How I Learned How to Drive a Manual
When the summer months between my freshmen and sophomore year of high school had begun, my dad barrowed an old, no window, ripped cloth seat, jeep from a family friend. This Jeep was not like any other vehicle I had driven before, it was a manual. My dad, being the expert, attempted to teach me how to drive it. With a permit fresh under my belt, and little experience altogether, I was not prepared for the disaster that was soon to come. I jumped up the bars into the rough seats and thrusted forward so my short legs would even touch the brake and gas, and this other pedal I assumed was the parking brake. I put my foot on the brake and my hand on the ignition and turned the key over only to hear a silent nothing.
My dad, who was sitting in the passenger seat said "You have to put your foot on the clutch".
"What is that!" I looked confused at him.
"It's that other thing next to the brake" he said and pointed towards my feet.
"Oh, okay" I replied.
I put my foot on the clutch barely and attempted to start the jeep. Once again I only heard the sound of my dad’s disappointment in me under his breath. Finally, after three more tries I was able to start it, I quickly released the clutch and punched the gas pedal. I was thrown forward almost hitting my head on the steering wheel.
"Why did you let off so quickly!" he yelled at me.
"Dad, I have never driven a manual before, I have no clue what I'm doing". He sat back into his seat and so did I.
While sitting in the rock road at the end of our driveway, I tried three more times until my father came to the realization that I could not drive a stick. After a lengthy argument between us, still barely down the road, I got into the passenger seat and he drove off smoothly down the road.
Little did I know that experience would make me nervous about driving a stick almost a year later. Last week, I was very fortunate to get a new car. My parents got me a 2006 Mercedes c230, which I was very excited about when they told me about it. The outside is black with a pearl enamel coating with black leather interior. Despair soon fell over my face when they told me it was a manual and I would have to learn how to drive it. Flashbacks of the jeep instantly popped in my head and I begged for them to get me an automatic, but they refused.
"It will teach you to stay focused on the road". My parents said “None of that phone stuff while driving".
When I went to pick up my car I was given a ten-minute lesson on how to drive by one of my dad’s fellow coworkers. My dad told me I had to drive it home from Marion and I refused. That night after he brought home the car I practiced in the backroads by my house and killed it seven times, basically every time I had to come to a stop. The problem I kept having that night and the next day was I couldn’tremember to keep my foot on the clutch when stopping and so it would cause the car to die every time. My mom had to turn my car around every time I needed to leave because I couldn’t. After a few days of only driving backroads and short distances I was ready to attempt going to school. Last Monday morning, I drove to school and avoided being in front of people the whole time because of the fear I was going to randomly stop. On the way to school I held up traffic three times causing a line of cars to pile up behind me. I refused to go through drive-thru’s or up hills for days until I had a grip on what I was doing.
Now a week and a half later I drive my new car everyday with confidence and very rarely kill it. (I did the other day in the Burger King Drive thru before work trying to get a slushy, but that’s beside the point) I have grown to love the feel of having full control over my car and wish I had learned how to drive on a manual. Sometimes I do miss my old car and the ease that came with it, but I know that there is nothing I can do about that now.
How to drive a manual!
- Put your foot on the clutch and brake. Make sure your car is in first gear and turn the key to start the car.
- If you are going straight, let off the brake and keep one foot on the clutch.
- Place your now free foot on the gas and slowly apply the gas as you slowly let off the clutch. (if you do it too fast it will throw your forward and cause the car to die)
- You will begin to roll forwards and as you drive shift into the next gear when your RPMs get between 3 and 4 (RPM stands for revolutions per minute) Depending on the car it may be 3-4 or in mine it is 30-40.
- Always shift to keep your RPMs as low as possible.
- When driving if you leave it in low gear and try to drive fast, the car will sound like its speeding up but really won’t.
- When coming to a complete I stop, I usually put the car into neutral and coast to the stop applying my brake as necessary. My dad, however, usually downshifts into the lower gears so the engine slows down the car not the brakes.
- When backing up, start the car as usual and then shift into the R position. In my car it is all the way to the left and up. Most cars put the R in a difficult place so you don’t accidently put it in reverse when you mean to put it in first. The same rules apply, ease on the gas as you release the clutch and you will begin to roll backwards.