of the Mercedes sedans which I owned. They were both equipped with “rear pump” automatic transmissions, and would start with no more than a 10 MPH roll in neutral, then shifting into drive.
The UK tests both, a multiple choice test on paper (although it might be on computer now) to see how much you know about the rules of the road and after completing this, you get the chance to take a test on the road.
Same in the UK, as well as the car test, for scooters/motorbikes over IIRC 150cc you need a specific test and licence category. Its the same for vehicles over a certain weight and passenger capacity.
Ack, meant to add my own anecdote about poor driving 
I saw a BMW being driven slightly erratically down the motorway in front of me. Suspecting that it was perhaps piloted by an elderly driver, I cautiously overtook. Passing by, I took a glance at the driver and saw his control was hindered by the corn on the cob he was eating while driving :dubious:
There is a third part these days. The multiple choice part is on a computer now and you also have to do a hazard perception test - again computer based. You are shown a series of video clips showing hazards developing as you drive along a road and you have to click on the mouse as soon as you recognise the hazard. The earlier you spot them the higher you score. You have to pass both parts of this “Theory” test before you are allowed to do the practical test in the car.
As well as actual driving, the practical test includes some basic safety check questions: "What pressure should the tyres be at and how would you check it?, How would you tell if the brake lights were working?, How would you check the engine oil level? etc. where you have to actually show the examiner what you would do.
I went through all this last year when my son was doing his test - in my car :eek: He had a pc programme to practice the hazard perception element which I tried. Despite having been driving for 30 years (or maybe because I had been driving for 30 years ) I didn’t find it easy.
'Nother Chicagoan here to say, “yep, this is my experience as well”. Practically no one around here knows how to drive stick. I could count the number of other manual-capable people I know on one hand, and three of those are antique car restorers and Corvair Enthusiasts (so you know they’re not quite right! ) And after driving my friend’s manual on the Dan Ryan during rush hour and construction, I know why - my left thigh ached for days!
One of the smartest things my mother ever did was insist that I learn to drive on a manual transmission. There’s little chance I’d be arsed to learn it otherwise. Generally, I prefer a manual, except when in heavy city traffic, but with the exception of my first car, all I’ve owned are automatics, because manuals are just too hard to find.
I see, a lot more since I passed my test about ten years ago. I did mine when the Q&A on paper was introduced, IIRC the hazard perception was in the pipeline but not scheduled for a while.
I like the sounds of the checks you’re supposed to perform on the car, I just got in and drove off with the tester, although he did ask if I could read a car number plate from across the car park at the test centre.
Dad had it differently in the 60s. The tester and he spent some time talking about his bike in detail, then he rode up and down the road and that was that :dubious:
The car safety checks are better than nothing but there is a very limited fixed menu of them. As long as the student is not completely stupid they should be able to memorise all the answers.
I suppose it does ensure they learn how to open the bonnet 
For those of you who drive CVT-Tiptronic transmission cars, i have a few questions:
-do you like them?
-is the gas mileage with them as good 9as a manual tranny)?
-are they reliable?
-what is their low-speed performance like? I’ve heard that their operation is a little jerky, when travelling below 5 MPH
-would you buy another car , with this type of tranny?
All state driving tests in the United States that I know of have both a written and a road test. However, I think the point that was being made is that in the road test, all the tester is looking for is “what’s necessary to do basic maneuvers in traffic and parking.” In other words, if you can start the car, pull out of the space, enter traffic, drive about a mile or two, circling back to the Motor Vehicles Bureau, and park, all without violating any traffic laws or hitting anything, then you pretty much pass.
Our experience with chokes nowadays is on golf carts.
Coincidently, my office manager mentioned the other day that her oldest son will get his driver’s license this year. In talking to her, the requirements are little different than they were 35 years ago when I got my license.
At that time the process here in Utah was this:
- You had to complete a certified Driver’s Training course, either through the school district or privately.
- Then as soon as you were 16 and had passed the certified course, you were allowed to take a written test.
- If you passed you got a “Learner’s Permit”. This allowed you limited driving privileges: You had to drive with one and only one other person in the car, and that person had to be fully licensed driver. I seem to recall I had to get at least 10 hours of supervised driving time in, but I don’t remember for sure.
- A minimum of two weeks after receiving your Learner’s Permit, you were allowed to go back and take the driving test.
- If you passed, you got your final license.
None of this was any different for manual or automatic transmissions. You supplied the car you took the driving test in, and if you were dumb enough to bring a car you didn’t know how to drive you didn’t pass the test. However once you passed you were legal in either type of car.
The driving test included driving on public roads as well a closed course, and you were graded on things like parking, emergency stops, obstacle avoidance, rules of the road, proper signaling, etc.
Now, according to my office manager, the process is a little different.
- You must still take a certified driver’s training class and pass it.
- You can take the written test and get your Learner’s Permit when you are 15 ½, as long as you have passed the certified training course.
- You must wait at least six months after your getting your Learner’s permit before taking the final driving test.
- Some licensed driver has to sign a form saying you got at least some minimum amount of supervised practice driving time during the six months. I don’t recall how many hours of practice the minimum time was, but it’s much more than it was when I was a kid.
She didn’t mention if there were any different requirements for manual or automatic transmission vehicles, but I know that both of their family cars are manuals, so it may not have come up for them.
Surely the vaunted UK mass transit system would have a major impact. If people aren’t driving, they aren’t going to die in a car crash.