Save the stick shift: Three-pedal cars improve road safety

There are more people in Singapore licensed to drive a manual car (Class 3) than those restricted to automatics (Class 3A). Yet, cars with clutch pedals have all but vanished from showroom floors.

You might think that in an era dominated by seamless automatics and electric cars, no one would bother to get a manual licence. Well, think again. Official figures show that between June 2025 and May 2026, Class 3A test-takers outnumbered those taking the conventional Class 3 test, but not by much.

One possible explanation for lingering demand for the “full” driving licence may be the popularity of self-drive overseas holidays. In some places, renting a manual car in Australia or Europe can be cheaper than renting an automatic car.

If you want to buy a new manual car in Singapore today, your choices are confined to specific high-performance models from brands like Lotus and Porsche.

These sports cars are pitched exclusively to purists – those who crave raw mechanical feedback and willingly pay for it with aching calves in perpetual Causeway jams.

But beyond driving thrills, even the rest of us benefit when someone chooses three pedals over two. The humble manual is the potential – if partial – antidote to in-cabin distractions of giant touchscreens, countless infotainment options and pinging smartphone apps.

One way manual cars help is by demanding physical involvement, keeping the driver engaged.

Nailing a clean launch in a manual, all-wheel-drive monster like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX demands serious mechanical sympathy to avoid destroying the drivetrain and cooking the clutch.

By contrast, launching a modern automatic involves little more than mashing the accelerator. The launch control system and on-board computers handle the rest.

This mechanical barrier keeps ego in check. A manual driver will think twice at the traffic light before trying to pull off a reckless boy-racer launch.

Crucially, the manual transmission can keep some cabin distractions at bay. When your right hand is on the wheel, your left is busy working the shifter and your feet are balancing the accelerator to match the clutch’s biting point, there is simply less bandwidth to swipe an infotainment touchscreen, poke at a cradled smartphone or zone out at the wheel. Dating couples will struggle to hold hands, even for a fleeting moment, between second and third gears.

Cabin distraction kills. In the US, distraction-affected crashes accounted for around 8 per cent of fatal crashes in 2024, claiming 3,208 lives. This may be an undercount since distraction is hard to prove after a crash.

Get the hand-and-feet dance wrong in a stick-shift car and it simply stalls. A stationary car – with an embarrassed driver – is unquestionably safer than an absentmindedly driven one.

Technology that has appeared in manual transmission cars makes them easier to use. The hill-start assist feature, for example, eliminates the stress involved in snaking up the ramp to the Ngee Ann City carpark. The brakes disengage automatically as the clutch catches, so there is no risk of rolling backwards or pulling a muscle from yanking the handbrake lever.

Yet, for all its virtues, the manual gearbox faces an inevitable sunset as Singapore pushes towards an electric future. Electric cars do not need multi-speed transmissions. To counter distracted driving, they come with an army of sensors to keep the car pointing the right way.

Decades ago, as a teenager taking my Class 3 driving test – long before the Class 3A licence even existed – the examiner offered me a timeless reminder before giving me a passing mark: “The licence will not keep you out of trouble. It is your responsibility to drive well and stay out of trouble.”

In a world of constant dashboard distractions, keeping hands, feet and mind fully engaged on the road might just be our best remaining ally.