My uncle's one comment about my clutch work still sticks with me

Back in 2019 he rode with me through Pittsburgh traffic and said 'you're riding the clutch like it owes you money,' so I started practicing rev-matched downshifts on empty hills for about 6 weeks, and now my shifts feel smoother, but I still catch myself grabbing the shifter too hard when I'm nervous, has anyone else had to unlearn a bad habit from an older driver?

1 comments

1 Comment

felixlane18d ago

Man that clutch comment reminds me of my old man yelling at me for "palming the wheel" on a drive to Philly. Like I was gripping it at 12 o'clock with a death grip and he swore I was gonna snap the column one day. Took me forever to realize he was right, but the weird part is now I can't drive without one hand resting on the gearshift out of pure habit. It's like some muscle memory from being nervous in traffic, and I'll catch myself doing it even when the car's in park. Honestly those older drivers just see the small stuff we don't notice until it's too late, but their delivery could use some work.