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Comment by danuker | Hacker News Reader

I see it like driving stick vs. automatic.

Sure, with stick you become aware of how the car works, the engine, torque and clutch, and you get more control. This might be good for learning.

But automatic lets you pay more attention to the road ahead, whether you are a new or experienced driver.

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  > But automatic lets you pay more attention to the road ahead, whether you are a new or experienced driver.

In my experience, drivers who primarily drive an automatic are easily distracted from the task of driving. They turn around to their children, fiddle with the radio or climate control, I've even seen many adjust their seating position and steering wheel position while in motion. Not to mention the internet-connected smartphone calling them incessantly, which is propped up close to eye level and blocking part of the windscreen.

Contrast to manual drivers, who will happily drive along without music. Far less prone to distractions and far less likely to touch the phone.

One could argue that the focused people who enjoy driving do prefer a manual transmission, to which I'll agree, but I'll counter that the manual transmission itself fosters that focus and enjoyment in the driving experience. The boring automatic is what invites distraction and does not foster enjoyment in the driving experience.

That really sounds to me like manual vs automatic is a manifestation of underlying personality traits. Or possibly just age.

Or just... wrong.

I know a bunch of people that prefer manual transmissions. And every single one of them also prefers loud music while they're driving.

Or, me. Never turn the radio on at all. Driven manual all my life. Prefer it.

Interesting. I was thinking that you pay more attention with manual. The point of manual shifting is not in how the car works. The point is in knowing what will happen before it will happen.

To me, it diverts your finite attention to the mechanics of someone a simple machine can do.

Here is a chart I found in a quick search:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-comparison-of-accident...

From the paper:

> whether looked at by human factors leading to accidents, by driver age or by accident type and age, the results all support the conclusion that, among all accidents, the accident rate for AT vehicles is twice as high as for MT vehicles except for head-on collisions

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