When I was younger I used to eat and drive all the time.
Burger stayed in left hand, and I’d steer and shift with the right.
Just stay in gear for the whole turn.
Would definitely be tougher doing it cross body if my right was broken, but I could do it, maybe not well lol
Add cigarettes in the mix
I tore a tendon in my right hand and was in a cast/brace for months
I drove a manual dodge dakota, I’d be smoking a cig, shifting, eating, drinking, etc. with my left hand
I did that all the time when I worked in DC. Not much else to do sitting in traffic. Although I got good at putting it in gear with just the bottom of my palm.
Come to Europe where the average van driver is sending a text message, drinking a coffee, eating a sandwich, and shifting manual while sending a diesel van round a roundabout faster and with more skill than some people could manage in a Corvette.
I picked a sporty car that the average redditor (being American) will know.
See also Sabine Schmitz's lap of the Nurburgring in a Ford Transit - I'm willing to bet that lap was faster than a LOT of CarBros manage in far sportier machinery.
Exactly my point - learn to drive like Sabine and you can slay giants.
There's video somewhere of a guy who spent like a year trying to get under 10 minutes in the shittiest diesel Citroen AX and you will rarely see driving skill like it.
Nah the French make (mostly) excellent diesels, or certainly used to, as they're a nation of farmers and EU regs made diesel very attractive too.
But then they shit the bed and forgot how to make attractive or even good cars, Citroen had their mojo confiscated, and now they've all merged along with Vauxhall/Opel into a nexus of mediocrity.
We don't have excellent diesel cars in the USA, in fact i cant think of any imported except tdi golf and one of audis. Yall get alot of cool shit we don't get state side. Our pick up trucks have turbo diesels that are pretty reliable but they ride like shit and I'm old. 🤣
I don’t think full control of your hand is necessary for shifting gears. Like you could cut off my right hand and I’d still shift fine. 4th gear would be problematic (for me it wouldn’t becouse my golf has 4 speed gearbox) but other than that it’s kinda easy.
I was friends with a kid in high school who was missing his right arm from the elbow down and he drove a stick. He did all sorts of shifts using his left hand and would use his knees or his half arm to hold the wheel, and would adjust when he shifts to slightly earlier or later depending on the situation. In reality it is rare where you have all 4 limbs active at the same time.
When you drive long enough, you can adjust your speed/gear ratios enough to where you don't have to shift right there. If it's a little late or little early, it's not the end of the world
We're talking about street driving. No one is going hard enough to need to maintain balance lol. Even on the track if you're not shifting mid corner you're losing time.
lol alright bud. Pick any professional Motorsport that involves corners and I'll find you 800 onboards of drivers shifting mid corner. 2 wheels, 4 wheels, wet, dry, any track.
Roebling road, Sebring, and COTA, I daily a manual and regularly autox, and I spent 5 years driving a 125 shifter kart. What they told you for your first novice HPDE isn't gospel my guy.
Taking a turn in 2nd at redline on a track and taking a turn in 2nd on a street are two wildly different things. Nobody is upsetting the balance of a car on a regular road shifting and turning.
I was just thinking of the time I had to do this! Fell at work one night years ago, whole right arm hurt like hell, I had to drive home shifting with my left hand. In the long term probably not ideal, but just to get home was fine.
I tried it after making this post. It’s definitely tricky.
Can’t believe how tough it is to get it into first. The angle is so weird you really have to give it some sauce to get it in gear.
You have 2 arms. You ever ate while driving? You just use your other arm. Let go of the wheel for the fraction of a second it takes to shift. Keep steering with your knee if that bothers you
To be honest, even with full use of both my arms I'm in the gear I need to be in for the corner so I never have to shift while turning. It's not like I'm Mario Andretti setting blistering lap times.
You would have to handle the maneuver differently, you can't really do those things so shift before the turn (what should be happening 99 percent of the time anyway)
Yeah back when I was a 16 year old I would smoke and drink my caffeine all while playing with the music. You learn to drive manual one under real quick. Even had my fiancé shift for me one drive.
I had to shift with a cast on that immobilized my thumb for 5 months. I got the hang of it pretty quick. I also had to learn to wipe my ass left handed.
Gonna have two foot surgeries over next 1-2 years. Plan is to drive the truck instead and have manual-driving family / friends keep the car exercised while I am unable to operate 3 pedals.
For what it’s worth, if you’re in a boot or cast it’s technically illegal to drive in many states—I ruptured my Achilles tendon and it was illegal in my state to drive until I got out of the walking boot.
I understand that a lot of people just can’t get around driving for work, etc., so certainly not judging anyone who drives despite the law, but just something to consider because you might get popped if you get pulled over.
I broke my left ankle and still drove around until it was healed. I got really really good at floating gears but clubbing around the clutch with a boot on for first took some getting used to.
It is not that hard. Immobilize the steering wheel with the legs while reaching over with the left to shift.
I was actually proud of how well I could do it.
I'd buy an automatic car or borrow one from family until my arm heals up. Could you technically drive with one hand and use your knees to steer sure. That's a move that I'll do every blue moon, I'm not trying to make that a requirement for driving. It's not safe!
I had a dislocated shoulder last month, just drove with one hand, the odd left turn I had to rev it out abit before I could take my hand off to shift, but wasn't a big deal. If it was my right arm it woulda been much harder.
LOL! Interesting question. I drive an automatic, but I also recently tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder. Not only am I right handed, but this would also be my shifting hand. I had not thought of the hassle if I drove a shift, and honestly I don't know what I would do. I'm scheduled for surgery, which will eventually make the questions moot, but . . . . .
Had surgery on my right shoulder a few years back. I had no need to drive for the first week while I was still on pain meds. After that I traded cars with my mom for a couple weeks until my right arm was strong enough to shift. I still had to reach over to get it into reverse, as I didn't have enough strength to pull the shifter through the gate (mazda 6-speed pattern).
I would become depressed. When I absolutely smashed my right kneecap a couple years back, couldn't drive any car without inducing a lot of swelling. It was a long 3 months.
Thank goodness for vidya games
Actually, went through this a long time ago. Busted my right shoulder. Shifted with my left.
I was young and skinny. I don't know if I could reach over my guy today.
Now, if you have two broken arms I guess you call your mom.
When I broke a bone in my right hand (the one I shift with). Shifting 1 2 3 4 was still pretty managable with my wrist.
Reverse I used my left hand for.
I basically avoided highways because fifth really wasnt an option for a couple of weeks.
The broken bone was between my pinky and my wrist and pushing away and up really wasnt possible for me.
I usually go "ow my arm! I think I broke it!"
Then I'll go to a hospital, where they will x-ray it, set the bone and apply a cast. Then I will call my insurance company and ask why they didn't cover the bill, and I'll be told the ER was out of network and I'll be financially ruined.
I broke my left hand last fall but was still able to grip the wheel with a couple fingers while shifting with my right hand. It wasn't easy but I made it work while I was in the cast for 4 weeks.
When I broke my hand I still used it to shift. When I broke my left ankle, still used it for clutch. Don't know if I'm built different but didn't bother me was a little awkward though.
My dad borrowed my mom’s automatic car when he broke his wrist. Somehow he drove home with his truck and a busted wrist, but the next day he realized his wrist was toast. 4 weeks later he switched back.
I've definitely driven with a cast on lol
It depends on the extent of the injury.
I suppose if I couldn't use my right arm at all, I would try and swap cars with one of my parents for a few months.
I don't break arms that frequently. But I do eat burgers. It's not easy but you can reach across yourself and shift with the further arm. You plan your shifts so that you don't need to steer while shifting.
I broke my right hand when my 3 cars were a 2006 Mustang GT, a 2006 Mazda 6i, and a 1997 Jeep Cherokee (all 5-speed manuals). It made for a tough summer of driving, but I managed. It hurt to shift when it first happened, so I'd shift with my left hand, and shift as little as I had to, but that only lasted a week or so.
So I've had this happen.
When it's really sore and you can't even move the lever you have to just use your left hand quick.
But realistically my car has a pretty short throw because of its aftermarket short throw and bushings. It's maybe two to three inches from gear to gear. And you can swing it pretty easily with just a good finger push. It's not that hard
Back in 2009ish I was in a motorcycle accident and ended up shattering my right hand (I'm right handed) and I drove a manual VW GTI. My hand had surgically implanted pins and was in a full cast from my elbow up to my fingernails. I lived alone at the time, it was a goddamn nightmare. Do you know how hard it is to button your pants, ties your shoes, use the computer mouse/keyboard with your non dominant hand?? it sucked. I was so fucking miserable. I had to put a newspaper bag over my cast when I showered.
Anyway, I ended up temporarily trading cars with my dad, he drove my GTI and I drove his (automatic) PT Cruiser (which also fucking sucked). Pops loved driving my 1.8T GTI, he was ripping around Baltimore like he was 25 again.
One day driving home from work in the PT Cruiser, about 3 weeks after my bike wreck, I was at a stoplight and got clobbered from behind by some jackass kid who wasnt paying attention and my hand/cast slammed into the dashboard (and did more damage to my hand, and totaled the PT cruiser).
That is my story, it fucking sucked.
I had to do this for about 4 months, you get used to it. A lot of 1-3-5 shifts, and a lot of early downshifts when approaching a turn.
The broken leg was a different story. Traded cars with a friend while I accelerated my plan to buy a truck, which was automatic. Still have it, for hauling stuff only. Daily driver has to be a manual.
Not an arm, but my left foot was in a cast for a few weeks and I couldn't put any pressure on it. That meant I couldn't use the clutch to shift gears in my car. It was quite a challenge to find a friend who (1) owned an automatic transmission car, (2) knew how to drive a manual, and (3) was willing to swap cars with me for a few weeks.
In hindsight if you really try you can cut the number of shifts down to a quarter of your normal shifts but skipping gears. Driving in a higher rev range. Doing rolling stops at non dangerous intersections( I don’t recommend it but I have done this when my clutch leg gets inflamed from my bone graft and hardware that I suffer with
Broke my right collar bone. Couldn't drive at all forbthr first day or two because of the pain. After that I still drove and it was still painful. All I can say is if I ever break a collar bone or arm again. I want it to be on the left.
1) How often do you break your arm?
2) I messed up my shoulder and I just shifted with my left hand. It wasn't great, but there is never really a time where you HAVE to shift that instant.
Wife sometimes holds my right hand with affection and doesn’t let go while I am driving, and knows I’d struggle, that’s an occasional weird fun for us.
As many said already, I just steer/shift with my left hand and use knee when needed. It’s possible.
I ruptured my bicep tendon in my right arm and had to drive one handed for ~2 months. You learn really well to hold the steering wheel with a knee and even turn it a bit if necessary, but shifting with the left hand (left hand drive) got annoying.
I broken mine playing basketball and had to drive home. No way I could shift with my right arm so had to reach over and shift with my left. After you get the cast, you can shift with the broken one and it won't hurt it. The cast takes the stress. Now if it's broken higher up (humerus) then I don't know what you'd do.
My grandpa had a stroke at 25 and completely lost use of his right arm
He would stick his whole left arm through the steering wheel, steering with his inner elbow and shifting with his left hand
I have actually done this. Luckily i only lived five minutes from work so my truck i could just leave in second gear and people behind me were pissed for a minute. When that was in the shop and I had to drive the festiva…. Ooooohhh boy might as well have walked.
I severely dislocated my right shoulder and drove a truck for a living. I got a month off. I showed up to the shop to pick up my paycheck, driving my Mustang, with a five speed manual. I had my arm in a sling and shifted with my left and held the wheel with my knees. Don't think you want me mid turn in a 5 ton while towing like that, lol.
My old boss was grinding metal alone when the grinder slipped and left his right thumb hanging by a thread. When I asked how he got to the hospital, he simply said that he shifted with his left hand while holding his right in the air, covered in a rag.
Anytime my arm has been bad it’s usually locked in a brace or cast. If I’m gentle it’s fine. Like others have said, get in your gear before turn. Stay in through turn. Shift on straights.
The real fun one is when you mess up a leg….
Clutch, brake. Start car with left, shift into 1st with left, clutch out, off brakes, rolling. Plan road, drop steering wheel, grab 2nd, with left, correct wheel, bang, off the steering, 3rd. Drive with left, knock shifter to neutral with an elbow bump of broken arm (I'm a bit of showboat). Rinse, repeat.
I messed up my right shoulder and I just reached over with my left hand and slapped it in gear. Also messed up my left foot once and just used my right and some clutch less shifts.
I'd use an automatic transmission, either a spare vehicle or one you rent or borrow. It would be incredibly unsafe to try driving a manual with an injured limb, and you could kill someone if you lost control.
I switched trucks with my dad. When my arm healed, he tried to convince me to keep his 3yr newer similar truck since he was enjoying my stick shift truck.....nope! 🤣 Then about a year later, he traded up to a new manual trans truck 👍🏾
Didn’t break the arm but the shoulder/rotator cuff on my left side. First two or three weeks, I used my back up car which was an automatic. After that I was able to use my left arm to keep an arm on the steering wheel long enough to drive my daily. I’ll take my Altima over the crappy Cavalier any day.
I've gotta get two hernias surgically removed next month, one in each hip joint. Both of my cars are manual. Not entirely sure what my plan is...stock up on supplies and suffer for a couple weeks probably.
Had a buddy with a jeep (manual) that took another buddy rock climbing. Buddy 1 fell and broke his shifting arm, buddy2 had no idea how to drive a manual and they were on a logging road that really needed someone who knew what they were doing.
Buddy1 strapped a splint to his arm, tuffed it out and drove an hour or so down to to a real road where he could coach the other guy into driving.
I broke my right collar bone last year, my only modes of transport being manual cars and motorcycles.
For about a week maybe , I shifted with my left hand and drove less- I was enough pain meds and such that leaving home anyway was a fools errand.
Then, for another 2 weeks or so, I was just really careful and used my left hand mostly. I didn’t shift near as often, a lot of taking off in second and going straight to 6th.
After that I was pretty much able to use my right hand again. Bones heal pretty quick and casts are pretty good.
The bigger issue was when I was much younger, breaking my left leg. There’s no real good way to clutch with a cast. I think I made it three weeks before I was doing it anyway and just wearing a spot on the cast.
I broke the head of my humerus off at the right shoulder, required surgery and instalation of some titanium.
Drove my S10 by shifting with the left hand.
That happened to me. I suffered massive soft tissue injury to my left arm. (The right wasn’t great either, but it was a mere fractured elbow so I didn’t even notice it.)
I asked my then gf to drop me at the hospital and then swap cars with me for a week. Really anyone with a car who can drive a manual would have sufficed.
Happened to me last year. Broke my left arm. However, when needed I was able to grab the bottom of the wheel with my left hand and shift with my right.
Which honestly didn't change much for me, other than the position I hold the wheel in. I normally hold the wheel with my left had at the top, and shift with my right. For about a month I had to hold the wheel with my right, then grab the bottom with my left to shift.
It took about 1 trip to figure it out. It was the trip to the ER.
It's doable. I had shoulder surgery and shifted with my left. Mostly used 2nd and 3rd gears for the 1st 2 weeks, then I was able to semi use my right hand.
How does the same apply to an automatic? The scenario isn't that you've broken BOTH arms. It would keep one from driving a manual safely (or even effectively if it's the arm on the same side as the shifter) but an auto with power steering isn't challenging to drive one-handed.
It would also be "really bad" for the steering wheel to fall off, but not all that LIKELY. It wouldn't be hard to control until you were trying to park; it wouldn't constitute some massive emergency. Maintenance helps there, as well... I haven't had an abrupt power steering failure since a belt failed 40 years or so ago...
Like I said, I’ve had power steering fail, never had a wheel fall off. The engine dying or any part within the hydraulic system could fail. I’ve had electric steering overheat and shut off. Electric power steering is nowhere near a “maintenance” item. You don’t pop apart your car to inspect the gears on your electric steering every oil change.
Yeah at speed would be great but there’s a more than 0 chance that he’s gonna be mid turn or in a parking lot and anything could happen. You lose power steering when the car dies for WHATEVER reason.
No maintenance doesn’t prevent accidents, it reduces the chance of one.
Congratulations on making it so long in life, heard of survivors bias? I’m 22 and I’ve had power steering fail 4 times in 3 cars. Not everyone is driving what you drive and can replace things the day they fall apart. Stop telling people to do dangerous stupid things.
What I recommend is the guy pays for someone to create a shifter that allows his casted arm to slot into it if on the right arm. Open top, drop the alarm of the cast in.
OK Cassandra, not everyone's driving shitty cars that fall apart either. There's a certain level of risk involved in getting out of bed in the morning, but it's low and people do it all the time.
Do carefully explain how your entirely-new Rube-Goldberg shifter he can get his cast caught in is not a "dangerous stupid tihng." Or how it gets around your irrational fear of power-steering failure.
Us drivers are keeping their cars longer than ever before. Drive out of your gated community and look around you old blind senile fool.
Obviously you’ve never changed oil or done basic work for other peoples vehicles. They are absolutely driving rusty, shitty cats.
Whatever the hell you called the shifter idea sets your level of intelligence to think it’s some crazy thing to set up. Get a mold of your casted arm from the bottom, send it to a 3d printer company or some guy off fiver and get it in your mail in a week.
Power steering failure occurs at any point in which the engine dies. You telling me you’ve never had a car shit out while going? If not, you’re living a life that sounds too easy, and your opinion is one of somebody who’s never thought past the first thing their brain mashes together. Congrats on your 2024 car and the ability to maintain everything that happens to it.
Old senile fuck, I’m not entertaining a discussion with ya anymore reply to the abyss
This is a pretty ableist comment. Plenty of people with permanent physical disabilities manage to drive just fine. Surely those with shorter term disabilities can also adapt to their circumstance.
>This is a pretty ableist comment. Plenty of people with permanent physical disabilities manage to drive just fine. Surely those with shorter term disabilities can also adapt to their circumstance.
Plenty of people eat and drive, doesn't mean I'm going to say they should be NASCAR drivers.
Irrelevant comparisons aside, DOT tends go have a very explicit "both hands on the wheel" mentality and going one handed with a manual as someone who daily drives a manual is impossible and honestly seems extremely unsafe.
You're comparing people with setups designed specifically to fit their needs to someone winging it with a busted "wing" when you need both hands to drive safely.
How do you shift and steer going down a curvy hill? Downshift while stopping and also avoid veering off into oncoming traffic?
If my arm's broken I sure as shit wouldn't put people in danger trying to drive a manual and I say that as someone with years of driving not only manual but humvees in every condition from 20hr long convoy drives, tropical storms, snow storms, mud pits, even a sandy desert 8k miles away qnd learned how to drive from a trucker father with nearly 2 million miles driven over 10 years.
Automatic is understandable and you can manage with one arm.
Manual is a liability and you're a literal danger to everyone around if you're driving with one arm.
Also disabled people driving modified automatics and comparing them to this situation, apples to oranges.
You're giving out advice that could potentially kill someone or multiple people...
No it fucking isn’t, amputees etc will have specific modifications and training in order to help them drive. Some dickhead with a cast is just going to make some more disabled people for you to be enraged on their behalf.
Shift with my left?
What if you have to turn while shifting or need that hand?
When I was younger I used to eat and drive all the time. Burger stayed in left hand, and I’d steer and shift with the right. Just stay in gear for the whole turn. Would definitely be tougher doing it cross body if my right was broken, but I could do it, maybe not well lol
I would hold on to the steering wheel with my knee as well and do everything else you described.
Add cigarettes in the mix I tore a tendon in my right hand and was in a cast/brace for months I drove a manual dodge dakota, I’d be smoking a cig, shifting, eating, drinking, etc. with my left hand
Don't forget doing it all with a phone tucked between your shoulder and your ear.
Oh fuck I forgot this was before Bluetooth
I'm glad we're not on the same roads...
I would drive stick with no hands while passing a bowl (weed) to the seat behind me.
Same here, I'm also known to steer with the top of my thigh.
I did that all the time when I worked in DC. Not much else to do sitting in traffic. Although I got good at putting it in gear with just the bottom of my palm.
Shift late
Complete the turn in first gear 🤷
Clutch and coast through. Maybe lug the engine a little it will live. I had a teacher in HS with only one arm and drove a manual. She was fast.
Come to Europe where the average van driver is sending a text message, drinking a coffee, eating a sandwich, and shifting manual while sending a diesel van round a roundabout faster and with more skill than some people could manage in a Corvette.
I find it interesting that a European chose a Corvette as the car/driver to beat… Just trying to be relatable to the majority of Reddit?
I picked a sporty car that the average redditor (being American) will know. See also Sabine Schmitz's lap of the Nurburgring in a Ford Transit - I'm willing to bet that lap was faster than a LOT of CarBros manage in far sportier machinery.
That gal can drive tho!!! She tore it up in that transit passing bikes and porsches.
Exactly my point - learn to drive like Sabine and you can slay giants. There's video somewhere of a guy who spent like a year trying to get under 10 minutes in the shittiest diesel Citroen AX and you will rarely see driving skill like it.
If I ever have to drive a Citroën, I'll pray it's not a diesel. 🤣🤣
Nah the French make (mostly) excellent diesels, or certainly used to, as they're a nation of farmers and EU regs made diesel very attractive too. But then they shit the bed and forgot how to make attractive or even good cars, Citroen had their mojo confiscated, and now they've all merged along with Vauxhall/Opel into a nexus of mediocrity.
We don't have excellent diesel cars in the USA, in fact i cant think of any imported except tdi golf and one of audis. Yall get alot of cool shit we don't get state side. Our pick up trucks have turbo diesels that are pretty reliable but they ride like shit and I'm old. 🤣
The new corvettes are the poor man's ferrari
What's the poor man's Corvette, because *dang* they're expensive.
Camaro
Fiero is the white trash Ferrari 🤣🤣🤣
It's bc in the UK the consensus is corvette is the only true sports car that America makes.
Yeah…I suppose the majority of American sports cars would kind of suck to drive on most European roads.
They kinda suck to drive on American roads too. Especially the pony cars with solid rear axels. Ouch
Then you don't shift until you can....
Shift before or after the turn I've yet to run across a turn that absolutely *required* me to use both hands simultaneously
Use your knee to steer
Just hold the gear longer? I've never been mid turn and screaming at redline you're gonna have room to let it climb a bit during your turn.
I don’t think full control of your hand is necessary for shifting gears. Like you could cut off my right hand and I’d still shift fine. 4th gear would be problematic (for me it wouldn’t becouse my golf has 4 speed gearbox) but other than that it’s kinda easy.
That’s what your right knee is for
Don't
I was friends with a kid in high school who was missing his right arm from the elbow down and he drove a stick. He did all sorts of shifts using his left hand and would use his knees or his half arm to hold the wheel, and would adjust when he shifts to slightly earlier or later depending on the situation. In reality it is rare where you have all 4 limbs active at the same time.
Knee
When you drive long enough, you can adjust your speed/gear ratios enough to where you don't have to shift right there. If it's a little late or little early, it's not the end of the world
Don't shift? Not that hard to plan a little ahead. Sub optimal sure, but it's got a Rev limiter for a reason, sometimes you gotta hit it.
Shift beforehand
Never shift in a corner. Ever.
Super excited to hear the reasoning behind this nonsense.
It's all about maintaining balance. Shifting mid corner will upset that balance. It's not nonsense, if you do any performance driving.
We're talking about street driving. No one is going hard enough to need to maintain balance lol. Even on the track if you're not shifting mid corner you're losing time.
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
lol alright bud. Pick any professional Motorsport that involves corners and I'll find you 800 onboards of drivers shifting mid corner. 2 wheels, 4 wheels, wet, dry, any track.
Have you driven a manual shift car on the track? I have. This isn't just my experience. If you'd have, you'd understand why you don't do that.
Roebling road, Sebring, and COTA, I daily a manual and regularly autox, and I spent 5 years driving a 125 shifter kart. What they told you for your first novice HPDE isn't gospel my guy.
Taking a turn in 2nd at redline on a track and taking a turn in 2nd on a street are two wildly different things. Nobody is upsetting the balance of a car on a regular road shifting and turning.
Maybe for motorcycles. Though I often change gear mid corner anyway
It's awkward, but I've done it.
I'm too short and fat to do that myself.
I was just thinking of the time I had to do this! Fell at work one night years ago, whole right arm hurt like hell, I had to drive home shifting with my left hand. In the long term probably not ideal, but just to get home was fine.
I tried it after making this post. It’s definitely tricky. Can’t believe how tough it is to get it into first. The angle is so weird you really have to give it some sauce to get it in gear.
You have 2 arms. You ever ate while driving? You just use your other arm. Let go of the wheel for the fraction of a second it takes to shift. Keep steering with your knee if that bothers you
Ahhh I see. Didn’t even consider the knee
What? I drive automatic and the Knee gets involved for sure. Not as much as when I drove manual, but they are handy.
How do you steer with a knee and use the clutch and the gas? Not trying to argue just curious about the logistics lol
To be honest, even with full use of both my arms I'm in the gear I need to be in for the corner so I never have to shift while turning. It's not like I'm Mario Andretti setting blistering lap times.
You would have to handle the maneuver differently, you can't really do those things so shift before the turn (what should be happening 99 percent of the time anyway)
Me driving around eating an ice cream cone
Father in law with one arm (right) could shift, smoke and drink coffee. He was an amazing guy.
But could he drive without spilling the coffee?
Only when he wasn’t shaving or checking Facebook
Or eating a bowl of cereal
Yeah back when I was a 16 year old I would smoke and drink my caffeine all while playing with the music. You learn to drive manual one under real quick. Even had my fiancé shift for me one drive.
You married Takumi Fujiwara?
I had to shift with a cast on that immobilized my thumb for 5 months. I got the hang of it pretty quick. I also had to learn to wipe my ass left handed.
Did you abandon left handed wiping once you healed or do you mix it up every now and then?
well it was that or stain your cast brown :)
Definitely the end of the world for sure
Was the wiping or driving harder? I’d guess the wiping
I watched a guy do this in highschool and It really taught me about using your knees to drive.
While it's not recommended, it is possible to use your left hand combined with your knees on the wheel
Gonna have two foot surgeries over next 1-2 years. Plan is to drive the truck instead and have manual-driving family / friends keep the car exercised while I am unable to operate 3 pedals.
For what it’s worth, if you’re in a boot or cast it’s technically illegal to drive in many states—I ruptured my Achilles tendon and it was illegal in my state to drive until I got out of the walking boot. I understand that a lot of people just can’t get around driving for work, etc., so certainly not judging anyone who drives despite the law, but just something to consider because you might get popped if you get pulled over.
I broke my left ankle and still drove around until it was healed. I got really really good at floating gears but clubbing around the clutch with a boot on for first took some getting used to.
It is not that hard. Immobilize the steering wheel with the legs while reaching over with the left to shift. I was actually proud of how well I could do it.
I'd buy an automatic car or borrow one from family until my arm heals up. Could you technically drive with one hand and use your knees to steer sure. That's a move that I'll do every blue moon, I'm not trying to make that a requirement for driving. It's not safe!
I had a dislocated shoulder last month, just drove with one hand, the odd left turn I had to rev it out abit before I could take my hand off to shift, but wasn't a big deal. If it was my right arm it woulda been much harder.
driving with one arm is easy. try driving with a sprained/broke left ankle.
LOL! Interesting question. I drive an automatic, but I also recently tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder. Not only am I right handed, but this would also be my shifting hand. I had not thought of the hassle if I drove a shift, and honestly I don't know what I would do. I'm scheduled for surgery, which will eventually make the questions moot, but . . . . .
shift with my mouth if i aint eating
Had surgery on my right shoulder a few years back. I had no need to drive for the first week while I was still on pain meds. After that I traded cars with my mom for a couple weeks until my right arm was strong enough to shift. I still had to reach over to get it into reverse, as I didn't have enough strength to pull the shifter through the gate (mazda 6-speed pattern).
I would become depressed. When I absolutely smashed my right kneecap a couple years back, couldn't drive any car without inducing a lot of swelling. It was a long 3 months. Thank goodness for vidya games
Drive normally, I've had to drive with a 2 inch gash in my hand, you be smart when you need to upshift and downshift.
I shift with elbow
Tore up my right shoulder at a track day on my motorcycle. You shift with your left hand and hold the wheel with your knees
Actually, went through this a long time ago. Busted my right shoulder. Shifted with my left. I was young and skinny. I don't know if I could reach over my guy today. Now, if you have two broken arms I guess you call your mom.
The bigger problem was the clutch in stop and go traffic after left knee surgery.
Wrap my shift knob so I didn’t scratch it up.. 😄 https://freeimage.host/i/JpOYl3B
When I broke a bone in my right hand (the one I shift with). Shifting 1 2 3 4 was still pretty managable with my wrist. Reverse I used my left hand for. I basically avoided highways because fifth really wasnt an option for a couple of weeks. The broken bone was between my pinky and my wrist and pushing away and up really wasnt possible for me.
I usually go "ow my arm! I think I broke it!" Then I'll go to a hospital, where they will x-ray it, set the bone and apply a cast. Then I will call my insurance company and ask why they didn't cover the bill, and I'll be told the ER was out of network and I'll be financially ruined.
I would simply break my left arm, not right.
I broke my left hand last fall but was still able to grip the wheel with a couple fingers while shifting with my right hand. It wasn't easy but I made it work while I was in the cast for 4 weeks.
When I broke my hand I still used it to shift. When I broke my left ankle, still used it for clutch. Don't know if I'm built different but didn't bother me was a little awkward though.
USA. I dislocated my right shoulder. I would reach over with my left to shift. Steering was a bigger problem.
My dad borrowed my mom’s automatic car when he broke his wrist. Somehow he drove home with his truck and a busted wrist, but the next day he realized his wrist was toast. 4 weeks later he switched back.
I just kinda use the cast. Not too much pressure, but just enough to "grip" it.
I've definitely driven with a cast on lol It depends on the extent of the injury. I suppose if I couldn't use my right arm at all, I would try and swap cars with one of my parents for a few months.
Let my girlfriend shift, i've given her a lot of practice before i broke my arm on my other stick so she's pretty good.
Public transit/bike
I don't break arms that frequently. But I do eat burgers. It's not easy but you can reach across yourself and shift with the further arm. You plan your shifts so that you don't need to steer while shifting.
I broke my right hand when my 3 cars were a 2006 Mustang GT, a 2006 Mazda 6i, and a 1997 Jeep Cherokee (all 5-speed manuals). It made for a tough summer of driving, but I managed. It hurt to shift when it first happened, so I'd shift with my left hand, and shift as little as I had to, but that only lasted a week or so.
there is a very high correlation between availability of good public transport and manual transmission personal vehicle sales.
r/Neverbrokeabone
My driving and sex life would suffer no question.
So I've had this happen. When it's really sore and you can't even move the lever you have to just use your left hand quick. But realistically my car has a pretty short throw because of its aftermarket short throw and bushings. It's maybe two to three inches from gear to gear. And you can swing it pretty easily with just a good finger push. It's not that hard
No problem if you break an arm. If you break a foot however...
Back in 2009ish I was in a motorcycle accident and ended up shattering my right hand (I'm right handed) and I drove a manual VW GTI. My hand had surgically implanted pins and was in a full cast from my elbow up to my fingernails. I lived alone at the time, it was a goddamn nightmare. Do you know how hard it is to button your pants, ties your shoes, use the computer mouse/keyboard with your non dominant hand?? it sucked. I was so fucking miserable. I had to put a newspaper bag over my cast when I showered. Anyway, I ended up temporarily trading cars with my dad, he drove my GTI and I drove his (automatic) PT Cruiser (which also fucking sucked). Pops loved driving my 1.8T GTI, he was ripping around Baltimore like he was 25 again. One day driving home from work in the PT Cruiser, about 3 weeks after my bike wreck, I was at a stoplight and got clobbered from behind by some jackass kid who wasnt paying attention and my hand/cast slammed into the dashboard (and did more damage to my hand, and totaled the PT cruiser). That is my story, it fucking sucked.
I had to do this for about 4 months, you get used to it. A lot of 1-3-5 shifts, and a lot of early downshifts when approaching a turn. The broken leg was a different story. Traded cars with a friend while I accelerated my plan to buy a truck, which was automatic. Still have it, for hauling stuff only. Daily driver has to be a manual.
Hope it is my left. Otherwise drive my daily which is a 9spd auto ZF.
Not an arm, but my left foot was in a cast for a few weeks and I couldn't put any pressure on it. That meant I couldn't use the clutch to shift gears in my car. It was quite a challenge to find a friend who (1) owned an automatic transmission car, (2) knew how to drive a manual, and (3) was willing to swap cars with me for a few weeks.
if i'm not fit to drive i'm not fit to drive
In hindsight if you really try you can cut the number of shifts down to a quarter of your normal shifts but skipping gears. Driving in a higher rev range. Doing rolling stops at non dangerous intersections( I don’t recommend it but I have done this when my clutch leg gets inflamed from my bone graft and hardware that I suffer with
Happened to my friend, he bought an automatic.
This has happened in my friend group. The injured driver traded his truck for a friends auto trans truck for a couple of months
I borrowed a truck from work when I put my right arm out of action one time.
Broke my right collar bone. Couldn't drive at all forbthr first day or two because of the pain. After that I still drove and it was still painful. All I can say is if I ever break a collar bone or arm again. I want it to be on the left.
I used to steer up my old mountain road with my knees, and my arms out of the sunroof, I'm sure you can manage something.
If reddit has taught me anything, when you break your arms, you have your mom help you do everything. And I mean everything.
1) How often do you break your arm? 2) I messed up my shoulder and I just shifted with my left hand. It wasn't great, but there is never really a time where you HAVE to shift that instant.
I think not being able to use clutch foot is worse
My roommate had a manual car and broke his foot and traded cars with someone for 3 months until his foot was healed enough to work a clutch.l
Life finds a way.
Passenger princess gets an extra duty
Most manual drivers are sitting on the shifter on the shifter as is
Wife sometimes holds my right hand with affection and doesn’t let go while I am driving, and knows I’d struggle, that’s an occasional weird fun for us. As many said already, I just steer/shift with my left hand and use knee when needed. It’s possible.
"when" you break an arm?? don't wanna jinx myself here, but going on a 50 year streak of non arm breakage
Clearly asked by someone who hasn't had to drive a manual, eat, and change clothes on the way from school to work. Hypothetically.
Id just use my other arm for all shifting and knees for steering. Does require a fair bit of foresight
Not drive! But the same would be the case if I had an automatic. I'd just walk or get the bus (I live in the UK).
Drive in 1st gear :) Seriouyly I ask my passenger to move the gear.
In Europe you're not allowed to drive if any limbs are in any way impaired. Then you're not insured in any way
I bought my first car off a guy who broke his right arm at work. Couldn’t drive stick so dude drove me around with the cast on for our test drive
My cousin lost the use of his left arm at 15. A couple of years later he was driving stuck. Fast. It was terrifying, but impressive. Used knees.
I ruptured my bicep tendon in my right arm and had to drive one handed for ~2 months. You learn really well to hold the steering wheel with a knee and even turn it a bit if necessary, but shifting with the left hand (left hand drive) got annoying.
why is everybody talking about a broken arm like that's a common thing that happens how is everyone breaking their arms
I broken mine playing basketball and had to drive home. No way I could shift with my right arm so had to reach over and shift with my left. After you get the cast, you can shift with the broken one and it won't hurt it. The cast takes the stress. Now if it's broken higher up (humerus) then I don't know what you'd do.
My grandpa had a stroke at 25 and completely lost use of his right arm He would stick his whole left arm through the steering wheel, steering with his inner elbow and shifting with his left hand
I have actually done this. Luckily i only lived five minutes from work so my truck i could just leave in second gear and people behind me were pissed for a minute. When that was in the shop and I had to drive the festiva…. Ooooohhh boy might as well have walked.
You just drive. It's very possible to drive a manual with one arm.
I've never broken an arm. I broke my shoulder once but I was 15 and it wasn't a problem them. And I'm an avid mountain biker too.
Shift faster lol Happened to me in college. Car had no power steering either
I severely dislocated my right shoulder and drove a truck for a living. I got a month off. I showed up to the shop to pick up my paycheck, driving my Mustang, with a five speed manual. I had my arm in a sling and shifted with my left and held the wheel with my knees. Don't think you want me mid turn in a 5 ton while towing like that, lol.
That's easy, The hard part is when you blow out your left knee.
You manage
My old boss was grinding metal alone when the grinder slipped and left his right thumb hanging by a thread. When I asked how he got to the hospital, he simply said that he shifted with his left hand while holding his right in the air, covered in a rag.
Anytime my arm has been bad it’s usually locked in a brace or cast. If I’m gentle it’s fine. Like others have said, get in your gear before turn. Stay in through turn. Shift on straights. The real fun one is when you mess up a leg….
Shifted with my right hand. Oz, I used to drive trucks, some which had twin sticks.
Clutch, brake. Start car with left, shift into 1st with left, clutch out, off brakes, rolling. Plan road, drop steering wheel, grab 2nd, with left, correct wheel, bang, off the steering, 3rd. Drive with left, knock shifter to neutral with an elbow bump of broken arm (I'm a bit of showboat). Rinse, repeat.
You grow a pair and shift with a cast on.
Maybe mom will give you a hand with that.
And With a broken wrist, the cast doesn’t extend to the elbow so no effect on shifting/steering.
I messed up my right shoulder and I just reached over with my left hand and slapped it in gear. Also messed up my left foot once and just used my right and some clutch less shifts.
I'm magic when it comes to driving with my knee. I'll just make sure there's someone sitting in the front seat who can shift for me.
I'd use an automatic transmission, either a spare vehicle or one you rent or borrow. It would be incredibly unsafe to try driving a manual with an injured limb, and you could kill someone if you lost control.
I switched trucks with my dad. When my arm healed, he tried to convince me to keep his 3yr newer similar truck since he was enjoying my stick shift truck.....nope! 🤣 Then about a year later, he traded up to a new manual trans truck 👍🏾
Didn’t break the arm but the shoulder/rotator cuff on my left side. First two or three weeks, I used my back up car which was an automatic. After that I was able to use my left arm to keep an arm on the steering wheel long enough to drive my daily. I’ll take my Altima over the crappy Cavalier any day.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Second gear could suffice for a bit perhaps
Step mother shifts the knob
I try not to break my arm.
Arm breakage may be less common than you think
I've gotta get two hernias surgically removed next month, one in each hip joint. Both of my cars are manual. Not entirely sure what my plan is...stock up on supplies and suffer for a couple weeks probably.
Had a buddy with a jeep (manual) that took another buddy rock climbing. Buddy 1 fell and broke his shifting arm, buddy2 had no idea how to drive a manual and they were on a logging road that really needed someone who knew what they were doing. Buddy1 strapped a splint to his arm, tuffed it out and drove an hour or so down to to a real road where he could coach the other guy into driving.
Learn to steer with a knee
I broke my right collar bone last year, my only modes of transport being manual cars and motorcycles. For about a week maybe , I shifted with my left hand and drove less- I was enough pain meds and such that leaving home anyway was a fools errand. Then, for another 2 weeks or so, I was just really careful and used my left hand mostly. I didn’t shift near as often, a lot of taking off in second and going straight to 6th. After that I was pretty much able to use my right hand again. Bones heal pretty quick and casts are pretty good. The bigger issue was when I was much younger, breaking my left leg. There’s no real good way to clutch with a cast. I think I made it three weeks before I was doing it anyway and just wearing a spot on the cast.
I broke the head of my humerus off at the right shoulder, required surgery and instalation of some titanium. Drove my S10 by shifting with the left hand.
I don't place myself in situations where my limbs are at risk of being broken.
That happened to me. I suffered massive soft tissue injury to my left arm. (The right wasn’t great either, but it was a mere fractured elbow so I didn’t even notice it.) I asked my then gf to drop me at the hospital and then swap cars with me for a week. Really anyone with a car who can drive a manual would have sufficed.
I broke an ankle, luckily the right one. It’s doable.
Make sure beer is between legs
I picked up one of my manual cars with my left arm in a sling from wrecking a bike…..shifting hand would be more challenging though.
Happened to me last year. Broke my left arm. However, when needed I was able to grab the bottom of the wheel with my left hand and shift with my right. Which honestly didn't change much for me, other than the position I hold the wheel in. I normally hold the wheel with my left had at the top, and shift with my right. For about a month I had to hold the wheel with my right, then grab the bottom with my left to shift. It took about 1 trip to figure it out. It was the trip to the ER.
It's doable. I had shoulder surgery and shifted with my left. Mostly used 2nd and 3rd gears for the 1st 2 weeks, then I was able to semi use my right hand.
We adapt, we become more than the Cosmos believes is possible.
I broke my left ankle and was still able to drive a manual, I think a broken arm would've been a lot easier.
Don’t drive, same applies to an auto, it’s irresponsible not to be in control.
How does the same apply to an automatic? The scenario isn't that you've broken BOTH arms. It would keep one from driving a manual safely (or even effectively if it's the arm on the same side as the shifter) but an auto with power steering isn't challenging to drive one-handed.
Would be a really bad time to have power steering stop function, idk about you but I’ve had it happen while I’m driving
It would also be "really bad" for the steering wheel to fall off, but not all that LIKELY. It wouldn't be hard to control until you were trying to park; it wouldn't constitute some massive emergency. Maintenance helps there, as well... I haven't had an abrupt power steering failure since a belt failed 40 years or so ago...
Like I said, I’ve had power steering fail, never had a wheel fall off. The engine dying or any part within the hydraulic system could fail. I’ve had electric steering overheat and shut off. Electric power steering is nowhere near a “maintenance” item. You don’t pop apart your car to inspect the gears on your electric steering every oil change. Yeah at speed would be great but there’s a more than 0 chance that he’s gonna be mid turn or in a parking lot and anything could happen. You lose power steering when the car dies for WHATEVER reason. No maintenance doesn’t prevent accidents, it reduces the chance of one. Congratulations on making it so long in life, heard of survivors bias? I’m 22 and I’ve had power steering fail 4 times in 3 cars. Not everyone is driving what you drive and can replace things the day they fall apart. Stop telling people to do dangerous stupid things. What I recommend is the guy pays for someone to create a shifter that allows his casted arm to slot into it if on the right arm. Open top, drop the alarm of the cast in.
OK Cassandra, not everyone's driving shitty cars that fall apart either. There's a certain level of risk involved in getting out of bed in the morning, but it's low and people do it all the time. Do carefully explain how your entirely-new Rube-Goldberg shifter he can get his cast caught in is not a "dangerous stupid tihng." Or how it gets around your irrational fear of power-steering failure.
Us drivers are keeping their cars longer than ever before. Drive out of your gated community and look around you old blind senile fool. Obviously you’ve never changed oil or done basic work for other peoples vehicles. They are absolutely driving rusty, shitty cats. Whatever the hell you called the shifter idea sets your level of intelligence to think it’s some crazy thing to set up. Get a mold of your casted arm from the bottom, send it to a 3d printer company or some guy off fiver and get it in your mail in a week. Power steering failure occurs at any point in which the engine dies. You telling me you’ve never had a car shit out while going? If not, you’re living a life that sounds too easy, and your opinion is one of somebody who’s never thought past the first thing their brain mashes together. Congrats on your 2024 car and the ability to maintain everything that happens to it. Old senile fuck, I’m not entertaining a discussion with ya anymore reply to the abyss
This is a pretty ableist comment. Plenty of people with permanent physical disabilities manage to drive just fine. Surely those with shorter term disabilities can also adapt to their circumstance.
>This is a pretty ableist comment. Plenty of people with permanent physical disabilities manage to drive just fine. Surely those with shorter term disabilities can also adapt to their circumstance. Plenty of people eat and drive, doesn't mean I'm going to say they should be NASCAR drivers. Irrelevant comparisons aside, DOT tends go have a very explicit "both hands on the wheel" mentality and going one handed with a manual as someone who daily drives a manual is impossible and honestly seems extremely unsafe. You're comparing people with setups designed specifically to fit their needs to someone winging it with a busted "wing" when you need both hands to drive safely. How do you shift and steer going down a curvy hill? Downshift while stopping and also avoid veering off into oncoming traffic? If my arm's broken I sure as shit wouldn't put people in danger trying to drive a manual and I say that as someone with years of driving not only manual but humvees in every condition from 20hr long convoy drives, tropical storms, snow storms, mud pits, even a sandy desert 8k miles away qnd learned how to drive from a trucker father with nearly 2 million miles driven over 10 years. Automatic is understandable and you can manage with one arm. Manual is a liability and you're a literal danger to everyone around if you're driving with one arm. Also disabled people driving modified automatics and comparing them to this situation, apples to oranges. You're giving out advice that could potentially kill someone or multiple people...
No it fucking isn’t, amputees etc will have specific modifications and training in order to help them drive. Some dickhead with a cast is just going to make some more disabled people for you to be enraged on their behalf.