How do you Righty's do it?!?

"Carbyne" (Carbyne) 10/28/2013 at 11:02 • Filed to: None

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So I recently learned how to drive stick and it tons of fun. The thing is though, I’m a lefty. When I shift, I have my dominant hand on the wheel and I use my less dominant hand to change the gear. Quite frankly, I’d be scared if I had to take my dominant hand off the wheel to do anything. I feel like I have so much more control over the car and changing the gears is rather second nature.

This got me thinking, who has the advantage when driving, a lefty or a righty?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:04

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Magic

CalzoneGolem > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:05

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As a lefty you surely have, like me, learned to do many things right handed. I can only assume it is similar for a righty.

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:05

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I'm left handed too.. I've learned to use my right hand to drive when needed, so I can rest my left hand on long trips and stuff.

But like you said, I feel like I have so much control over the car always having my dominant hand on the wheel, and shifting is no issue as it requires almost no strength, but fighting a car in a corner requires that.

ddavidn > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:07

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Ambidextrous FTW! I assume righties just move to England.

Someone Else's Projects > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:08

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Are you a guitarist by any chance? The dominant hand strums while the other hand does the fingerboard, which on the face of it requires more nuance. Beyond a certain level of practice, which hand is the dominant hand doesn't really matter.

Squid > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:08

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I'm just used to shifting with my dominant hand. It is also not off the wheel for very long. If you have one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter at all times, you're doing it wrong.

Congrats with learning how involve your left foot in driving.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > CalzoneGolem 10/28/2013 at 11:08

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The stranger.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:09

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I'm a righty, and I've been driving stick so long I don't even think about it anymore.

I don't feel any less in control when I only have my left hand on the wheel.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem 10/28/2013 at 11:10

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Despite being a righty, I find that for some tasks I have greater manual dexterity/precision with my left. Partly through training, I suppose - providing solder or other things to operations I'm doing with my right.

Regardless, even though I can throw less attention at my steering hand, I have more than enough strength and steadiness of hand that it's not a problem. My left feels more suited to autonomic/thoughtless portions of a multi-step operation anyway, which I'd say steering is for me more so than shifting.

I'd probably be ruined trying to shift through a corner, though. Too much steering detail needed at the grip.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:11

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Honestly, it also depends on which side of the car the driver is.

I learned to get things ready and not provide steering input (too much) when changing gear.

I'm going to find a better place to mount my GoPro in my Z4 (That doesn't shake and lets you see out the front). Ideally, I think taking a video of a right handed person and a left handed person driving would be an interesting comparison.

Who wants to help with this project?

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:11

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Steering is often a gross motor input, so during the second or so that my right hand is off the steering wheel, my left hand isn't doing all that much, actually. I also feel like shifting requires about the same dexterity as steering does, so some care is necessary. Generally, I plan my shifts to be not in the corner so I can avoid having to make sudden corrections only with my left hand.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:11

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Go drive a manual in England and you'll know how it feels.

Interesting thought, though. Ideally, you always take your hand off the wheel for a split second to shift, and then get it back to steering.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:11

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Funny thing- lefty's probably have the advantage. I'm a righty, and it feels fine to drive with my left hand if I'm shifting (when I'm driving a manual, because I DD an auto), but I'd assume it'd be better for lefty's

Speedmonkey > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:12

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I drive RHD cars as I'm in the UK, and am right handed. All, therefore, is good. I recently drove a LHD, manual Camaro and scared the shit out of myself and my passenger. I don't know how lefties in the UK and righties in the US do it

http://www.speedmonkey.co.uk/2013/10/2013-c…

Nibbles > Someone Else's Projects 10/28/2013 at 11:13

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I'm a lefty guitarist and I play right hand instruments. I also throw with my right. My clubs are right handed and have no problem shooting guns.

However, for the life of me, I cannot use a pair of right-handed scissors to save my life.

Go Hawkeyes > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:15

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As a fellow lefty I say it's just natural to shift with your right hand. Just like using a computer mouse. When you've only learned one way it's easy to do it.

I say that having never driven a right-hand side car though so maybe if I had the chance to shift with my left hand I'd much prefer it.

Xesty > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:16

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im a righty here in the states but i use my left hand for steering a lot more than my right, mostly b/c my right hand rests on the shifter. not sure why, its the only thing I use my left hand more than my right for lol. I am comfortable doing one or the other but as always, both is best ;)

Pitchblende > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:27

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I'm left-handed and drive RHD cars, I have found that I keep my right hand on the wheel at all times and have no trouble with taking my left off the wheel. It feels natural to me, there are many more things I have to do in the car with my left hand, the right only has to steer, open the window or play with the wipers. Having driven LHD cars, its not that difficult to switch over, the only thing I could not get used to was having the rear view mirror on the other side.

area man > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:35

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It's funny you say that, because as a righty every time I see a Top Gear clip I think "Man, it would be hard to shift with my left hand."

To me, the act of shifting requires more intent and precision than holding onto the wheel (or moving it slightly), so it feels more natural to use my right hand.

lepie > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:44

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We move to the UK

Sparf > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:46

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I'm mainly right-handed but with some ambidexterity (I'm told that I was fully ambidextrous when I was a baby/young child) and to me it feels perfectly natural to take my right hand off the wheel. For comparison's sake (and since I'm thinking of importing a car from Japan somewhere down the line) I've tried sitting in the passenger seat and grabbing the shifter with my left hand and it feels really weird. I'm sure I could get used to it pretty quickly though since I'm an avid multi-platform gamer and am therefore used to quickly learning new controls.

gbbts > Paul, Man of Mustangs 10/28/2013 at 11:50

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Totally agree with you.

Look how Prost selects the gear for each turn and sticks with booth hand at the steering wheel

Mikeado > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:50

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Wait a second, do you sit on the left and change gear with your left hand?! o_0

cazzyodo > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 11:57

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I was thinking of this the other day. I'm a righty so dominant hand shifts. But I feel more comfortable with my left hand on the wheel than my right (if I were to only have one hand steering).

Then I thought, what if I go somewhere right hand drive? How weird would it be to shift lefty? What would the adjustment period be like? Then I put both hands on the wheel and cruised for a bit to calm myself down before I started to related the scenario to zombies...didn't feel like making another post about it.

Textured Soy Protein > Xesty 10/28/2013 at 12:04

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Same here, I'm right-handed and pretty much default to having my left hand on the wheel. This may or may not be from driving manual transmission cars for so long.

Carbyne > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/28/2013 at 12:14

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Makes sense...

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 12:33

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Well my left hand is special needs. So I actually feel more comfortable with it only having to control the left/right motion of the wheel. As where my right controls everything else in the car pretty much.

However, when driving spirited or things get dicey, I do both hands.

Collin > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 12:41

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I learned to drive on a stick, so I don't really know any other way.

LuczOr > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 12:41

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For us righties, it's all muscle memory. You learn how to handle the steering wheel. If I take the wheel with just my right hand, I lose all my precision.

GRawesome > Carbyne 10/28/2013 at 21:29

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Just keep practicing, it will become second nature in no time.
I have a RHD car in the US and LHD cars so I regularly switch between shifting between with my left and right hand depending on the car. After a few months of driving stick you won't even remember there was an issue.

JasonStern911 > Carbyne 10/29/2013 at 00:35

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Steering is a much more simple motion than gear shifting, so advantage right handed drivers in the USA and left handed drivers in backwards-land.

Sese > Carbyne 11/05/2013 at 14:50

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I'm left handed, but I drive both left and right hand drive vehicles on a constant basis, so I can shift using either hand without a thought.

Desu-San-Desu > Carbyne 11/05/2013 at 22:33

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Silly question.

All lefty's, as a result of a right-centric environment, develop near-full ambidextrous use of both hands. Driving a car doesn't affect this. :-P