tut tut, naughty! Here you need to be 17 and pass a test, but I haven't bothered yet, don't see reason for it...
I dont even know how old you have to be to passs a test in England. They say you can apply three months before your sixteenth birthday, but i doubt it, besides driving pollutes and is bad for the enviorenment.
Hehe yep, public transport it is! It's quicker than driving if I go to uni at York - much quicker, and in a country with a sensible speed limit, that's saying something.
thanks, gerry. yeah, guys, driving is bad, but it's all about being prepared. i can drive most anything with or without vehicles, and thus never fear a quick getaway, even if the vehicle isn't mine.
LOL hmmm. Trouble is, for some reason in this silly country, unless you're over 40 or you're gay you have to drive a manual car, which makes things a bit more difficult for the younger!
Well that's the opinion this country seems to have, but why I've no idea, it's like being back in the 1940s. Take a brand new car, Air conditioning, Satellite navigation, loads of airbags, electronic fuel injection, advanced stereo system, manual gearbox. Why?
Happy Birthday Auslander. Golly only 2 more years to alcohol. LOL Yeah I drove sticks till I was 23, then had a few later on. Old people prefer automatics. I bes one! But it's a fast Mustang! LMAO
at 16 i get permit to learn at 18 i go for a sort of half licence and then three of driveing afta that i get a full licence! edit- btw i did have to do a test and passed! -edit
Lol all sounds pretty damn complicated. I suppose it's a bit simpler here, you can drive at 17, and drink at 18, and that's the end of that. You don't get insurance for high level vehicles until you're 25 though.
Garmoon, Speak for yourself, Sir! Besides Pantera's don't come in automatic. At my age (62) I still prefer stick. I don't even notice it, even in stop and go traffic. I had a bad experience with that situation when I was a kid. A young girl I knew died because she needed medical attention. The were out in the country and she was the only one there who could drive stick. One of the other girls actually tried but busted up the gearbox. My personal feelings is that everybody needs to take their driving test in a stick shift car. Can't drive stick? No License! That would get a lot of idiots off the road theone
Hi Theonejrs, aint seen a post of yours in a long time. I agree with you, i want to drive a manual, seems to be cooler. but driving does polute, unless if your driving an electric car. Save Earth
@theonejrs I stand corrected. Most older people prefer automatics. I have no friends my age that are driving sticks, pathetic. I do agree about the licensing test being taken in a stick-shift car but how can you find a car to take it in? Anyone have an idea of the ratio of autos/sticks?
the reason, sam, is that a torque converter can suck up as much as 30% of your horsepower, leading to a drastic decrease in fuel economy (and knowing how expensive petrol is over there, well, you know) [bold]and[/bold] performance. with a skilled driver behind the wheel, it's like night and day in many (maybe all) aspects. thank you, garmoon! i remember pics of your car...very nice. i'd still want it in a stick though. sad thing is, i doubt i'll ever buy a ford or american muscle car (save a Viper) made after 1972. i just like subaru impreza variants wayyyy too much. theonejrs: it's because no woman can drive stick. not one...in fact, i can't even think of any that can drive. and if you say danica patrick, i'll slap you with a folding chair. just kidding ddp: yeah, about 10% of US cars are autos...and it sickens me. people think they can drive, putting one foot on the gas and the other on the brake and smoking their tires a bit. i've gotten several punks on the back roads and wiped the floor with their V-8 Auto asses
Sticks all the way here. You drive a stick, you sit in an automatic. I bought my 5 speed Dakota new in '96 and like theonejrs I don't even notice it.
*gives neph a hi-five* whoo hoo! another point on the side of those that like driving to be more than going from one place to another carelessly.
Nephilim, I get in a stick and just drive. I don't even think about it. I remember my first automatic after years of stick. I was hot footing it somewhere one night and stabbed the brake pedal trying to downshift. Good thing no one was behind me! My late wife (who was an extremely good driver) prefered Stick. She always claimed that it made you more aware of things around you than an automatic and gave you far more control if something un-expected happened in front of you! Happy Computering, theone