I'm in an autoshift at the present time. As far as safety goes, if everything is working as it should, an autoshift will be equally as safe on a hill as a manual. As golfhobo mentioned if the computer goes haywire then all bets are off. I hope to never have to deal with that situation. The positives of the autoshift on a hill is they never miss a shift. On the truck I'm in you just put it in low and the only thing it can do is downshift. It really makes coming down a steep hill very easy, and the benefits of the autoshift in Los Angeles traffic can't be beat in my opinion. I'm a local driver, so I spend a fair amount of time in rush hour traffic. If I was an OTR driver, I'm sure a manual would be my choice.

 

S'xuse me???? Women don't want to WHAT???? Please DO NOT make blanket statements like this...it's insulting & patronizing! I am a woman, I own my truck, it has an 18 speed in it... You'll BURY me before I drive ANYTHING with an auto-shift anything in it!

As hobo stated... I WANT to know what's going on & have CONTROL over my own life... thank you very much!!!

 

I see you failed to realize that, the automatic he's talking about, doesn't have sliding gears like the manuals have, or the autoshifts (2 or 3 pedal).

 

It's all about the nut behind the wheel.

 

:lol: :lol:

 

wildkat Guess you didn't read what I wrote. Seems you missed the key word many. Last time I checked "many" meant indefinite (not decided or not known) number.

I know several companies that have spec out auto-shifts because some women didn't want to drive manual transmission.

kc0iv

 

I did read what you wrote. But please be aware that when you make statements like this you will have people, like me, who take it the "wrong" way. Remember, you are writing a post not speaking, so we don't always know what you mean! ops: ops:

I have spent nearly 30 years proving that I could DO this job, I love what I do, but I deeply resent someone telling me what "many" women want! Because to "many" in this industry many means ALL!

Unless you know, please don't lump us all together. Unfortunately there are just as many women "steering-wheel holders" out there as there are men! :lol: :lol:

In future...I will try not to be so touchy about this! :lol: :lol: Fair enough?

 

wildkat,
First I do know a fairly large percentage of women that come to job fairs and discuss getting into trucking one, if not the most, often concerns is shifting a manual transmission. Since one of the companies I was involved with wanted to recuit more husband/wife teams they purchased auto-shift transmissions to meet this demand.

I see this no difference than the shift from an almost all male profession to a mixed male/female profession. Or when we went from a twin transmission to a single transmission. Or the shift from non-power steering to power steering.

More and more companies are switching to some form of auto-shift transmissions for all their drivers. Mainly, because the reduction in cost of repairs. I'd hate to guess how many thousand upon thousand clutch and clutch breaks have been replaced because of improper shifting. They have also found that auto-shift transmissions improves their fuel cost.

Drivers, be it male or female, may not like the shift from manual transmissions to auto-shift transmissions but companies see them as a improvement in their bottom line. Looking into my crystal ball I see it happening at an increasing rate. Just like the many other cost saving designers are looking into.

One other change that occurred over the last few years is the switch from OTR to regional. Companies have found it is harder to find new drivers that want the life style of the OTR driver. It is slowly going back to the way it used to be when I first got behind the controls of a 18 wheeler.

As to the "steering-wheel holders" concept. I'm not sure what that even means. Unless a driver is in a special classification they are all "steering-wheel holders" as I understand it's meaning. The biggest difference is how long they have been driving.

kc0iv

 

Exactly!

Don't worry.... it will probably only happen ONCE!! :shock: :lol:

Well.... you make a good point about the "missed shift," however.... there are many "hills" (like Donner Pass) that flatten out enough at times that an upshift is warranted. Also, on most continuous steep hills, you only have to select ONE gear with the manual, and just be IN IT before you start down the hill! :wink:

Well.... ya got me THERE!! :lol: However.... once again the question was about SAFETY, not comfort. (You couldn't PAY me enough to drive a local gig in L.A.!!!!)

Speaking of the computer going haywire.... this week I was delayed leaving on my trip by about 3 hours as the shop had to find out WHY the check engine / engine protect SHUTDOWN kept coming on. Lucky for me, it happened just after I left the yard, and I was able to "limp" back (drive 2 miles.... stop on the side.... restart engine.... drive 2 miles.... rinse and repeat!)

They finally ended up re-programming the truck to IGNORE it's computer sensors!! I actually had to keep my eye on the TEMP guage every now and then!! :shock: :shock: :shock: DUH!!!!!! 8)

How would you like your truck to keep shutting off (for NO REASON) in that L.A. rush hour traffic???

[They SHOOT horses, don't they??? ]

 

WildKat said:

So.... does that mean that ALL people in this industry think that many means all??? I'm so confused!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink: :wink: