Poll: Can you drive a stick?

In My Humble Opinion
61

What whistlepig said, except I learned on both an automatic and a manual

62

Nope, I don’t feel comfortable driving a manual transmission. I do know how, sort of, having had a couple of hours of practice at it courtesy of a used car salesman who wanted to convince me it was no big deal. (I challenged him to teach me, and he did.) I also know how to shift gears from learning to ride a motorcycle, courtesy of the MSF.

That said, (a) my wife learned to drive and has only driven with an auto, (b) same for both my parents, and © 90% of my driving time is in-city where I’d want to drive an auto anyway, as in NYC, “in city” means every single block ends in a traffic light or stop sign, and in Manhattan, replete with middle of the block obstacles like buses, double-parked taxis and jaywalkers. Even my motorcycle (well, a maxi-scooter) is a CVT.

63

  1. No - first thing I ever drove was a Dodge Power Wagon at a summer camp I worked at, which obviously was a stick, but that was 1987, and I was awful at it then.

  2. US

  3. 37

64

Yes, if it’s got wheels I can drive it.

38/American.

65

I’ll tally these up in a little while, although there are some trends emerging.

In the meantime, my own answers:
(1) Yes. I didn’t learn it until age 22 - I moved to the mountains in Wyoming and needed a Subaru to get around in the snow;
(2) USA
(3) 49 - an age which seems to be disproportionately represented in the responses so far…

66
  1. Yes. I didn’t learn in one, though (my parents figured the less I had to think about, the better) and I took my test in an automatic. I have no strong preference; for city or hilly driving, an automatic is marginally better.
  2. USA
  3. 20
67
  1. Yes
  2. USA
  3. 42

I prefer a stick for pickup trucks, sporty cars, and smaller cars.

68

(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission? Yes. I haven’t driven a stick for 14 years, but I have no doubt I could. Wouldn’t even worry if it was driver on the right (ummm, unless the pedals are switched?)
(2) What country do you live in? US
(3) How old are you (roughly)? 43

69

  1. First car I drove was a Rambler with a three-speed tranny column shifter. I’ve owned several vehicles with 4 or 5-speed floor shifters, and have driven a bucket truck with a split transmission (10 forward gears, 2 reverse, and required double-clutching). As an added bonus, I drove a stick shift van when I was stationed in Japan, driving on the left and shifting on the left, so I’m prepared for anything.

  2. USA

  3. 60

My Chrysler didn’t have an option of a manual shift, so I’m slushing it for now.

70

  1. Yes. I dislike automatics for several reasons - one of which is I tend to get bored and end up often fiddling with the overdrive etc just because of that. The only time I might prefer an automatic is if I were driving some sort of huge V8 luxury car (I used to have a '72 Fairlane, and the automatic suited it) but that’s just for style reasons.

  2. Australia

  3. 37

71

Actually, something similar was part of the SoW driving test back in mumble-mumble (entirely too many years ago). After I completed the evolution, the tester asked me what was odd about what he had just had me do; having read the manual, I was able to give him the correct answer (that it was illegal).

Perhaps it’s something genetic with people with roots in the British Isles, although my grandfather left Ireland long before automobiles appeared.

72

*(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission?*Yep - my current commuting vehicle is a 5-speed. In fact, when I took Driver’s Ed in 1971, one of our practice cars was a stick.
*(2) What country do you live in?*US - Maryland
*(3) How old are you (roughly)?*I’m 54, and not all of those years were rough.

My husband drives a stick, as does our 22 y/o daughter.

73
  1. Yes. I learned to drive three on the column as a teenager. I now drive a Jeep Wrangler with a six speed manual transmission.
  2. Fly over country, USA
  3. 55, Male
74

  1. Yes, I have driven a stick for nearly 30 years. Although shifting with my left hand would take some practice. My left hand is really stupid.

  2. USA

  3. 45 male

75

Forgot to add: I’m 37 and American. My Driver’s Ed was conducted in a dual brake car with auto trans, and all cars owned by relatives and friends whose cars I drove before buying my own were auto, and the attempt to sell me that 88 Mustang Coupe was the only time I’ve sat in the front seat of a car (much less the driver’s seat) with a manual transmission.

76
  1. Automatic since I started. I want to learn stick though someday.
  2. USA
  3. Early 20’s
77

  1. No… wait, I mean the other one. Yes.

  2. US but living in Japan, which I guess answers your question about whether Americans can learn to shift with their left hands.

  3. younger than 30

Didn’t learn on a stick though, for which I’m actually pretty grateful. Almost crashed my dad’s car in the stick-learning process.

78

  1. Sure thing, I’m from Europe.

  2. Poland, specifically.

  3. Just hit 30.

79

Yes, USA, 46.

I’ve been driving a stick for so long that it feels creepy when I have to use an automatic.

80

  1. Nope. I have a feeling that I can’t learn, either–not that I’m being flooded with opportunities right now, since I haven’t driven any vehicle at all in at least a year. I have in the past received multiple offers to teach me to drive standard, but none of them followed through. I think they were all afraid.

  2. USA

  3. 20