Quote:
Originally Posted by dcb
They should add stick shift to drivers ed, The US is probably the only country where most people buy automatics. Other countries only teach stick, since any chimp can figure out an automatic, and would probably be appalled to drive one having learned stick  |
New Zealand and Australia both have more automatics than manuals, at least in new car sales (and for NZ, freshly imported used Japanese cars).
NZ has an automatic-only restriction for the 'restricted' (no passengers or late night driving without a supervisor) license if you don't take the test in a manual, but there is no transmission restriction on a full license. A lot of people in NZ decide to go with the auto-only restricted license according to a driving instructor I was talking to, so much so that few driving instructors offer lessons in a manual.
Australia will only allow you to drive a manual if you sat your driving test in a manual, so if you take your full license in an auto, you'd have to have a supervisor with you if you were going to drive a manual.
Personally, I think that everyone should drive a manual unless they have a physical condition preventing them from doing so, as having to pay some attention to your car makes it harder to text, eat, sleep, drink, talk, and play monopoly with your kids while you drive.