Your Name wrote:
In article , Frank Slootweg
wrote:
Your Name wrote:
[...]
Ah, the ridiculous "flappy paddle" system that's becoming a fad in the
car industry these days. :-( Usually that means it's not a real manual
/ "stick shift" car, but a silly automatic pretending to be a manual /
"stick shift".

Well, in the Formula 1 (and most of the rest of the car racing) world
they don't consider them "silly" at all.

Remember that most of what we consider quite normal or even standard
now, was a "fad" once or/and came from other industries (like my car
racing example).

That doesn't make it a right nor sensible thing to change. The road
isn't the same as a racing circuit (no matter what boy racer hoons like
to think).

It's not a change, at least not yet for a long time. It's just another
option.

They tend to be a pain in the backside when wanting to go to reverse
(especially in something like a multi-point turn where you have to go
backwards and forwards a number of times because you have to keep going
through neutral. That is something racing drivers don't usually have to
worry about doing!

Same thing. Just two clicks with the paddles, instead of two movements
with the gear-stick. And the gear-stick also goes through neutral.

And to get somewhat back to the topic of the thread, these "flappy
paddle" can make driving *safer*, because your hands can remain on the
steering wheel, instead of fiddling with the gear-stick (or worse :-))!

Technically it makes this less safe ... at least in the short term as
the driver gets used to the new system and trying to remember which
paddle goes up and which goes down.

Sure it needs getting used to, but much less than for example a switch
between manual and automatic, because that also involves the pedals.

I wouldn't be surprised if different manufacturers / countries also
have their own ideas about the "correct" way to do that as well.

Don't know, but probably not. For example it's also the same for
gear-sticks in left-/righhand drive countries. What's often different is
the position of reverse. And of course window-wipers versus indicators.

But anyway, my response was light-hearted and a way to try to get away
from the texting-while-driving-is-perfectly-safe loons!