Are we doomed to lose our driving skills?
Discussion
Saw a Top Gear episode where they blatted around Spain in 'cheap' super cars - a Ferrari 458' a McLaren12c and an Audi R8. All good stuff, except that half the driver skill seemed to be in programming the cars various electronic driving systems, in fact halfway though one blatt JC said in a non-ironic way 'taking manual control now!'
There was no hint of a manual gear change, no need to heel and toe, no need to select the right gear, no having to be careful not to break traction, no need not to slam the brakes on mid bend, in fact none of the 'skills' that I was brought up through reading Performance Car and the like to aspire to.
Are we doomed to losing our driving skills?
There was no hint of a manual gear change, no need to heel and toe, no need to select the right gear, no having to be careful not to break traction, no need not to slam the brakes on mid bend, in fact none of the 'skills' that I was brought up through reading Performance Car and the like to aspire to.
Are we doomed to losing our driving skills?
Likewise -I wonder how far many of today's drivers would get in some of the vehicles we cut our teeth on . RWD, cross ply tyres with drum brakes ,things like Moggie 1000 /Wolesley 1500 etc, which had all the rear end road adhesion of a roller bearing. Then there were necessary skills like learning how to double de clutch into first ( and sometimes into second ) on the way down /cadence braking in poor road conditions and the need to dry the brakes out regularly in the wet .Little tricks like keeping an eyte open for little feet under parked cars.
[quote=Who me ?]Likewise -I wonder how far many of today's drivers would get in some of the vehicles we cut our teeth on . RWD, cross ply tyres with drum brakes ,things like Moggie 1000 /Wolesley 1500 etc, which had all the rear end road adhesion of a roller bearing. Then there were necessary skills like learning how to double de clutch into first ( and sometimes into second ) on the way down /cadence braking in poor road conditions and the need to dry the brakes out regularly in the wet .Little tricks like keeping an eyte open for little feet under parked cars.
[/quote]
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I think everyone should have some of these skills, it makes you drive a modern car better.
Did you know that younguns are now passing their test on cars with an automatic handbrake. Can they do a hill start in the old Fiesta they will buy?
[/quote]
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I think everyone should have some of these skills, it makes you drive a modern car better.
Did you know that younguns are now passing their test on cars with an automatic handbrake. Can they do a hill start in the old Fiesta they will buy?
My 2p:
Yes, we will lose our driving skills as a society/race as there will come a time when all driving is completely automated. When automated cars are a reality, it will not make sense for the average person to put themselves in (relatively speaking) mortal danger by getting behind the wheel with their human flaws.
I believe that driving will become less and less about motoring/driving skill until we get to that point. Not necessarily a bad thing if it means a lot less people are maimed or die.
Yes, we will lose our driving skills as a society/race as there will come a time when all driving is completely automated. When automated cars are a reality, it will not make sense for the average person to put themselves in (relatively speaking) mortal danger by getting behind the wheel with their human flaws.
I believe that driving will become less and less about motoring/driving skill until we get to that point. Not necessarily a bad thing if it means a lot less people are maimed or die.
hole.As long as someone can pilot their 4wd, ESP equipped, leather lined, automatic, lcd screen festooned, diesel soft roader type thing considerately and safely then it doesnt matter if they can slide it or not, it doesnt matter if they cant heel and toe, nobody cares outside our little subculture.
For most, what we enjoy is just that nonesense that Clarkson does, they just want to get to the Trafford Centre, park and forget, perhaps even enjoy the comfort, perhaps enjoy showing it off, they dont want to drift it, they call that a crash.
Just because we are bothered, doesnt mean they are, they might be into all manner of stuff we find uninteresting like Crochet, Breeding Canaries or playing the Mandolin. Cars are important to most owners, but for different reasons.
For most, what we enjoy is just that nonesense that Clarkson does, they just want to get to the Trafford Centre, park and forget, perhaps even enjoy the comfort, perhaps enjoy showing it off, they dont want to drift it, they call that a crash.
Just because we are bothered, doesnt mean they are, they might be into all manner of stuff we find uninteresting like Crochet, Breeding Canaries or playing the Mandolin. Cars are important to most owners, but for different reasons.
J4CKO said:
As long as someone can pilot their 4wd, ESP equipped, leather lined, automatic, lcd screen festooned, diesel soft roader type thing considerately and safely then it doesnt matter if they can slide it or not, it doesnt matter if they cant heel and toe, nobody cares outside our little subculture.
For most, what we enjoy is just that nonesense that Clarkson does, they just want to get to the Trafford Centre, park and forget, perhaps even enjoy the comfort, perhaps enjoy showing it off, they dont want to drift it, they call that a crash.
Just because we are bothered, doesnt mean they are, they might be into all manner of stuff we find uninteresting like Crochet, Breeding Canaries or playing the Mandolin. Cars are important to most owners, but for different reasons.
Steam engines. For most, what we enjoy is just that nonesense that Clarkson does, they just want to get to the Trafford Centre, park and forget, perhaps even enjoy the comfort, perhaps enjoy showing it off, they dont want to drift it, they call that a crash.
Just because we are bothered, doesnt mean they are, they might be into all manner of stuff we find uninteresting like Crochet, Breeding Canaries or playing the Mandolin. Cars are important to most owners, but for different reasons.
Baryonyx said:
Will we lose them? No, it's like riding a bike I think. Will newer drivers ever acquire them? I doubt it. Ask them to make progress in a 205 GTi in the wet and I expect they'd be in a hedgerow fairly soon...
...if they could actually pull away without stalling!
My mate passed the Hereford and Worcester police high speed driving course and then the following day rolled his 1.9 gti into a field in the dry, due to lift off oversteer, and erm being a knob. I think his Sargent took the piss for about a year. ...if they could actually pull away without stalling!
redtwin said:
100 years ago a very similar topic was raised on a horse riding forum due to the rising popularity of motorized horseless carriages.
The general consensus then was that yes, we would lose our horse riding skills, but that the general public wouldn't really care.
And like horse enthusiasts now ride horses as a leisure pursuit rather than because they have to, so car enthusiasts will do it for leisure rather than necessity. The general consensus then was that yes, we would lose our horse riding skills, but that the general public wouldn't really care.
M4cruiser said:
[quote=Who me ?]Likewise -I wonder how far many of today's drivers would get in some of the vehicles we cut our teeth on . RWD, cross ply tyres with drum brakes ,things like Moggie 1000 /Wolesley 1500 etc, which had all the rear end road adhesion of a roller bearing. Then there were necessary skills like learning how to double de clutch into first ( and sometimes into second ) on the way down /cadence braking in poor road conditions and the need to dry the brakes out regularly in the wet .Little tricks like keeping an eyte open for little feet under parked cars.
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I think everyone should have some of these skills, it makes you drive a modern car better.Did you know that younguns are now passing their test on cars with an automatic handbrake. Can they do a hill start in the old Fiesta they will buy?
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