Kicked out of Japan for speeding tickets?

Right, right.

As Taucias pointed out, basically anyone can drive in the USA if they're of age, which made me wonder. If you start with a driver education class in highschool (at least here in KS), they make you get X ammount of hours (50 for me) of driving. It's a good plan, but then when you show up to the DMV and try to hand them your sheet and they say "oh, we don't need that"... make you take an eye exam, and print out your temporary reciept-paper license... Yeah, we suck.

I have friends that never really practiced with their parents (etc), then suddenly had a need for their license (college), and had to start immediately. With something like a few hours of road-time. They still suck at driving; I hate being passengers in their vehicles. "Dude... brakes... brakes... BRAKES... ...........Thankyou."

 

I consider myself a pretty good driver. I've been driving since I was 15 years old. However, I got a new car last month. It's a manual so that took a little getting used to. I'm not completely comfortable with it yet. I don't take nearly as many chances as used to in my old car, a 2000 automatic Mustang.

 

Congratulations man! Now you can say with pride that you CAN drive. Driving an automatic isn't what I'd call driving. Great for older people with weak legs but for us manual is the best, fun and more "realistic" way to drive :nod:

It's actually true that automatic drives are more dangerous on the road than a manual driver simply because the manual driver thinks more about what they're doing even when it does seem like an automatic reaction after a few years driving.

Yakumo

 

Yeah, it's been fun driving it. Everyone is like, "Oh snap! A manual?? How'd you learn how to drive that??" lol.

it was kinda a cool feeling the other day when i drove my parents car. it's an automatic and immediately tried to activate the clutch to start the car.

i love that $10 in gas will last me two weeks! it was almost $10 a day in my Mustang.

 

automatic cars are SO boring! glad it's not that popular over here

 

I can drive either, but I don't think driving manual qualifies you for "driving". Go for a couple of years w/ no wrecks, bumps (or tickets) in the land with the shittiest drivers on the planet (Honolulu). Then you can say you can drive.

 

Come on mate, anyone who can drive a manual can drive an automatic. That goes without saying :nod: But if you put an automatic driver in a manual they won't have a clue what to do. In Europe and especially the UK an automatic is regarded as a woman's car :110:

Talking about Honolulu, yeah it's bad but try driving in Kita Kyushu. Japanese are piss poor drivers at best but Kita Kyushu is the worse in EVERY department of safety and road rules in the entire country. They don't even use the indicators when going round corners or changing lanes and the twats always force their way in to a space hardly big enough for the car they're diving :-(

Yakumo

 

I hate being tall, always makes driving my car (which is has a manual transmission) a bit harder, knees never quite fit right.

 

how tall are you, Borman?

 

That's BS Yakumo, they don't think more about driving. If anything, some concentration is spent on gear changes instead of the road ahead, especially with new manual drivers.

You do have more control over the vehicle with a manual transmission though, that is true.

 

No, it's not bull shit. As a very good skilled driver (and I'm not blowing my own trumpet here) driving an automatic does cause you to lose concentration simply because you aren't doing enough to keep you occupied. When ever I drive an automatic on a long journey I always notice my attention drifting or becoming more sleepy far quicker simply because I'm not doing anything apart from keeping my foot on the accelerator and pressing the brake every now and then.

As for the gear change, a good driver doesn't even think about the gear change, it come automatically. A newer driver may well take a quick look at his gear stick to make sure it's in the right place because they'd not be use to it but they should grow out of that over time.

Yes, much more control :nod:

Yakumo

 

Automatics are like generic tools. Anyone who wants to truly enjoy driving and enjoy a car for the machine it is, drives a manual. If nothing else, manual drivers are better drivers just because they tend to understand the machine more.

Back in the States, cars were my biggest hobby. I used to build and tune turbo setups.

 

I always considered it as someone's car who knew what they really needed and didn't. Manual gives you more control..., but it's control 99% of drivers don't need. For my computer, I can't live w/o a terminal, C++ compiler, Perl, and MySQL database. There's no doubt I have far more control over my computer with them. Most people, I know, do not though.

And kind of siding w/ Taucias here, now that I know for a fact that 80% of the population are morons, I don't want my fellow drivers to be distracted anymore. iPod, GPS, and crack pipe are enough.

I can't tell you how many times some pedestrian gets smacked in Honolulu... on the sidewalk of all places. It is utterly hopeless. I've been cycling in Tokyo for years now. Yes, you have to drive defensively, but with congestion at those levels, that goes without saying. Nobody in Japan has ever flipped me off and told me, "to get the fuck out of the road". In fact, one guy almost ran me over in Hawaii. I flipped him off, screamed some 'fuck you!'s and took my shortcut. Scared the fuck out of me when he was waiting on the other side. Thought for a minute I might get shot.

This is of course nothing compared to the nightmare that is Seoul, Korea.

 

Yeah, I'm only 6ft tall and I have to rotate my legs and bend a bit at the knees more than I'd like. I drive an '02 Mazda Protege 5. It's weird, my old 1988 Corolla SR5 had BOATLOADS of leg room. I could sit so comfortably in that tiny-ass car.

In the Mazda, I basically can't have my right foot directly on the brake pedal, I always have to crooked-nab it from the side. I could put my seat farther back, but my steering wheel doesn't telescope and... and...


Manuals kick ass, automatics kick no ass. Any questions? I am a firm believer in Yakumo's view that someone proficient at driving a manual has a much more active mind, even after everything becomes routine (like selecting the right gear and magically remembering which one you're in). It also keeps you from talking on your cell phone (if you live in an area where you're still able to, which aren't many places anymore I presume) and doing other random things that would distract you. It's really hard to hold a phone in your ear, make a left turn, and shift from 5th into 2nd with your left hand (left hand drive).

 

Thank you. Someone who understands the meaning of driving. Sure, you can get from A to B in anything but driving is so much more than that :nod: It's a passion in many ways as well as a means of transport.

By the way, I eat sandwiches and drive shifting gears :thumbsup: I've become so good that it's second nature :lol: Shame I can't say the same about my wife. She also prefers manual transmission and she's Japanese h: Yesterday I was teaching her how to power slide the car since she's always wanted to know how I do it. So off to the massive football pitch sized dirt car park in the park for some practice. All's going well until the soft cow for some unknown reason decides to drift right where a bloody big stone or mini rock was. Smash! Off comes the passenger side skirt on the car OH: Thankfully these only clip in to place so I could attach it again but now there's a whopping big crack in it. Looks like my Saturday is going to be spent down at the auto factory again :shrug:

Yakumo

 

Eating is pretty easy, I've come to find. Hardest part is when you've got something boarderline-messy. I've also got a small lap (I'm horribly skinny) and so I have to put the sandwich between my legs, but then that throws of my clutch leg and feels a bit awkward... I do generally select my meal accordingly if I plan on driving and eating. All hail the chicken sandwich, no mayo!

This is why I miss my old Corolla, the steering wheel was at the perfect spot for some serious knee-driving, I got to the point where I could make a casual left turn without using my hands (left turn in the USA, that is). You could do at least 3 things as well as drive that car simultaneously.

 

This has gone well off the tracks, do you think that it should be shifted to off topic?

Still Yakumo, just stick a number on the side of your door, chuck some mud on and you can pretend you did it rally driving.

 

Ok ok ok... so, what if you were doing at least 50mph over... BUT had an extra cheeseburger to spare?

 

I'd have to add a load of chipped body work from the stones as well :nod: You couldn't rally in my Impreza to be honest. The suspension just isn't up to the job. Mines set up for speed handling rather than bouncing around. Still, it would be fun to try it out for real some day.

Yakumo

PS: I only drive like a speed nut on the motorway or empty mountain roads.

 

We are still waiting for a decent mountain road video.