For decades, a third foot pedal for the clutch was the usual standard in cars. Almost all vehicles in Germany and Europe had it, an automatic transmission was the big exception. The sensitive handling of the clutch, gas and gears had to be learned first. How was that again? Start the engine, step on the clutch, engage first gear, release the clutch slowly while carefully accelerating, establish a frictional connection between the engine and the transmission. The car rolls. After a few meters step on the clutch again, second gear and so on. It sounds more complicated than it is. But a number of car novices drove the switch shop and especially the starting to despair. When the car is standing on a hill, the brakes come into play in addition to the gas and clutch, and that’s the higher art of driving. If that was too much for you, you could get an automatic driver’s license, but then you weren’t allowed to drive a car with a manual gearbox. Is shifting really that difficult?
Boris Schmidt
Editor in the “Technology and Engine” department.
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Ten driving lessons are to be scheduled just for learning this process, which is how many learner drivers have had to complete since April 2021 if the automatic driving license is to be converted into a generally valid one. Plus a quarter-hour test drive with the driving instructor. This also applies to newcomers who are aiming for a driver’s license. You can then take the test in an automatic car and still be allowed to drive all cars. The driver’s license law takes into account the fact that manual transmissions will gradually disappear. More and more driving schools are also teaching with electric vehicles, and there is no need to switch gears, the electric cars have a single-speed gearbox, there is only forward and backward.