• FLemmingO@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Is this a European car thing or a driver skill issue? As an American I’ve never had a problem maintaining slow speeds in any vehicle I’ve driven - manual or automatic.

    Edit: I am starting to realize that some drivers are startlingly dependent on cruise control to maintain a target speed.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      100% skill issue. @FlyingSquid was self-reporting his incompetence.

    • Asifall@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m so confused by the number of people in these comments who apparently can’t maintain speed without cruise control.

    • Ooops@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      This is almost certainly not a European thing. A lot of people here still drive manually and just idling in 1st gear gives you a steady 7-10km/h… or “walking speed” as used in really dense and mostly pedestrian areas cars are still allowed to use. Idling in 3rd gear is around 30km/h (~19mph).

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      As an American, I sure have. Including my current Prius which doesn’t drive consistently between about 5 and 25 mph. And that was true of my previous Honda Civic as well.

      • FLemmingO@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Are these newer models or in poor condition or something? I’ve driven well maintained older Prius, Civic, and Accord vehicles without these issues and I LOVED how the Civic handled all around.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          2006 Civic traded in for a 2016 Prius. Maybe you’re better at handling a car than other people, but my subdivision is 20 mph the whole way through and I have never myself or been behind anyone who can drive that speed consistently. It’s always plus or minus 5 mph, usually wavering between them. I don’t think all of the dozens of drivers in this large subdivision are bad drivers.

          • jerkface@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            Presumably it is a skill like all other aspects of driving, and people have little experience doing it.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              That still sounds like a design problem if it requires skill to just drive consistently at 20 mph. Why should that require skill any more than driving consistently at 30 mph?

              • jerkface@lemmy.ca
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                1 year ago

                Dude. People manage to do it. If you can’t, practice. If that doesn’t help you, I don’t know what the fuck to tell you except get off the road.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  You actually think it requires skill to drive at 30 mph? Because I was able to do it pretty well the first time I ever stepped behind the wheel of a car.

                  • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    Yes I do believe it takes skills to safely hurtle serveral thousand pounds of steel through a neighborhood. You must keep the vehicle between the lines, maintain adequate following distance, look for and follow signs and signals, and have a high reaction time for anything that may cause a potential collision like another car, cyclist, or pedestrian. There is a lot of hand-eye coordination, a knowledge base, and physical capabilities required to drive safely. Driving is a skill. It is something someone learns to do through experience like any other skill.

              • snooggums@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                Most people don’t do a great job of staying at exactly 30, but going up and down a few mph at 20 is way more noticeable than at 30.

          • Asifall@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I don’t see why it’s a big deal. The streets near me that are 20 mph are all residential streets with stop signs, driveways, and street parking. You’re almost never going a consistent speed for more than couple hundred feet anyway.