My grandmother bought an automatic car a few years ago, and shortly afterwards, when parking in someone’s front yard, hit the gas instead of the brake. Because it was an automatic, the car responded to her signal, and drove her into a tree, injuring her quite badly.
If the same thing had happened to her in a manual, the car would most likely have stalled.
I’m trying to think of reasons that an automatic might be safer - but I can’t. Any ideas?
Jumping your car into the garage door etc. is a possibility in a manual transmission car if you leave it parked in gear. This probably couldn’t happen in an automatic but I’m not sure as I’ve never driven one.
Ah yes, starting in gear is impossible in an automatic (alas, so is a push-start). Is this a feature of an automatic transmission, or just a safety feature that the car companies are too cheap to fit on manual cars though?
Depending on what you want the car to do, which is better/safer. I have driven both, though most of my vehicles have been automatic. IMHO I much prefer a manual for the control factor.
For weather such as snow, I much prefer a manual because I feel much more in control. With an automatic you have go (albeit in 3 speeds - L1, L2 and D) or stop and not as much control. I hit a telphone pole once in an automatic car. I was in L1 and creeping along when going downhill I hit a slippy patch and swung in an arc into a phone pole… Dented the wheel and scared the crap out of myself…
For an older person, however, I would say it is down to their manual dexterity and time response. Can they safely manipulate the clutch? Most older people prefer an automatic as their response time has also slowed just a wee bit, and often stall the car, or can’t find the right gear quick enough.
Also, you don’t have to think too much about changing gears in an automatic, stopping on a hill and having to go again, etc. It’s just easier.
You can have the spacing altered slightly between the gas pedal and the brake. Also, different cars have slightly different spacing - though not drastically.
Hope your Grandmother gets better soon.
An automatic might be considered safer because you can keep two hands on the steering wheel for more of the driving time…
Maybe I’m not understanding what happened properly in the situation described in the OP: I don’t see why a car with a manual wouldn’t have done the same thing.
I have trouble leaning towards either type over the other on safety grounds. I certainly know which I prefer on fun grounds. 
I’m really reaching, but here’s what pops to mind quickly:
Manual[ul][li]Higher chance of stalling it in a bad place while starting from a dead stop (my wife, who I’m teaching to drive a stick, can tell you all about this one)[/li][li]Chance of missing a shift, which I know from personal experience can be exciting[/li][li]There’s just a little more to do. More actions means more possibility for error.[/li][li](on preview, seeing grimpixie’s post) Only one hand on the wheel for a larger fraction of the time. [/li][/ul]
Automatic[ul][li]Chance of an unexpected shift surprising the driver and perhaps causing momentary loss of control (OK, I’m reaching here)[/li][li]Engine braking, while still possible, is IME not as effective as in a manual. This means more brake usage on downhill drives, and the attending increased risk of brake fade. Still, if you drive intelligently it shouldn’t be a factor.[/li][li]Generally, you have less control. This is only a factor if you know what you’d do with it if you had it, and IME many drivers don’t.[/ul][/li]
I vote pick 'em: personal preference.
I’d say the determining factor is the skill of the driver. Having said that, it does make a difference whether you take a fast 90 degree corner in a manual or an automatic. Assuming front wheel drive, you have less control in the corner when your foot is off the accelerator. The automatic will shift to its highest gear, leaving the engine incapable of driving the wheels to any relevant degree. Excessive understeer may be the result. I never take an automatic transmission “to the edge” in corners, and I love to do that sort of thing with a manual.
Are you talking about starting it while in gear? If so, not sure how common this is but my Mazda 626 has to have the clutch pushed in to start even if it’s in neutral. I suppose you could then immeadately let the clutch out & slam into the garage. If your inclined to do something like that you should probably stick with an automatic.
(he he, get it. Stick, automatic. Sorry, I’ll go away now)
Fugazi, a lot of Japanese cars have that precautionary measure with the clutch. I’ve never seen it on a non-Japanese manual car.
This is what would have prevented my Grandmother’s accident. She’d just started the car, and went for the footbrake when she released the handbrake (‘parking brake’ in US-ese). The fact that it was an automatic meant the car accelerated despite bad driving practice.
Thanks for the concern Washte - she recovered from her injuries, though the bang she got to the head appears to have precipitated Alzheimers. 
Coldie, darlin I drive a Chevy S-10 Pickup - manual - it won’t start unless the clutch is in too.
You know what’s funny, though? I drove a car with an automatic transmission yesterday for the first time in a LONG time - it’s so strange - Mr2U was trying to figure out what the problem was - my left foot kept looking for the clutch - he said I looked like a horse when you see them on TV “counting”.
We won’t even go into what my right hand kept trying to do. Here he thought I was trying to get romantic, and all I was doing was instinctively looking for the stick shift.
Why do I have a feeling that none of what I wrote came out right? 
Missy2U, that’s hilarious. I remember my switchover from a manual to an automatic, and you do end up looking like a counting horse, not to mention the stick shift dilemma.
I’d rather have a manual, but all the stopping and starting in the city would be annoying.
i would argue that all things being equal, i.e. both vehicles are in perfect operating order, neither is inherantly “safer”. it would then come down to the operator and the maintaince of the vehicle. poorly maintained automatics slip in and out of gear (my truck does this, from park to reverse, and i managed to smash up my camper pretty good), or start in gear (my jeep does this, and i like it, cause when it stalls i dont have to stop to restart the engine!) and can be quite dangerous indeed. manuals require you to do something to make it dangerous. if you somehow managed to get one rolling unattended, it pretty much stalls when it encounters an obstruction. an automatic may very well just keep going.
i guess my main point (other that the one on my head) is use it correctly and take care of it, and its no more dangerous than anything else. (you notice that i do neither of these things! i’m such a dick!:D)
I’d like to echo brad_d’s sentiments, but allow me also to share a little story:
Winter, 2000.
The weather was pretty crappy, and I wasn’t planning
on going out to lunch, but I couldn’t talk my coworker into ordering delivery with me (there’s a minimum $$$ amount for the
order)–she delivered pizza on the weekend, and was politically opposed to ordering delivery in inclement weather
(which is certainly understandable).
So I hopped into Big Red, my (manual transmission) 4-Runner, and headed out to pick up some KFC. There I was, toodling down
the snowy street at 25 mph, approaching a major intersection. As
the light turned yellow, I debated whether to try and stop, or
just keep going.
In retrospect, Option #2 would have been best. I mean, hell–I
could have putted through that red light at 25 mph, and still
wouldn’t have been hit, because it would have taken at least 20
minutes for the cars stopped at the cross-street to stop
fishtailing in their efforts to get going when their light
turned green.
But, of course, I chose to try and stop.
Well.
I stepped gingerly on the brake pedal, uttering a little prayer
as I gripped the wheel in preparation for a possible sledding
experience…
Well.
Just as I gained confidence that the Gods of Winter Weather
Mishaps were on my side and began pressing the brakes a little
harder, my cowboy (read: tractionless) boot slid off the
snow-packed brake pedal and hit the GAS PEDAL, while my other foot was still on the clutch (those of you who drive sticks know what effect this has… now imagine that effect on snow and ice)!
Honey.
I went TWIRLING! through the intersection with the grace of a
giant red steel version of Tanya Harding (with silver stripes),
and wound up on the other side of the intersection (and the
other side of the street), facing the direction opposite the one
in which I was originally headed…
…and ON THE SIDEWALK.
I can only be immensely grateful that there were no a) other
cars, b) pedestrians, or c) puppies in my path of whirling
destruction!
I pulled off the sidewalk, made a right onto a side street, and
shook for about 10 minutes before I went on my merry way.
That said, I will probably always drive a stick shift… but not in cowboy boots.
And you would be avoiding the distraction of attempting to shift gears smoothly. A minor distraction, but these things add up.
When you are driving while (1) eating lunch; (2) reading the Sports page; (3) talking on the cell phone; and (4) changing your cd’s, I would say an automatic is safer.
So wouldn’t the roads be safer if more people drove manual transmissions to avoid the temptation/ability to perform such distracting things while driving?
(Manual tranny driver for 16+ years, and proud of it)
manual cars are typically lighter and faster then their a/t counterparts so they might be a little more dangerous, also m/t tend to be pushed to the limit more. so it comes down mainly to the driver.
That said I think it is easier driving in heavy traffic and talking on a cellphone w/ a a/t then driving a m/t in heavy traffic (w/o the cell phone). maybe heavy traffic should be banned instead of cell phones.
I’m all for banning heavy traffic! Having driven both through heavy traffic, I opt for auto. It’s a fraction more attention I can pay to all the other idiots (driving faster than me) and anal orifices (driving slower than me).
To go in a manual you have to use both of your feet (two pedals) & use both of your hands, so you’re really
paying attention, which I think is a little bit more on the safe side of things.
However, if someone likes to talk on the phone when driving,
then an automatic is certainly safer for them because they can hold the phone & steer
at the same time