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If automatic transmission had come first, manuals would never be permitted because it takes away attention from driving and is less safe. The only reason anyone considers manuals okay is because they came first and it's baked into our perception that they're a normal way to control a vehicle.
People will say that soon it becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it...and this is mostly true...but it still takes up 'processor cycles' in our brain. More notably, our brains are finicky and can easily shift what they are focusing on and what they are autopiloting.
Personal anecdote: I have a manual because at the time it was the best vehicle I could find that fit my budget, it's only real issue was being manual. I have gotten used to driving it, and it is in fact second nature most of the time. The other day I was at an intersection; the car in front of me went, and my mind focused on the shifting for a moment - my brain decided to put the driving on 'autopilot' instead of the shifting. In that brief moment, when I was more focused on shifting than the road situation, I nearly drove out in front of an oncoming vehicle. Had they not honked I may have failed to notice until a collision occurred.
That distraction could have been any number of things. A wholly undistracted driver is an impossibility. But in this case, it was shifting, something that could have been wholly unnecessary and therefore not been there to distract at all.
This post is hilarious. You obviously have no experience with manual transmission. Following your logic radios an anything you handle there should be forbidden too.
Do you have to look away from the road every time you push the blinker stalk? Do you accidently flash incoming traffic everytime it starts to rain? There's a lot of things you already have to do in a car at once. Operate at least two pedals, a steering wheel, a few stalks and buttons, observe and obey traffic signage, observe and predict the actions of other drivers, navigate, deal with passengers, adapt to road conditions, etc. There's so much to think about, and frankly operating a clutch and stick is easier to do than a lot of these individually.
The other day I was at an intersection; the car in front of me went, and my mind focused on the shifting for a moment - my brain decided to put the driving on 'autopilot' instead of the shifting. In that brief moment, when I was more focused on shifting than the road situation, I nearly drove out in front of an oncoming vehicle. Had they not honked I may have failed to notice until a collision occurred.
Clearly it's not second nature yet. Keep practicing. I know that feeling you're talking about, that draw of focus. It's not your brain picking a new focus willy-nilly - it's a lapse in your shifting muscle memory, forcing you to engage more consciously. I get that feeling every time I get a car new to me, manual or not. You just have to learn it.
Hell, I've been driving manuals for pretty much my whole life, and I can share counter-anecdotes of me having similar lapses when I had to drive an auto. Last time I did, I slammed my left foot into the brake pedal to instinctively press the clutch that wasn't there, and was momentarily distracted from the road when I tried to shift into low with the wiper stalk (mountain road). And this was a car that I had daylied years prior. You just need to get familiar with your car. Practice practice.
So you're arguing that anything invented for cars that make them less easy to operate would never be permitted? So like, have you never seen a sports car? Those are 100% irrelevant for road use but are still quite legal. They have lots of features and more you can turn on that make driving it more effort than standard cars.
And before you say, "sports cars have a purpose that call for those features". No, they don't actually. Sports cars don't need any of those features for normal road use and actually making use of many of them would cause you to be driving illegally. They are track-only as designed. But manual transmissions do still have uses that automatic transmissions fail to cover: Non-standard roads. High-grade hills, non-paved surfaces, cold-weather, etc.
My CVT does a great job on steep cobblestone roads in winter. It allows me to also keep two hands on the wheel to help keep the car pointed in the right direction when snow pulls me around.
I think you need a little more practice with your manual. If you're focusing on going, you should already be in first, and just managing the throttle and clutch. Once you're rolling, it takes no brain power at all to disengage the clutch, pop straight down to second and engage the clutch. You're not doing 16 shifts to get through an intersection Fast and Furious style.
Sorry. You're just bad at manual transmission... I'd argue the required extra attention needed to drive with manual transmission might actually be positive to make sure you're not zoning out