It just shows how inefficient and outdated the internal combustion engine is, the fact that you need a gearbox
I drove electric…
Cars frequently in my younger days.
The driving was terrible with everyone trying to crash into everyone else. One pedal (more of an on/off switch really), no brakes and a really limited range.
I hope they’e improved since then.
Haha
the maoster:
I must have done eleventy million manual gearchanges over the years and am now quite happy to have a circuit board to do it for me.
I must admit…me too!
the maoster:
The only times I miss a manual is when I’m running light and am sat at a red light feeling bolshy and I just know that all the cars to the right of me are going to cut across the front of me 'cos my gearchange lag allows them to.
Bang it in manual mode and leave 'em in the dust! 
Shrek:
I don’t mean to be disrespectful here but would a manual wagon be too much to cope with? If so, why? Genuine questions.
If someone passed on an auto after the rule that you had to take your test on an 8-speed was done away with, they might not know how to operate one. They’re not that difficult but getting in a manual artic when you’ve only driven autos or 6-speeds is going to be tricky if not dangerous.
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edd1974:
is your car automatic as well?
personally id prefer a manual again. my daf auto is ok. but prefer a gear box as gives you something to do think about etc. instead of waiting for a huge huge gap then pulling out to be then slowed down while it changes gear on you
I drive manual artics on airport duties around Heathrow and those trucks never go further than down the road but having to switch ranges while manoeuvring is a PITA. It’s actually less of a problem on a long-haul artic when you spend most of your driving time in the upper range in the top two gears. The move to autos did make sense (as does the use of Alison type autos on trucks that stop a lot such as bin wagons).
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IndigoJo:
If someone passed on an auto after the rule that you had to take your test on an 8-speed was done away with, they might not know how to operate one. They’re not that difficult but getting in a manual artic when you’ve only driven autos or 6-speeds is going to be tricky if not dangerous.
Surely…
If someone passes an auto test then logic dictates they can’t drive a manual right?
yourhavingalarf:
Surely…If someone passes an auto test then logic dictates they can’t drive a manual right?
Not anymore. If you pass your car test on a manual and your HGV test on an auto, you get a manual HGV licence and if you pass both HGV classes on auto with a manual car licence, you can drive manual artics.
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yourhavingalarf:
IndigoJo:
If someone passed on an auto after the rule that you had to take your test on an 8-speed was done away with, they might not know how to operate one. They’re not that difficult but getting in a manual artic when you’ve only driven autos or 6-speeds is going to be tricky if not dangerous.Surely…
If someone passes an auto test then logic dictates they can’t drive a manual right?
Here’s the catch, if you pass your car test in a manual and then go on to pass HGV in an automatic you can drive a manual truck, if however you pass your car test in an automatic then you can’t drive manual at all, your lessons and test for HGV would have to be automatic
The “logic” being that if you can handle a manual box and clutch in a car then you can do the same in a truck, even if you actually take the truck test in an auto.
There is some sense to that maybe? After all I passed my Class One in a D Series Ford with a manual six speed synchro box. That qualified me to drive with a crash box and 2-speed axle or a constant mesh range-change.
Not ideal, but can we expect to get type training on different makes of trucks etc? It might be a nice target but in reality…?
The amount of times I got back into my lorry after some little git who passed their test in an auto to find the clutch was burnt to buggery and gears chewed up was unbelievable!
IndigoJo:
Shrek:
I don’t mean to be disrespectful here but would a manual wagon be too much to cope with? If so, why? Genuine questions.If someone passed on an auto after the rule that you had to take your test on an 8-speed was done away with, they might not know how to operate one. They’re not that difficult but getting in a manual artic when you’ve only driven autos or 6-speeds is going to be tricky if not dangerous.
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I’m not sure why it would be dangerous? Either you work out quickly how to use it or you point out ‘I’ve never driven a manual truck could you show me’.
And the logic behind the tests must surely be that most truck manufacturers make auto trucks with either an option for a manual gearbox or no option at all.
Really■■?
Dont forget the most important question, Is the toilet paper soft/white??
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Grumpy Dad:
Here’s the catch, if you pass your car test in a manual and then go on to pass HGV in an automatic you can drive a manual truck, if however you pass your car test in an automatic then you can’t drive manual at all, your lessons and test for HGV would have to be automatic
I’m pretty certain that’s not correct, you can apply for a provisional HGV licence that enables you to learn in a manual then when you pass a HGV test in a manual you can also drive a manual car.
That’s my understanding anyway.
tachograph:
Grumpy Dad:
Here’s the catch, if you pass your car test in a manual and then go on to pass HGV in an automatic you can drive a manual truck, if however you pass your car test in an automatic then you can’t drive manual at all, your lessons and test for HGV would have to be automaticI’m pretty certain that’s not correct, you can apply for a provisional HGV licence that enables you to learn in a manual then when you pass a HGV test in a manual you can also drive a manual car.
That’s my understanding anyway.
I’m not 100% sure tbh, automatic trucks were a thing of the future when I passed my test, but my understanding of it was if you passed in a manual car you can take an HGV test in either manual or auto, if you passed in an automatic car then that’s all you can drive.
But things move on and as long as a driver can steer a truck through the yard gates that’s what most TM’s are looking for these days
I hadn’t driven a manual for about 8 years before getting my MAN just over a year ago. Getting back into a 16 speed manual after all those years was and still is an absolute pleasure which took no time at all to get back used to! I had to pick our auto MAN up from service a few weeks ago. I kept reaching for the gear stick and stamping my left foot down on the floor [emoji23] It was good to get re acquainted with the astronic POS and be reminded how ■■■■ they are.
My truck should be with us for another 4 or 5 years so I should be a happy mother trucker for that long. We tried to spec the new one coming soon as a manual but they’ve dropped it as an option [emoji17]
edd1974:
way life is going now. the future generation of drivers wont know what a gear box is.as more and more cars are now becoming automatic . and with electric cars on the horizon im guessing there all be automatic as well?
or do electric cars come with a gearbox
You think that’s bad, I don’t like these auto handbrake on the new scania, every time you stop, or open the door, I’m worried we might forget about the handbrake too, scary stuff!
Sploom:
edd1974:
way life is going now. the future generation of drivers wont know what a gear box is.as more and more cars are now becoming automatic . and with electric cars on the horizon im guessing there all be automatic as well?
or do electric cars come with a gearboxYou think that’s bad, I don’t like these auto handbrake on the new scania, every time you stop, or open the door, I’m worried we might forget about the handbrake too, scary stuff!
I like the auto handbrake, especially the automatic hold when your in traffic etc. Problem is I do get into the habit of just turning the engine off and jumping out when I stop, knowing the handbrake comes on itself. Nearly been caught out a few times when i’ve switched back to an older unit, thankful our firm fit the alarm warning devices for the handbrake!
The above is why i will have nothing to do with hill hold, and even the few times driven a lorry fitted with a pointless electric parking brake, still apply it and release it mesen.
If you get out of the habit of controlling the vehicle itself, including it’s braking whether parking or holding it at junctions, sooner or later you’ll ■■■■■■■■ up and have a runaway especially when you exit the vehicle, and that is the moment that everyone, from your boss to the old bill to the DVSA to the vehicle maker to the H&S executive or indeed the coroner, will tell you that YOU are in control and responsible for what happens to that vehicle no matter how much pointless crap THEY fitted.
Telling them that some half baked automated function failed (try proving it 
) or toy beeper didn’t warn you the parking brake wasn’t applied will not wash.
I sometimes drive automatics and its a right pain switching between the two. I look for the clutch in the auto and stall the manual . I am retiring soon, that and the DCPC its getting to be too much.