Reply #48: it's surprising how many drivers have no idea what neutral IS

[TorchTheWitch]

Why? They never drove a manual transmission and they never had a reason to use neutral. I only know what neutral is and what it has to do with a transmission because I learned to drive on a manual transmission and was well taught about driving and cars. I HATE automatic transmissions but unfortunately have been forced to drive one for about 8 years now. Most drivers have never driven a manual transmission and have never used neutral or know what it is and does. Most drivers can't remember damn near anything from driver's ed if they took it at all. I'm in my early 40's and never took driver's ed and it wasn't necessary to and as far as I know still isn't. Very few people I went to school with took driver's ed since they had a parent or sibling or friend to teach them how to drive.

Even though I've been driving a despised automatic transmission for about 8 years now, I wouldn't have known that neutral functioned the same way that it does in a manual transmission, and honestly don't know if it really does. I wouldn't have known if I could just throw it into neutral while driving or not since there's no clutch, and like most drivers of automatic transmissions have never had the occasion to use neutral at all ever. I only recently discovered by accident that in order to unlock the gear shift you have to depress the breaks all the way. I had to get out the manual to figure out why the gear shift was stuck... says right in the manual that if for some odd reason the gear shift locks to release the break peddle and depress it again all the way to the floor (which thankfully worked). Never in all these years did I have a clue that you couldn't move the gear shifter without depressing the breaks all the way. I guess it's just habit that makes me put my foot on the break peddle before starting the car and never realized I automatically did that.

No doubt in my mind that long time drivers of nothing but automatic transmissions not only don't really know what neutral is and have never had occasion to use it for anything, and it would not occur to them that they could shift gears while driving anyway since the reason they drive an automatic transmission is so they don't have to deal with gear shifting.

In total honesty I admit that in an automatic transmission vehicle it may not occur to me to use neutral or that I COULD use neutral while driving. In a manual transmission vehicle, should I have a situation where the car was accelerating without my permission I know I would try throwing it into neutral since I am much more comfortable driving a manual transmission vehicle and know I can use neutral while driving, had many occasions to use it while driving and knew how it worked and what would happen.

I KNOW I'm far from the only one here who did not think first of puting the car in neutral in an unintended acceleration incident since there were MANY threads on what to do in such an instance and most peoples' first thought was to turn the car off. Most people here did NOT first think to put the car in neutral, so no, it's NOT common sense, and would be even less common sense for drivers who have never driven a manual transmission. And none of us who answered the question on what to do in such an instance were flying down the road with no control to their car terrified for their lives and the lives of others on the road and possibly also in the uncontrollable vehicle but sitting comfy in front of our computers perfectly safe with plenty of time to ponder the question.

And let's be honest here... people always think they know exactly how they will react in a certain horrible situation, and most of the time they're wrong. Blind panic effects people in ways that they have no idea of until a situation happens and common sense goes right the hell out the window. One thing I'm grateful of with these Toyota incidents is that at least now I DO know what to do if it should ever happen to me (and no, I don't have a Toyota) and I'd just hope that I wouldn't pass out or freeze and could keep my head enough to do what I've since learned.