No going back..

[Scrumpy]

An elderly couple parked in the disabled bay at our nearby Waitrose pressed too hard on the reverse pedal .. hit a load of trolleys so hard they smashed the main shopping window.. 
Fortunately there was no-one nearby.. nor any pets tied up outside.. It could have been really ugly..

I read about this incident on my local Nexdoor site..
How quickly the members moaned about old people and automatics.. Saying that it was always the elderly that did this..
Not so... My daughter , a couple of weeks back, took out a gate.. fence and garden shed by hitting the wrong pedal... 

[JBR]

An elderly couple parked in the disabled bay at our nearby Waitrose pressed too hard on the reverse pedal .. hit a load of trolleys so hard they smashed the main shopping window..
Fortunately there was no-one nearby.. nor any pets tied up outside.. It could have been really ugly..

I read about this incident on my local Nexdoor site..
How quickly the members moaned about old people and automatics.. Saying that it was always the elderly that did this..
Not so... My daughter , a couple of weeks back, took out a gate.. fence and garden shed by hitting the wrong pedal...

Not always elderly people.  No, but it's always women drivers!  🤣

[klondike]

If Phil was around he'd point out that it's always automatics....

[GrannyMac]

I've never driven an automatic.  My daughter still drives a manual, but the others have automatics.

[klondike]

I had an automatic many years ago. Like all my cars from that time it lasted a couple of years got scrapped and I got something else. I had no problems reverting to manual.

Then a few years back I got an auto because my wife wanted one. When it was in for its annual service the loan car was a little six speed thing. I had some problems I'm afraid to say. When I parked up the bloody thing scolded me for inefficient driving. I'm not surprised as half the time I'd no idea what gear I was in. When I replaced that auto it was with another auto 🥺

[dextrous63]

I've been told that insurance for automatics is often dearer than for manuals.

[Mups]

I've never driven an automatic.  My daughter still drives a manual, but the others have automatics.

Me neither, GrannyM.   I am quite happy with a manual too,  it's all I've ever known after all.
You can't miss what you've never had. 

I've also been reading about the Police and Government want to get us oldies off the road as we are supposed to cause too many accidents apparently.
I  also read that the cops are thinking about doing random spot checks to test our eyesight soon, as well.

[Alex]

There are a lot of oldies who should be off the roads ! 
The other day I sat in my car outside the post office, sticking stamps on Christmas cards.  A woman who was late 80s, which I didn't know at the time, was trying to reverse a Volvo estate into a space - unsuccessfully.  In the end she gave up and after a couple of attempts drove into a space next to me.  It was when she got out of the car I saw how old she was, she was unsteady, but using two sticks.

I'm dreading it, but know one day I'll need to stop.

[Mups]

There are a lot of oldies who should be off the roads ! 
The other day I sat in my car outside the post office, sticking stamps on Christmas cards.  A woman who was late 80s, which I didn't know at the time, was trying to reverse a Volvo estate into a space - unsuccessfully.  In the end she gave up and after a couple of attempts drove into a space next to me.  It was when she got out of the car I saw how old she was, she was unsteady, but using two sticks.

I'm dreading it, but know one day I'll need to stop.

Yes,  that's my fear one day,  too.

[dextrous63]

If public transport was better, then fewer people in general would need to use cars quite so prolifically, and there'd be no need to restrict elderly drivers as there'd be more room on the roads for all.

[Diasi]

If Phil was around he'd point out that it's always automatics....

Funny you should say that.

Earlier today I watched a police traffic video on YouTube & an officer was called to a traffic collision. As he approached it was a car with it's rear end on top of some fairly high railings & the officer said "that'll be an automatic" before he'd even pulled up.

It was the first thing he asked the driver & it was.

[JBR]

Funny you should say that.

Earlier today I watched a police traffic video on YouTube & an officer was called to a traffic collision. As he approached it was a car with it's rear end on top of some fairly high railings & the officer said "that'll be an automatic" before he'd even pulled up.

It was the first thing he asked the driver & it was.

I have to agree. 
I have driven an automatic, quite a long time ago, and I never really took to it.
Having a clutch and a  traditional gear knob, I feel, gives more control.

[klondike]

I've got used to auto now. The place it felt most odd was reverse parking as rather than controlling that on the clutch you do it with the brake.  I imagine that brake wear must be higher as there is no real engine breaking.

[dextrous63]

I'd imagine that having learnt in and driven a normal car for some time, it'd be nigh on impossible to completely forget the knee-jerk muscle memory reaction to certain events, such as an imminent prang.  One is most likely going to smack the clutch and brake in a fraction of a second without hesitation.

Trouble is that that's not exactly where the pedals in an automatic are IIRC.

No wonder insuring them is often more expensive.

[klondike]

The accelerator and brakes pedals are in the same place and obviously the clutch just isn't there. I'm not sure exactly how the undeniable screwups that do crop up happen.

Maybe in a manual the dodgy footwork would just result in a stall or screaming engine rather than all steam ahead.