I drove a car this week and did something I’ve not done in decades – almost stalled the thing.
The juddering motion and unpleasant noise was enough to shock my own anti-stall actions into life – which simply involved putting my left leg on the clutch.
A clutch? My muscle memory can barely recall what to do with one of these because most manufacturers don’t make cars with three pedals anymore. And, looking to our future, there’s no clutch in any electric car because there’s no gearbox to connect it to.
As well as jolting my clutch foot off the cushy carpet and onto the pedal, my near-stop had quite a big impact on my ideas about driving.
I’ve always felt it was only right and proper to have a manual gearbox because it ‘adds an engaging layer to the overall driving experience’. And automatics just make us lazy and detached, surely?
I’m not quite so convinced anymore.
A nation of skilled ‘veteran’ motorists?
I’ve clearly been swanning about the country in automatics for the last tens of thousands of miles without once thinking ‘oh, my left leg is really in need of a job’.
I’ve evidently not missed a clutch, and therefore a manual gearbox – despite this being the very thing I’ve insisted upon that make cars worth driving.
Manual gear changes a thing of the past
Well, whilst I let this shocking realisation ripple through me and decide if I need to file clutch pedals under ‘ancient history’, there is a mix of past and present going on with those who aren’t yet old enough to drive on the road.
Back in 1938, there was a Government-backed initiative to help reduce road deaths, believing that: “If every car owner today had been driving since the age of six, road sense, quick reflex and mastery of controls would…result in a nation of skilled ‘veteran’ motorists.”
Music to my ears, and picking up that mantle is the Young Driver organisation that has been operating driving lessons for 4-17 year olds since 2009.
Young drivers could get behind the wheel of a Bentley
There are a handful of venues in Scotland with a variety of dates on offer, and if you’re 10 or older then you could even get behind the wheel of a Bentley Flying Spur! (On private property, and with dual controls for the instructor, of course.)
If you’re looking for a Christmas present, a school outing or a birthday party activity, then I can’t think of a more fun-filled, memorable gift. And you’ll be equipping tomorrow’s drivers with some skills that could one day save their lives.
The skill to change gear manually won’t be one of them, though…
Twitter: @vb_h
Instagram: vickibutlerhenderson
Presenter Fifth Gear, Discovery+ & Quest; The Car Years, ITV4
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