Bought my '06 MT 3 weeks ago. Broke my arm in two places 3 days ago.........ugh...........

MAZDA RECOMMENDED MANUAL SHIFTING WHEN YOU'RE MISSING ONE ARM.
1) Depress clutch pedal with left foot.
2) Steer auto with right knee (or just temporarily let go).
3) Reaching across, grab gear shift **** with left hand.
4) Avoid gears 1, 3 and 5..........................
5) Keep clutch engaged whenever possible to avoid steps 2 and 3.............
6) Avoid all Honda's and Acura's that wish to race you at all costs........

....I am getting pretty good at it tho..........

 

hope your recovery is as fast as our 8s.

FAST!!!

 

oh man that sucks! good luck. the day you can shift normally again will be beautiful

 

I think it's probably safer for everyone if you find another way to get around. That's completely irresponsible.

 

ouch man... sorry that it happened. hope it gets better.

 

I agree with BlueEyes(OMG did I just type that?).
Sounds dangerous for you and other motorists.

 

just feather 2nd gear pulling out and stay in it everywhere
It's good from 0-70.

 

as long as you can do 1->2 alright, ride up to the top of 2nd, into 4th That should cover around town driving.

 

oh, come on.......knowing my own limitations and being super careful, I'd venture to say that I am a hellava safer driver than every Suburban-driving, cell-phone yakking, soccer mom I deal with every day. No one had to honk their horn at me for drifting into another lane with no warning.

Besides, the beauty of this car is that I can start in 2nd gear and shift to 4th and thats it.

.........and I promise not to drive after my surgery on Wednesday.....(Can you believe it, Im actually taking a taxi to the hospital)..........

 

strange, those are the same dir.'s for talking on a phone

 

as long as it's your left hand, you should be fine.

 

thats exactly what Im doing. Start off in 2nd, leave it there unless I have to shift to 4th and stomp my foot on the clutch and leave it there when approaching stop lights (which goes against that very loud voice in my brain, but hey, what are you gonna do)

 

Ten years ago I completely shredded my right achilles tendon, I had to drive my stick shift Probe GT home without being able to use my right foot (if you ever ripped this tendon, you know what I mean); clutching, braking and hitting the gas with my left foot was an adventure.

 

Yeah, then you only have to steer with your knee or completely let go of the wheel once after each stop and then steer with one load able arm. Sweet. You got it all figured out. Again, it's completely irresponsible, and you either don't care enough about yourself and the other people out there, or your too stupid, to take notice. Take your pick. Other drivers irresponsible actions are not justification for your own.

 

We should write a DIY on how to turn your 6speed to a faux-automatic using this method

This "mod" probably gets just as good gas mileage as regular driving does

FS

 

I just hope you can convince your insurance company

 

Have to agree with the guys here, driving that way is plain stupid, surely you gotta see that! Accept you were a dumb-*** and move on.

As a motorcyclist, I've seen it all, and we don't need a left handed shifter on the road.

 

Dang dude, that is messed up

 

Someone should put up a poll......

What is more stupid?

1. The fact that this guy drives this way.
2. The fact that he is proud of it.

As Carlos Mencia once said, "na na nay"

 

I thought it was dit DIH DIH!

 

To all those that haven't spoken negatively about my driving with a broken arm, I say this......

You are absolutely correct in condemning me. I would have done the same to others........

My original thread was merely a whimsical way of saying how bad it sucks to buy an new 8 only to break ones arm so soon after.

But yes, I will say that I have been forced to drive in this state a total of 3 times since last Thursday. I am not proud of it (as someone inferred) nor to I make it a habit to drive dangerously......I am certainly not out raising hell in this condition.

But sometimes, one does not have a choice. There is no public transportation where I live, no wife or other cars to borrow. So yes, I did drive to the pharmacy once, the grocery store once, and the doctors office once. On these three occasions, I was immensely careful in choosing a route that would be easy/not congested and thinking of all drivers on the road including myself. I started in 2nd gear and usually made one shift to 4th. Did a lot of coasting and predicting. Kept a lot of room in front and behind me.

So, I say to "8 is enuf" dont judge me simply because I had the misfortune of breaking my arm..........as they say, walk a mile in my shoes, etc, etc...................

 

sorry to hear about your arm....

but exactly how is this the number best reason to buy an AT? hahaha

 

because someone is gonna have to break your arm to get you to use one voluntarily....

 

No right arm, hmm? How are you typing this post, exactly?

My guess is either voice recognition software, or very, very slowly.

 

speedy recovery friend.