Add my anecdote to the list as well- it was really stark during the early lockdowns. Traffic was very very low, but people who were out there were driving way crazier. Like it was suddenly thunderdome out there. Coworkers all commented on this as well.
6 Likes
And @IronEdithKidd yes, I was including myself in my manual car anecdote. It felt very strange the first time I drove, and the first time I went beyond the 5km limit of lockdown 2.0. And not just because other drivers were constantly doing stupid things. I was giving others more room and time and trying to be patient - and getting beeped for it. Ended up telling my best friend “if one more fucker beeps me while I’m trying to be polite, I’m going to get out of the car and beat them about the head with the club lock”.
7 Likes
Oddly, the manual car is where I keep my club lock! Not sure why, though, a dwindling number of people know how to drive a manual transmission car in the US. I’m not even sure why I bother locking it the driveway most of the time.
4 Likes
They might steal The Club!
5 Likes
That thing is so old, I don’t even know they’re sold anymore! I originally got it for my 280Z back in the 90’s because the locks were questionably functional, and people still knew how to drive a stick.
5 Likes
I hope that means I’m not raising some high-end car thieves-to-be. 
“Your resume says you can drive a manual. You’re hired.”
6 Likes
Nah, you’re giving your kids life skills! I’ll still have this car when Jr. Kidd gets his learner’s permit, but we’ll have to find an old beater to teach him on. Too many young men killed themselves totalling this particular make and model already (insurance rate has always been ludicrous for it).
6 Likes
After I got my license my dad wanted me to be able to drive his Chevy Luv pick up (manual). He had terminal cancer, so we had just one lesson before he had to pull the rip cord (very uncomfortable if you are terminally ill). One of my older brothers took over for the next lesson but we kept yelling at each other. A friend of his ended up teaching me on his dad’s big truck that didn’t have a first gear. It worked.
5 Likes
Pretty sure I haven’t used the club lock for its intended purpose the entire time I’ve had this car, which is 15 years! It just sits on the floor, waiting to be used. Got it for my previous car, a late 1980s Corolla hatchback which my nan used to drive. And had so much panel damage (
guilty!) no-one would ever try to steal it anyway.
We’re waaaaay off topic here. Sorry everyone.
5 Likes
It’s been a nice distraction.
7 Likes
A BF tried teaching me how to drive a stick in A VW Bus, of all the stupid goddam ideas. He was also a lousy teacher, and I got too pissed at my failure & gave up after 15-20 mins. A coupla years later, my best friend took me to Belle Isle and taught me in his WV Golf. Within 10 mins I was shifting more smoothly than he, which he even pointed out. He was an XLNT teacher, and knew how to cope with my frustration and prevented any major pissed off-itude.
4 Likes
I learned on a 3-on-the-floor Dodge Aspen wagon.
6 Likes
I will admit that I stalled this week. It was on a steep, slow speed hill with a speed bump at the top. Who puts a &^(%(%W#&# speed bump right before the top of a hill?
7 Likes
I haven’t driven anything that debilitated since then, but I sure learned the fundamentals well!
6 Likes
A sadistic public “servant” with an asphalt company?
2 Likes
I might have spelled that “ass fault company “
2 Likes
The same people putting stop signs and lights there.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
