A car with a stick shift and clutch pedal requires the use of all four limbs, making it difficult to use a cellphone or eat while driving.

I learned how to drive, initially, with automatic transmissions. The first car that was “mine” was a manual transmission though. I loved that car and I loved driving it. I later purchased another vehicle with a manual transmission in college. I loved that vehicle as well. In 2014-2015, I started looking at a larger vehicle. The Volkswagen Rabbit was a bit small for a carseat and dog crates. I remember scouring Edmunds, desperately looking for a manual transmission option. Alas, there weren’t many large vehicle options for a manual transmission. Worse, I never taught my wife how to use one. So we always needed a vehicle with an automatic transmission on road trips so that she could drive, if necessary. To make it easier on both of us, I opted for a vehicle with an automatic transmission.

I still dearly miss driving vehicles with a manual transmission. I absolutely adored the feeling of shifting gears. It was incredibly rewarding whenever you were able to cleanly take off on an incline without over-revving the engine. I haven’t given much thought to the idea that I might have been a safer driver in that vehicle as opposed to my current one. I will admit that I have started to rely on backup cameras and the sensors too much. If I get in a car without a backup camera, it’s jarring when I start to backup. I’m not sure if we should completely stop the improvements we have made, but it’s worth considering the consequences: if your brain isn’t focusing on the act of driving, your brain will most likely find something else to occupy itself.