So here is a question

[eastcoastdrifter]

is it true that left handed people make better manual drivers?

[FLT LNR]

its too simple a task to have a bearing on it i would think.

just basic muscle memory after a while. personally as a right hander, i think its best my dominant hand is on the steering wheel,
not just going through the motions of changing cogs.

[dori_86]

if that was true then it would mean most of america would be good drivers as the driving position is switched...ie most right handers would changing gears with thier right hand

[seek]

im left handed, and the only benefit ive ever noticed is that was alot easier to drive a manual for the very first time.... after that stage id assume it would be pretty equal with left and right handers.

[riojin]

well what about me? im ambidextrous (both handed). this came about from being born lefthanded but when i was in kindergarden i noticed everyone else was writing with their right so i swapped. now i can practically do everything equally with both hands. when one hand gets tired at something i just swap, like when im playing squash or tennis.

would this mean im a better driver? probably not because the better driver you are is determined by how much time you have put into it like everything else in life. practice does make perfect. natural abilities only takes you so far or will maybe give you a headstart above the rest.

i wasnt born ambidextrous, i was trained that way unknowingly so even the use of your hands can be trained/practiced

[johnny_08]

im gumby with the left side (legs and arms) and i can drive manual perfectly, u just do it without even noticing. like walking

[johl]

im pretty sure that changing gears wouldn't define u as a good driver by it self as every one can do this. i agree with jdm_dreamr about the muscle memory thing cuz when ur sliding and u take ur hand from the wheel to the hand brake or gear stick ur not thinkin or looking where it is goin it just goes there straight away.

[Javal]

Yeah, i wouldn't think that being left hand dominant would affect your driving / shifting too much at all.

I too am ambidextrous (due to each of my wrists more than once) but i don't see it giving me a perceivable advantage at all.

[sprintdaddy]

does that mean yous can bat with both hands as well, HA HA :P.

[bahnugget]

like its been said its hardly a precise action to change gears... i don't think being a left hander is going to have any major advantages.

[us_ae86]

I'm left handed.... but our cars are LHD. I'll find out when i do the RHD conversion eh?

[riojin]

heres a thought,

isnt the left side of your brain better for logical thought? being left handed means you use the left side of your brain more, this being the place where logical thought comes from.

now driving is more about feeling and using your sences than thinking (well racing anyway). so would this mean that left handers are worse off?

[aaaaah]

heres a thought,

isnt the left side of your brain better for logical thought? being left handed means you use the left side of your brain more, this being the place where logical thought comes from.

now driving is more about feeling and using your sences than thinking (well racing anyway). so would this mean that left handers are worse off?[/b]

Left side of the brain controls the right side of the body IIRC :)

[AEE86]

From my experience it actually does take a while to get used to shifting on the other side.

I drove LHD for over a year and I remember it taking a few months to get used to it, then it became second nature to drive with right hand shift. I don't know if the side of the brain matters because if you hop into a LHD car the pedals are the same as RHD, yet you still have to coordinate with your clutch as you change gears.

Simply put your brain compensates for the switch. I don't think LH or RH people have an advantage. my 2c

[madrift]

I am left handed, but i wouldn't think that it would make that much of a difference, i think it would have more to do with how often you use whichever hand to do a certain activity, would probably just become second nature after a while.

[Shiri]

Look on MediLine for Psychological studies. You won't actually get any answers here...

Keep in mind any results found would be more significantly related to reaction time vs hand use preference. It doesn't matter if your left handed or right handed, sensory neuron speed is the same independent of hand preference.

Stupid thread