# Tell Me About Teaching Someone to Drive a Stick **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008 "2014-06-17T21:01:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/21 "2014-06-18T15:23:39Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I tried to teach my ex-wife and there’s no way she could do it. It was like juggling and riding a unicycle at the same time to her. > > She could not drive, change gears, turn the steering wheel and pay attention to all other things simultaneously. It was a huge failure. I think some people just can’t drive a stick. When I bought the car I had never driven a stick, yet I learned during the test drive with the dealer in the car. I mean, how hard is it? I think anyone can learn to drive a stick but not everyone can TEACH driving a stick. Perhaps the problem was with your instruction. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/22 "2014-06-18T15:33:41Z")
I remember cleverly getting a ride to a party when I was 17 so I could feel free to get annihilated drunk and still make it home safely. My ride assumed I would drive home or just didn’t care and got wasted himself, so we had to find another driver. We ended up with a 14 year old girl who had driven a car with an automatic a little bit on a farm once. We explained the process and cruised around a parking lot a little. I don’t know why we thought we couldn’t ride in the cab of the pickup truck with her, but we laid down in the bed of the truck and yelled when we thought it was a good idea to shift. We made it home just fine. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/23 "2014-06-18T15:46:24Z")
Another vote for a good understanding of the mechanics involved, also for getting a feel for the clutch engagement/disengagement alone, in second gear. Learning to deal with the accelerator and shifting are secondary. When I purchased my first car, it was a manual and I had never driven one - but I had learned to drive a small garden tractor and knew how a clutch worked. I stalled once but made the 15 mile drive home through many stoplights. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/24 "2014-06-18T16:29:41Z")
I have taught several people and agree with the above - parking lot to start, make it a large parking lot (like a mall or arena after hours) that way they don’t have to turn much. First thing, let them stall. Show them how it feels, now explain that is the worst thing that will happen during the lesson - not so bad, right? Away you go. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/25 "2014-06-18T16:33:53Z")
Most drivers learning a manual don’t give it enough gas. So I would suggest telling him to give it the gas! Don’t go out on 95 until a lot of practice in the empty Wal-Mart lot. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/26 "2014-06-18T16:39:05Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I think anyone can learn to drive a stick but not everyone can TEACH driving a stick. Perhaps the problem was with your instruction. :dubious: Perhaps We were in a large parking lot for a couple of hours. I was calm, cool, and collected throughout. The gears are numbered one through five. You progress through them in order, and you need to push the clutch in to do so. It ain’t exactly rocket science. She got the car rolling OK after some failed attempts, and could get to third gear, but when we reached the end of the parking lot and she needed to brake, downshift and turn at the same time all bets were off. Now, downshifting isn’t even required, but using a brake and a clutch and turning was a momentous task that she couldn’t handle, even after a couple of hours. This was about 20 years ago. My memory might be fading, but we could never own a manual transmission car when we were married. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/27 "2014-06-18T19:30:26Z")
Thanks, everyone! I was already leaning toward teaching him, but now I definitely will. He’s nervous about learning on my car, but I just can’t let him go to Europe/go back home in the fall without knowing how to drive a stick. For everyone who suggested a flat place/parking lot: that’s exactly the plan. > [@beowulff](#): > > [Here you go.](http://www.cartalk.com/content/learn-drive-stick-3) Thanks. 😛 > [@Shagnasty](#): > > The thing that really helped me was a mechanical explanation of how things worked and why. Funny, when I last talked to him about this I said, “The very first thing I will do is make sure you understand the mechanics of how gears work and what the clutch does.” 🙂 Then we will sit in the parking lot and practice first gear until he’s so bored he cries. > [@Gary\_T](#): > > The clutch pedal and the acccelerator pedal are like the opposite ends of a seesaw. If the clutch is all the way down, the accel should be all the way and _vice versa_. As the clutch comes up the accel goes down proportionately. Easy-to-remember note; thanks! > [@Poysyn](#): > > First thing, let them stall. Show them how it feels, now explain that is the worst thing that will happen during the lesson - not so bad, right? Excellent suggestion; thank you! > [@Lukeinva](#): > > Don’t go out on 95 until a lot of practice in the empty Wal-Mart lot. Oh, I don’t know that I’ll lever let him take it out on the interstate. 😉 I just want him to know the basics and be able to at least drive around the neighborhood or something. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/28 "2014-06-18T19:32:54Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I think anyone can learn to drive a stick but not everyone can TEACH driving a stick. Where’s the Like button? (Hoping for an upgrade to Xenforo) ---
**Author:** ![ctsv556](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@ctsv556](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctsv556)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/29 "2014-06-18T19:46:35Z")
Just got back from teaching my 16 year-old daughter in my 5 day old Q60. Lots of bucking and stalling. I think it sounds"different" now. I hope it’s just hot still, and maybe will return to normal in a few hours. Fingers crossed! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/30 "2014-06-18T19:48:27Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Perhaps > > We were in a large parking lot for a couple of hours. I was calm, cool, and collected throughout. The gears are numbered one through five. You progress through them in order, and you need to push the clutch in to do so. It ain’t exactly rocket science. > > She got the car rolling OK after some failed attempts, and could get to third gear, but when we reached the end of the parking lot and she needed to brake, downshift and turn at the same time all bets were off. Now, downshifting isn’t even required, but using a brake and a clutch and turning was a momentous task that she couldn’t handle, even after a couple of hours. This was about 20 years ago. My memory might be fading, but we could never own a manual transmission car when we were married. Don’t feel bad. I’m Michael Schumacher in a parking lot but get me in traffic and everything falls completely to shit. I also throw from 2nd to 5th unless I’m staring fixedly at the stick shift, which it turns out is contraindicated out in public. On one or two occasions I’ve driven stick in low traffic areas-- with my husband shifting for me. Lol. I’ve been taught on three separate occasions by three different people I get along with and are experienced teachers… Same results everytime. It’s almost an irrelevant skill anymore, so I don’t feel bad. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/31 "2014-06-19T14:24:09Z")
> [@ctsv556](#): > > Just got back from teaching my 16 year-old daughter in my 5 day old Q60. Lots of bucking and stalling. I think it sounds"different" now. I hope it’s just hot still, and maybe will return to normal in a few hours. Fingers crossed! :eek: :eek: :eek: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/32 "2014-06-19T14:48:17Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > All I can say is, find some place flat. Slightly downhill is better. It uses gravity to your advantage. Usually I start by telling the student to “listen and match the tone” at about 1,500rpm. Gas it to there and add gas to keep that sound the same as you ease out the clutch. After several runs downhill they can usually duplicate the process slightly uphill. Clutch or car damage? If he goes for an hour and still can’t get the hang of basic shifting and starting, give up. Within that hour you aren’t going to seriously lunch anything even if you are teaching him on some old Sachs tranny. Don’t forget to teach him the handbrake trick for steeper hills - steeper stuff is where a “sometimes standard driver” can really fry a clutch. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/33 "2014-06-19T14:59:19Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Oh, I don’t know that I’ll lever let him take it out on the interstate. 😉 I just want him to know the basics and be able to at least drive around the neighborhood or something. Depending on if he can drive anything (automatic, whatever) the interstate isn’t out of the question. On a longer trip I wanted to share the driving with my buddy. Problem was the last time he drove a manual car was never and the last time he drove a manual anything was a Honda in 1972. Upshifting, given the time, he could handle. Slowing through the gears and stopping fine. Starting from a dead stop -------- not so good. So on leaving a rest stop I would push the car as fast as I could and jump in. Once we were in the 5th/4th/5th speed range, he looked like a pro. As he approached a stop, ugly. But for our purpose it worked. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/34 "2014-06-19T15:07:12Z")
A slight downhill is best to learn on. You want a slope gentle enough so that the car just starts to roll when the brakes are let off. When it’s rolling slowly, you hardly need any gas when you release the clutch. You can easily feel when the clutch engages and there is very little risk of stalling. Have them start rolling, get it into first, come to a stop, start rolling again, get it into first, come to a stop, etc. After they’ve done that a few times they’ll have a better feel of the clutch and can work on shifting into other gears and starting from a stop. What kind of personality does your nephew have? If he’s thoughtful and enjoys challenges, he’ll probably learn fine. But if he’s impulsive and gets easily frustrated, it might not be the best for you to use your car. Maybe you could call around to driving schools in your area to see if any of them teach how to drive a manual. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/35 "2014-06-19T15:24:10Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > If he’s thoughtful and enjoys challenges, he’ll probably learn fine. But if he’s impulsive and gets easily frustrated, it might not be the best for you to use your car. If he were impulsive and easily frustrated I wouldn’t be willing to teach him. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Maybe you could call around to driving schools in your area to see if any of them teach how to drive a manual. Nope, it’s me or nothing. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/36 "2014-06-19T15:25:34Z")
Another option: Buy a cheap-o manual off of craigslist for him to drive during the summer and sell it when he leaves. You may even be able to sell it for what you bought it for. That way he could get very familiar with driving a manual. Driving in Europe/Asia will be challenging anyway because of their roads, not to mention driving a manual. If he drives a manual all summer, it will be second nature to him when he goes over there. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/37 "2014-06-19T15:29:13Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I’m in Australia and manual or stick as you call it is normal here. The idea that you might kill a car through learning to drive on it or riding the clutch is nonsense or at least being exaggerated here beyond all recognition. > > Simply, clutches wear. They wear in perfectly normal use, every single time you use them. Riding the clutch is totally normal at very low speed (such as when parking) or in hill starts. > > By teaching someone to drive on a manual, you will shorten the life of the clutch, by some very small margin. At worst. Good advice, **Princhester**. I really have to stress this when I try to teach folks to use the clutch (especially motorcycle clutches). At very slow speeds (about 0-10 mph) one uses the clutch to more-precisely control the speed of the vehicle by varying the amount of power applied to the drive wheels. That’s what the clutch is there for, so it’s not taking any undue abuse. I’m always more concerned about auto body damage than clutch/drivetrain abuse. And I second how the **Machine Elf** suggested to progress through the steps. I’ll also add that I’ve had better success by separating the clutch control from the throttle control. What I mean is that, when you’re ready to let them make the car move a bit, do it without any introduction of the throttle. Just let the engine idle and have them keep eeeeeeeaaaaaasing out on that clutch, through the friction zone and all the way out, as the car starts to move. Let it roll a few 10s of feet, press clutch and coast/brake to a stop. Do this a couple of times (no throttle) so they have to really finesse that clutch and can feel what it’s doing as the car starts to roll. With this approach I can have the student make the car move w/o stalling in just a few attempts, but if I try to incorporate throttle control this early, their clutching goes to shit and stalling ensues. My theory is that since both processes are new to them, having to concentrate-on and coordinate both gas and clutch at the same time is just too much for them and ultimately both clutch control and throttle control suffer. Again, this is just my US$0.02 and YMMV. Good luck to you and your (friend’s) nephew! ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/38 "2014-06-19T15:58:39Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Another option: Buy a cheap-o manual off of craigslist for him to drive during the summer and sell it when he leaves. That would be serious overkill. As I said before, he doesn’t _have_ to learn how to drive a stick: it’s just something I think it would be good for him to know, and I’m willing to teach him on my car. I just wondered how likely I’d be to do any damage. The answer is “not likely at all,” so I’m good with it now. Hiring an instructor, buying a “temporary” car, etc. – way too much. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/39 "2014-06-19T16:39:05Z")
Well, after the manual, the wrong side of the road is very dangerous if he has any habit at all. Actually a brand new driver will prolly have it easier. May adjust quickly but between start and adjusted is very dangerous. Got to really impress that on him. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008/40 "2014-06-19T16:52:05Z")
I taught my 12 year old to drive a manual this spring. He drives a Nissan and a BMW. The BMW almost drives itself. You can take your foot off the gas, and with smooth clutch disengagement can get it going without stalling. The electronics keep it running. I routinely stick it in second and just idle along while the dogs run out front. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-teaching-someone-to-drive-a-stick/691008.md?page=3)