When our parents were growing up a standard transmission was a pretty common thing to have in the “old family sedan.” These days, less than 10% of the cars on the road come with a stick shift. Does this mean you can get away without having to learn how to drive a standard transmission? Perhaps. If you live in the city and commute mostly by walking, biking, taking a train, or riding the bus then you might only need to know how to drive an automatic. There is a percentage of the population that doesn’t know how to drive any type of car, and they never will so you can definitely get away without knowing how to work a stick shift. That being said, it surely won’t hurt to have this skill and there will likely be situations where knowing how to drive a standard will come in handy. It can make your life easier and it’s also not too hard to learn. Here are some tips on how to learn to drive a standard transmission.

1) Get to Know Your Car

The first thing you need to do is get to know your car. The pedal to the left is the clutch pedal. You use the clutch when you want to put the car in neutral or if you want to changes gears. To disengage the clutch you push the pedal in. The pedal in the middle is the break pedal. Don’t feel afraid to use this one while you learn to drive a stick shift. The pedal on the right hand side is the gas pedal. When you’re learning to drive a standard make sure you take it easy on the gas pedal.

2) Get to Know Your Gears

With most cars, the second gear is the workhorse and the gear that you will use a lot, especially if you drive in the city. The second gear is good for going around corners, driving in traffic, and going up steep hills.

3) How to Up Shift

Up shifting is one of the first things you must learn when driving a standard. You need to find a fine balance between using the gas pedal and pushing down the clutch. You’re probably not going to get it the first time so don’t worry too much about it. The best place to practice is an empty parking lot. Learning to drive a standard is never easy but the best way to learn is to get out there and practice a lot.

Here are the steps for up shifting:

-Rev your engine to around 3000 RPM (may vary depending on your vehicle)
-Push the clutch in while letting off on the gas
-Move the shifter smoothly from first to second (or second to third etc.)
-Let your foot off the clutch
-Starting pushing down on the gas pedal

These steps are the exact same for the other gears in your car. Most cars made these days have five gears but your car may also have four or six.

4) How to Downshift

The steps are reversed when you are downshifting. Don’t be afraid to downshift either – it is a great way to slow down your vehicle, especially when you’re driving in the mountains or in bad weather.

Those are just a few tips for learning to drive a stick shift. The best way to learn is to take a driver’s training course with an experienced teacher. You can also learn by heading to an empty parking lot and learning from someone that knows how to drive a standard. Good luck with your driving!

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