Visitors to the uk be warned

[geomick]

I've watched a couple videos on roundabouts in the US.

The bottom line is that study after study has proven that they vastly decrease accidents. At least one study showed that they decreased fatal accidents by 90%.

For people outwith the USA, note that the vast majority of accidents here occur at intersections, and the vast majority of those are cars making left turns.

Numerous cockamamy intersection designs have been created to avoid having cars make left turns. Here's a type I experienced in Utah, called the "diverging diamond" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqAwtkEkM

The simplest, most effective, and most obvious solution is roundabouts but Americans resist them simply because they're different.

IL uses a variation on the diverging diamond theme on some local road / highway interchanges.

Another way to avoid left turns are the "jug handles" they use in New Jersey. "Left turns" are made by going thru the intersection and having a loop to right which brings you to the street you crossed pointing the way a left turn would have gone. A little weird the first time but easy to get used to.

[Iain Ruaidh]

The thing I could not get past when shifting with the left hand, is that the shift pattern itself is not reversed. 1st gear is closest to the driver on LHD cars in America and Europe. But when sitting on the right side of the vehicle, the lowest gears are furthest away. That just never felt right.

Can manual transmission vehicles still be rented in the UK or Europe ? I haven't tried renting a car there in 20 years.

Back in my Royal Air Force days in the early 80s, they had the Half Ton Land Rover, a crazy vehicle where the shifter had the usual UK manual pattern but the long stick would move 6 inches left for 1st and 2nd, centre for 3rd and 4th, and 7 inches right for reverse, but only 1/2 an inch forward or back to engage the gear!

Manual cars are still completely normal in the UK.

[SF Jeff]

Manual cars are still completely normal in the UK.

One more reason to move to Scotland.

At least 10 years ago I saw a statistic that only 8% of new cars sold in the U.S. were manual transmissions. That's probably down to 0% now. Even the high-end sports cars (lambos and ferraris, etc.) switched from a stick to paddle shifters on the steering wheel. And those are electronic and don't require a clutch pedal, but at least you can shift when you want and not rely on the vacuum of the engine.

[Kitfoxdave]

As a gimpy old man with a bad left leg, I reserve an automatic vehicle in the UK and Europe... it costs me dearly, but worth the money... at the spritely age of 28, a driver crossed the center of the road and hit me in my vehicle head on... after months of recovery from putting my hip together, it was discovered that my PCL was destroyed when the lower dash was pushed back into my knee severing the PCL and blowing out my hip. Until that point I had 2 manual vehicles... even with a heavy duty knee brace I cannot hold in the clutch... only for a very short period of time... Automatics make it possible for me to enjoy the scenic byways and hidden gems overseas... again well worth the price differential....

Learned to drive a manual tractor at age 14.... scooping out a ditch at about a 20 degree side angle...

[MacKenzie]

At least 10 years ago I saw a statistic that only 8% of new cars sold in the U.S. were manual transmissions. That's probably down to 0% now.

There are still a few cars. But as far as trucks go, unless you're special ordering fleet vehicles, forget it.

Back in the spring we took the '09 Challenger (6-speed manual) to the dealer for it's annual "inspection" for the drive train warranty. The first time we tried to drop it off we were turned away because the ONE GUY that worked there that could drive a stick shift was on vacation.

[CBH]

3-pedal cars are nearly as rare as kilts in the US.

I spent crazy money (for me) on a new Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing a couple of years ago. It is the last brand new, V8 manual transmission sedan that will probably ever be sold in America. I knew I would forever regret not buying the last and greatest of all time. Its a wonderful car - best of all possible worlds.

Besides the Mustang and Toyota Supra, as well the Subbie/Toyota BRZ twins, and the Miata, that's about it. And all of those are sports cars, as it should be

Porsche doesn't even sell manuals on all its cars any more. And the mighty Corvette - to which I've aspired my entire life - ditched the manual in its most current generation. A little part of me died when that was announced ........

[Canadian Vet]

3-pedal cars are nearly as rare as kilts in the US.

I spent crazy money (for me) on a new Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing a couple of years ago. It is the last brand new, V8 manual transmission sedan that will probably ever be sold in America. I knew I would forever regret not buying the last and greatest of all time. Its a wonderful car - best of all possible worlds.

Besides the Mustang and Toyota Supra, as well the Subbie/Toyota BRZ twins, and the Miata, that's about it. And all of those are sports cars, as it should be

Porsche doesn't even sell manuals on all its cars any more. And the mighty Corvette - to which I've aspired my entire life - ditched the manual in its most current generation. A little part of me died when that was announced ........

Subaru has a couple ... one model of Crosstrek and their hot STIs.

[tripleblessed]

When our wonderful little manual Scion xB got killed by a deer in 2016, the closest we could find for a replacement was a Kia Soul. Kia plant here
in Georgia did not make manuals, they had to be gotten from Japan. I don't know if we still could. I have always preferred stick shift, but, as
above, at shop there is only one mechanic that can move it.

[jsrnephdoc]

3-pedal cars are nearly as rare as kilts in the US.

I spent crazy money (for me) on a new Cadillac CT5 V Blackwing a couple of years ago. It is the last brand new, V8 manual transmission sedan that will probably ever be sold in America. I knew I would forever regret not buying the last and greatest of all time. Its a wonderful car - best of all possible worlds.

Besides the Mustang and Toyota Supra, as well the Subbie/Toyota BRZ twins, and the Miata, that's about it. And all of those are sports cars, as it should be

Porsche doesn't even sell manuals on all its cars any more. And the mighty Corvette - to which I've aspired my entire life - ditched the manual in its most current generation. A little part of me died when that was announced ........

Of course, sometimes IS progress. To be fair, the death of 3rd petal clutch shifted cars is NOT because torque convertor automatic transmissions have gotten much better. What's replaced them for sport and sporty cars is the dual-clutch automated manual, which is truly a wonderful invention.

Sometimes, better DOES win out.

[CBH]

Sometimes, better DOES win out.

Sadly........you are not a 3rd pedal believer..........and the reason those of us who are are so endangered