O/T: Question for the Britons

[Ryan - WI]

I teach an automotive course for high schoolers. A question came up in class Friday and I told them I would find them an answer. In a manual transmission of a right hand drive vehicle is the shift pattern the same as a left hand drive? First gear is up to the left or is it reversed? Also are the pedals laid out left to right as clutch, brake, gas or are they reversed?

 

[Athol Carr]

For the same models of car the gear-shift layout is unchanged, just note that there is no "standard" gear-shift pattern, different manufacturers use different patterns. The foot pedals are still arranged the same way, accelerator to the right, close to car side, then brake for right foot also and clutch for left foot nearest centre of vehicle.
One just learns to shift gears with left hand.

 

[buickanddeere]

The Britons???
I have heard of the British and their odd habit of driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

[Ryan - WI]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briton

 

[Anonymous-0]

Ryan, I'm not a Brit, but lived in England for five years. The pedals are arranged just like a left hand drive. Also the shift pattern for the transmissions is the same as a left hand drive. Position of the steering wheel doesn't decide these factors.

 

[Nebraska Cowman]

Ain't that the truth? In 1973 I was working in a factory doing light maintenance and truck driving. I drove a 1972 Datsun, The Company had a 60s Chevy 1 ton 4x4 , A Dodge 1 1/2 ton and a GMC 2 ton, Of those 4 vehicles reverse was in evey corner. I had to remember which one I was in.

 

[TomH in PA]

Well, at least the tractor manufacturers standardized on where the gears are on tractors. Oh wait...

 

[rustyj]

Way back, in the "olden days", i owned an MG Midget Roadster, right hand drive, 4 speed, 4 cylinder.
The shift pattern was like ours. But, driving that car in America was shaky at times. Imagine trying to pass a large truck, on a 2-lane road----Yank hard on wheel get a quick glimpse of the road ahead to see if it was clear, yank it back behind truck, to see a behemoth coming the other way, at speed!
Awe-inspiring, to say the least! But, i managed to not get squashed in it!
Best part was touring with the top down, me driving, wife sitting in left seat, reading a road map, and looking around at the scenery! Got 'em every time! Horns would blow, other drivers would holler and wave their arms, and we'd go blithely along, not paying attention to them!
Wish i had it today! Sold it for a pittance, in 1950!

 

[Anonymous-0]

When I worked for my former employer we had a protototype (almost hybred car made in Japan. It was also right hand controls. The mailman (a nice lady) begged to use it for her rural route. So it is not only the British.

 

[Coloken]

Reason for being on left side of road is so your sword is between you and the person you meet. Later in America we carried guns so we stayed on the right side to point gun at persons we meet.
Kenny

 

[Anonymous-0]

That sounds like it would have been a riot. She should have stood up and flashed them and realy caused a wreck. When in high school friends would place column shifter on left side just for fun that was fun till you got onto shifting with left hand.

 

[Anonymous-0]

The car I drove had the same shifting pattern used here. After the initial shock of driving on the wrong side of the road wore off and I became more comfortable, I would occasionally relapse into shifting away rather than pulling towards myself as I shifted up thru the gears. First to second no problem, but when shifting to third, would occasionally shift back into first. It was more natural to "throw" the gear shift away, as done in the good ol' USA and most of the world. When it happened it sure was a surprise to my fellow passengers and the cars following me.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hi
Our cars and trucks all have the shift patern you describe ie 1st way left and forward, 2nd straight down from that and so on. Pedals again as you describe left clutch middle brakes and right accelorator. There were one or two models way back in the 70s with ZF gearboxes which had a dog leg 1st gear.
We visit Canada and America most years and after the first five minutes it doesnt make much difference which side you drive on or where the controls are much like a motorcycle with gear pedals reversed ie british as oposed to jananese etc.
Just my opionion Bill

 

[Anonymous-0]

My wife is a rural route carrier and has a true right hand drive Jeep .I have road in it twice when she is driveing and let me tell you thats a experience.Look mom no hands!

 

[buickanddeere]

British vehicles and electricity.......
Lucas Electric, the prince of darkness.

 

[Jimmy King]

I used to drive my 93 S-10 five speed to work reverse all the way right and down. Then get in the big 6 wheeler also 5 speed and reverse straight up from 1st. the next two six wheelers were 6 speeds reverse all the way left and up. Now I drive an 18 wheeler 10 speed and hadn't drove one for almost ten years and had to learn to shift again.

 

[Eric SEI]

Actually, it has to do with wagons. If you were driving a wagon pulled by a team, righthanded people would sit on the left side of the wagon with the reins in their right hands going up between the horses. When meeting another wagon you go to the right so you could look down and make sure you're not going to catch wheels. In early days roads were narrow so wagons would always pass very close to each other.