By MAC SMITH
Sheridan High School Student
The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.
Do you know how to drive a stick shift? Not many people now can manage to drive a manual. All cars used to be manuals. There were no automatic transmissions. The first automatic transmission wasn’t made until 1904. Up until 1904, everyone had to drive a manual if they were learning to drive. Manual transmission started to decline when it was no longer considered a part of driving school.
Now, according to DriversEd.com, only 18 percent of Americans today can drive a stick. Most people only know how to drive an automatic because that is what the driving schools teach now. The need to drive a manual now is only when driving some semis. Most of the time, semis are also made to be automatics. Only 2.4 percent of cars made today are manual transmissions, according to Carmax.
My dad made it so that I would know how to drive a manual. He had always wanted to get a manual but wanted a reason to get one. I was the reason for my dad to get a car with a manual transmission.
My dad and I are the only two people in the family who can successfully drive a manual. I first learned how to drive an automatic before I learned how to drive a manual. Driving a manual is not as hard as it may seem. The hardest part for me when I am driving is starting it from a complete stop.
To drive a manual you have to know what gear to be in and when to shift gears. You also have to use both hands and both feet. You have to use your left foot for the clutch. At first it felt different to drive with both feet. After a while I managed to get used to it and now it feels natural. I still get a little bit nervous when I am driving my manual with other people around.
Although I am still learning, I would say the hardest part for me when driving a manual is the anxiety that I get. I am always scared that I will stall my car. In this day and age, if I stall my car many people have no idea what that means. I get nervous when stalling my car because I think that no one around me will know what happened. My dad always tells me that I will be fine and not to worry about stalling my car, but I am always worried about stalling it. I take the back roads everywhere I go so I don’t have to worry about messing with anyone else who is driving.
Overall, I think that knowing how to drive both a manual and automatic transmission is a good idea.