TheaterFire

Manual drivers - what do you do when you break an arm?

Posted by Ok_Awareness_5045@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 199 comments

Do you Uber? Ask a friend for rides? Feel like it’d be the end of the world lmao

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199 Comments

Bombaysbreakfastclub@reddit

Shift with my left?
View on Reddit #28139444

Ok_Awareness_5045@reddit (OP)

What if you have to turn while shifting or need that hand?
View on Reddit #28139569

JCDU@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28151625

AnalStaircase33@reddit

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?
View on Reddit #28172074

JCDU@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.
View on Reddit #28181872

SuperHair69@reddit

That gal can drive tho!!! She tore it up in that transit passing bikes and porsches.
View on Reddit #28465253

JCDU@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28504085

SuperHair69@reddit

If I ever have to drive a Citroën, I'll pray it's not a diesel. 🤣🤣
View on Reddit #28505034

JCDU@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28507119

SuperHair69@reddit

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. 🤣
View on Reddit #28507715

JCDU@reddit

We only got them because of our fuel prices and a somewhat misguided environmental policy that pushed people towards diesels - VW's emissions scandal being the end result of that, as well as a brief flurry of very small turbo charged gasoline engines that hit a specific emissions sweet spot but are now being abandoned for more normal designs as emissions regs catch up with the realities. In Europe easily 50% of cars are diesels, and basically 100% of taxis, trucks, delivery vans and anything else that works for a living. Anything that gets below about 30-40mpg is considered very thirsty and expensive to run.
View on Reddit #28508457

SuperHair69@reddit

A 40mpg car here is either hybrid or super small like Ford Fiesta or Fiat 500. I dont think we get 1L ecoboost motor either but I could be wrong.
View on Reddit #28508654

JCDU@reddit

Here you can buy a 2.0 turbo GTI that has 200+hp and will cruise across Europe on the Autobahn at 80mph returning 50mpg while it does it. And it will go round corners like it's on rails.
View on Reddit #28508772

SuperHair69@reddit

Nice!
View on Reddit #28508855

SuperHair69@reddit

It's bc in the UK the consensus is corvette is the only true sports car that America makes.
View on Reddit #28465072

AnalStaircase33@reddit

Yeah…I suppose the majority of American sports cars would kind of suck to drive on most European roads.
View on Reddit #28487461

SuperHair69@reddit

They kinda suck to drive on American roads too. Especially the pony cars with solid rear axels. Ouch
View on Reddit #28488764

Ok-Warning-5957@reddit

The new corvettes are the poor man's ferrari
View on Reddit #28175869

SuperHair69@reddit

Fiero is the white trash Ferrari 🤣🤣🤣
View on Reddit #28465133

agent_flounder@reddit

What's the poor man's Corvette, because *dang* they're expensive.
View on Reddit #28193215

rattlesnake501@reddit

Camaro
View on Reddit #28305477

SuperHair69@reddit

Shift beforehand
View on Reddit #28464909

TheBupherNinja@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28417364

Bombaysbreakfastclub@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28139948

SkylineFTW97@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28350715

ethnicman1971@reddit

I would hold on to the steering wheel with my knee as well and do everything else you described.
View on Reddit #28140170

V1k1ng1990@reddit

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 and shifting with my left hand, eating and drinking with my right
View on Reddit #28152664

cinnafury03@reddit

I'm glad we're not on the same roads...
View on Reddit #28160592

MimsyWereTheBorogove@reddit

I would drive stick with no hands while passing a bowl (weed) to the seat behind me.
View on Reddit #28186301

clark_kent88@reddit

Don't forget doing it all with a phone tucked between your shoulder and your ear.
View on Reddit #28156869

V1k1ng1990@reddit

Oh fuck I forgot this was before Bluetooth
View on Reddit #28156947

SEND_MOODS@reddit

Same here, I'm also known to steer with the top of my thigh.
View on Reddit #28172504

coogie@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28215031

Max_Downforce@reddit

Never shift in a corner. Ever.
View on Reddit #28145292

B5_S4@reddit

Super excited to hear the reasoning behind this nonsense.
View on Reddit #28151365

Max_Downforce@reddit

It's all about maintaining balance. Shifting mid corner will upset that balance. It's not nonsense, if you do any performance driving.
View on Reddit #28151513

need2seethetentacles@reddit

Maybe for motorcycles. Though I often change gear mid corner anyway
View on Reddit #28197825

B5_S4@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28152225

Max_Downforce@reddit

You really have no idea what you are talking about.
View on Reddit #28152275

B5_S4@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28152814

Max_Downforce@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28153092

ItsKumquats@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28154380

Max_Downforce@reddit

If you're taking a corner at redline, you're in a too low of a gear.
View on Reddit #28154571

B5_S4@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28153681

Max_Downforce@reddit

I'm not a novice. You do you tho.
View on Reddit #28154432

PhoneAcrobatic3501@reddit

Shift before or after the turn I've yet to run across a turn that absolutely *required* me to use both hands simultaneously
View on Reddit #28185622

overmonk@reddit

Knee
View on Reddit #28182008

Not_You_247@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28177773

Defiant-Giraffe@reddit

Don't 
View on Reddit #28176937

Dense-Tangerine7502@reddit

That’s what your right knee is for
View on Reddit #28167409

Lubi3chill@reddit

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 but other than that it’s kinda easy.
View on Reddit #28155613

ItsKumquats@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28154249

S3ERFRY333@reddit

Then you don't shift until you can....
View on Reddit #28148741

GuitarEvening8674@reddit

Use your knee to steer
View on Reddit #28146962

Cranks_No_Start@reddit

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.  
View on Reddit #28145740

Particular-Koala1763@reddit

Complete the turn in first gear 🤷
View on Reddit #28144935

kelseydcivic@reddit

Shift late
View on Reddit #28141049

VisibleSea4533@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28309029

Bombaysbreakfastclub@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28311700

ryamanalinda@reddit

I'm too short and fat to do that myself.
View on Reddit #28161719

AbruptMango@reddit

It's awkward, but I've done it.
View on Reddit #28140725

Fouledrifling@reddit

We adapt, we become more than the Cosmos believes is possible.
View on Reddit #28487105

Ill_Gur_9844@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28143030

WearTheFourFeathers@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28475026

BetterCourt2@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28188661

SuperHair69@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28464875

Familiar-Interest-74@reddit

Father in law with one arm (right) could shift, smoke and drink coffee. He was an amazing guy.
View on Reddit #28140365

AmateurEarthling@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28446110

AKADriver@reddit

You married Takumi Fujiwara?
View on Reddit #28162696

V1k1ng1990@reddit

But could he drive without spilling the coffee?
View on Reddit #28152770

CommissarCiaphisCain@reddit

Only when he wasn’t shaving or checking Facebook
View on Reddit #28153209

V1k1ng1990@reddit

Or eating a bowl of cereal
View on Reddit #28153427

zylpher@reddit

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 had 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.
View on Reddit #28444742

Useful_Badger6021@reddit

Make sure beer is between legs
View on Reddit #28405826

gnumedia@reddit

I broke an ankle, luckily the right one. It’s doable.
View on Reddit #28399782

TheWhogg@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28348221

mschiebold@reddit

I don't place myself in situations where my limbs are at risk of being broken.
View on Reddit #28324292

One_Evil_Monkey@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28314290

alek_vincent@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28139573

GearheadGamer3D@reddit

Me driving around eating an ice cream cone
View on Reddit #28298440

Ok_Awareness_5045@reddit (OP)

Ahhh I see. Didn’t even consider the knee
View on Reddit #28139854

Jarocket@reddit

What? I drive automatic and the Knee gets involved for sure. Not as much as when I drove manual, but they are handy.
View on Reddit #28186453

Chuggs400@reddit

How do you steer with a knee and use the clutch and the gas? Not trying to argue just curious about the logistics lol
View on Reddit #28163609

LordSinguloth13@reddit

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)
View on Reddit #28169041

Tall-Measurement3795@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28166544

PAdogooder@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28295594

ColonEscapee@reddit

Learn to steer with a knee
View on Reddit #28235092

SOTG_Duncan_Idaho@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28234361

The_Shepherds_2019@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28224264

apallo-roon@reddit

Arm breakage may be less common than you think
View on Reddit #28221652

HipHopHistoryGuy@reddit

I try not to break my arm.
View on Reddit #28216148

FireWireBestWire@reddit

Step mother shifts the knob
View on Reddit #28215266

farmerbsd17@reddit

Second gear could suffice for a bit perhaps
View on Reddit #28213091

RedSpottedToad@reddit

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
View on Reddit #28209631

Juanzilla17@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28209057

ramonjr1520@reddit

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 👍🏾
View on Reddit #28205680

Thr33Evils@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28201100

CraygeeKorean@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28201048

MerpSquirrel@reddit

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. 
View on Reddit #28196509

Glittering_Power6257@reddit

Shift through the pain while cursing out this body for an unacceptable weakness. Even injured, I don’t yield my expectations of this body. Same thing when I bludgeoned, and possibly broken (don’t know, never saw a doctor about it), my left big toe a few months ago. 
View on Reddit #28194757

NF-104@reddit

And With a broken wrist, the cast doesn’t extend to the elbow so no effect on shifting/steering.
View on Reddit #28194671

agent_flounder@reddit

Maybe mom will give you a hand with that.
View on Reddit #28193268

Any-Kaleidoscope7681@reddit

You grow a pair and shift with a cast on.
View on Reddit #28192567

Right-Ad-5647@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28192278

Catsmak1963@reddit

Shifted with my right hand. Oz, I used to drive trucks, some which had twin sticks.
View on Reddit #28191154

Home_Bwah@reddit

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….
View on Reddit #28190867

onone456evoii@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28188926

norleck@reddit

You manage
View on Reddit #28188916

BaseCommanderMittens@reddit

I broke my toe once and had to just stop driving. It was painful as fuck to press the clutch in. I even tried wearing stiff soled hiking boots but my foot would ache like hell after only a short drive and I was worried it would compromise healing if I kept doing it.
View on Reddit #28188484

dustindh10@reddit

That's easy, The hard part is when you blow out your left knee.
View on Reddit #28187553

the_Bryan_dude@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28187494

SpeechPutrid7357@reddit

Shift faster lol Happened to me in college.  Car had no power steering either
View on Reddit #28187308

l008com@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28187142

Butt_bird@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28139629

Jarocket@reddit

I watched a guy do this in highschool and It really taught me about using your knees to drive.
View on Reddit #28186517

PomegranateCalm2650@reddit

Was the wiping or driving harder? I’d guess the wiping
View on Reddit #28176884

Bombaysbreakfastclub@reddit

Did you abandon left handed wiping once you healed or do you mix it up every now and then?
View on Reddit #28141338

ethnicman1971@reddit

well it was that or stain your cast brown :)
View on Reddit #28140242

Ok_Awareness_5045@reddit (OP)

Definitely the end of the world for sure
View on Reddit #28139801

singelingtracks@reddit

You just drive. It's very possible to drive a manual with one arm.
View on Reddit #28181490

RoadPersonal9635@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28180557

inv8drzim@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28178530

logicnotemotion@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28177208

Kholat_Music@reddit

why is everybody talking about a broken arm like that's a common thing that happens how is everyone breaking their arms
View on Reddit #28176366

robinjansson2020@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28173885

Shrikecorp@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28173290

stonerskaterboi@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28172927

DorpvanMartijn@reddit

In Europe you're not allowed to drive if any limbs are in any way impaired. Then you're not insured in any way
View on Reddit #28171498

alwyn@reddit

Drive in 1st gear :)
View on Reddit #28170921

Metalogic_95@reddit

Not drive! But the same would be the case if I had an automatic.
View on Reddit #28170413

LordSinguloth13@reddit

Id just use my other arm for all shifting and knees for steering. Does require a fair bit of foresight
View on Reddit #28168977

SaroDude@reddit

Clearly asked by someone who hasn't had to drive a manual, eat, and change clothes on the way from school to work. Hypothetically.
View on Reddit #28168501

elvisizer2@reddit

"when" you break an arm?? don't wanna jinx myself here, but going on a 50 year streak of non arm breakage
View on Reddit #28167175

CarrotSlight1860@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28166475

Misguidedsaint3@reddit

Most manual drivers are sitting on the shifter on the shifter as is
View on Reddit #28165637

BingBongBrit@reddit

Passenger princess gets an extra duty
View on Reddit #28164600

SaveMelMac13@reddit

Life finds a way.
View on Reddit #28163880

Paul_The_Builder@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28163688

1paniolo@reddit

I think not being able to use clutch foot is worse
View on Reddit #28163169

Secret_Pick6524@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28162837

AKADriver@reddit

If reddit has taught me anything, you have your mom help you do everything. And I mean everything.
View on Reddit #28162787

BipedalWurm@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28162268

ryamanalinda@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28161666

imothers@reddit

I borrowed a truck from work when I put my right arm out of action one time.
View on Reddit #28160847

Hank5corpio1@reddit

This has happened in my friend group. The injured driver traded his truck for a friends auto trans truck for a couple of months
View on Reddit #28159377

Shkkzikxkaj@reddit

Happened to my friend, he bought an automatic.
View on Reddit #28159123

kataran1@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28158200

JaZoray@reddit

if i'm not fit to drive i'm not fit to drive
View on Reddit #28157872

D_Angelo_Vickers@reddit

I broke my left ankle and was still able to drive a manual, I think a broken arm would've been a lot easier.
View on Reddit #28156297

stunt_hamster@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28156091

E90BarberaRed6spdN52@reddit

Hope it is my left. Otherwise drive my daily which is a 9spd auto ZF.
View on Reddit #28155767

Ded_diode@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28155730

vdubweiser@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28154968

quackerzdb@reddit

No problem if you break an arm. If you break a foot however...
View on Reddit #28154845

Dedward5@reddit

Don’t drive, same applies to an auto, it’s irresponsible not to be in control.
View on Reddit #28142026

dkbGeek@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28147718

AdditionalLog6404@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28149913

dkbGeek@reddit

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...
View on Reddit #28150558

AdditionalLog6404@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28151176

dkbGeek@reddit

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 it is not a "dangerous stupid tihng."
View on Reddit #28151814

AdditionalLog6404@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28153544

Steelringin@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28146800

Practical_Law_7002@reddit

>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...
View on Reddit #28150723

Dedward5@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28147471

OwnBlueberry3591@reddit

This should be the top comment. Yes, you can have some workarounds if you're really desperate but if you can afford it, use Uber or Lyft until you're completely able to drive again
View on Reddit #28142928

3xot1cBag3L@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28152552

OkProfessional9405@reddit

My driving and sex life would suffer no question.
View on Reddit #28151910

theghettoblaster@reddit

I fractured my right arm one time on a remote work site, and had to drive the manual work truck alone back to a medical clinic. I just would drive with my left hand, and use it to quickly shift then put it back on the wheel. The worst was when I got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic at the end, but it was still manageable. Don't fall 15+ feet onto your arm, it's not fun.
View on Reddit #28151545

The_Burt@reddit

r/Neverbrokeabone
View on Reddit #28151190

superstring10d@reddit

there is a very high correlation between availability of good public transport and manual transmission personal vehicle sales.
View on Reddit #28150784

PigSlam@reddit

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 right hand, and shift as little as I had to, but that only lasted a week or so.
View on Reddit #28149504

Miliean@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28149428

Baguettebutter1@reddit

Public transit
View on Reddit #28149260

p3nguinboi07@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28149191

Bananahamm0ckbandit@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28148617

A_Fiddle_of_Skittles@reddit

I just kinda use the cast. Not too much pressure, but just enough to "grip" it.
View on Reddit #28148296

WorkerEquivalent4278@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28147958

Impressive-Crab2251@reddit

USA. I dislocated my right shoulder. I would reach over with my left to shift. Steering was a bigger problem.
View on Reddit #28147892

joegekko@reddit

How often do you think people are out here breaking their arms?
View on Reddit #28147885

dude4511984@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28147781

mmartino03@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28147746

samit2heck@reddit

I would simply break my left arm, not right.
View on Reddit #28147666

PMmeyourboogers@reddit

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. 
View on Reddit #28147195

EndCritical878@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28146522

Expensive_Candle5644@reddit

Wrap my shift knob so I didn’t scratch it up.. 😄 https://freeimage.host/i/JpOYl3B
View on Reddit #28146458

GArockcrawler@reddit

The bigger problem was the clutch in stop and go traffic after left knee surgery.
View on Reddit #28145376

ArtisticDegree3915@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28144385

Far-Plastic-4171@reddit

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
View on Reddit #28144323

H4RPY@reddit

I shift with elbow
View on Reddit #28143881

ashyjay@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28143829

pashermrimal@reddit

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 good for vidya games
View on Reddit #28143770

SweatyTax4669@reddit

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).
View on Reddit #28143731

slowwolfcat@reddit

shift with my mouth if i aint eating
View on Reddit #28143443

insuranceguynyc@reddit

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 . . . . .
View on Reddit #28142843

speedingquack@reddit

driving with one arm is easy. try driving with a sprained/broke left ankle.
View on Reddit #28141520

kelseydcivic@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28141128

Dontneedflashbro@reddit

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!
View on Reddit #28140793

wadenelsonredditor@reddit

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.
View on Reddit #28140469

jrileyy229@reddit

While it's not recommended, it is possible to use your left hand combined with your knees on the wheel
View on Reddit #28140243