Reply to learning to drive manual/stick shift

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[quote=Anonymous]I learned as a teenager so I could drive the family tractor and my brother's Beetle. Dh and I drive a manual transmission now so it's pretty second nature.

I know you wanted to hear from people who learned later in life but I'll share my early worries and maybe it will be helpful.  The main thing  I recall is worrying about having to stop at a stop light on a hill and not being able to let the clutch out properly and possibly stalling.  And then I worried about people behind me getting upset and somehow me never being able to get the car moving.

From what pps are saying, sounds like there is something in newer fancier cars that helps you with that.  Anyway, you can always start on a hill by holding the emergency brake and letting it out slowly while you let out the clutch.  And it's really a matter of practice.  The more you do it, the better you'll get at it.  And as for that fear that I'd never get the car going and people behind me would be upset?  Well, I'd address that through cognitive behavioral thinking - is that really going to happen? (no)  What if people get upset with me? (I'll survive and so will they)

While the advantages of manual transmission are not what they used to be (easier to fix, better gas mileage, cheaper to run) it feels good to have that kind of control over your car.  Although I have to say that the times we had an automatic it also felt good to be able to drink a cup of coffee and drive in city traffic at the same time! :-)

OP, just face your anxiety (if you have any) and practice a lot.  You'll get there.[/quote]

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