Just to clarify, my Mom doesn't go into neutral at any point. She stays in gear (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.) until she's at the speed she wants to be at/stopped and then shifts into whatever gear is required.

 

But she puts the clutch in, correct? So, as soon as she does that, the revs drop down to idle, and there's no connection between engine and wheels, so it wouldn't make much difference what gear she's in. Imagine you see a car coming up behind you, and realize that you need to accelerate to avoid being rear-ended. Following the coasting approach, you take your foot off the brake, re-engage the clutch, at which point the rear wheels shudder due to sudden engine braking (now you're going slower, assuming you didn't chirp the driven wheels), then you start to accelerate (assuming you didn't already take it up the trumpet from the approaching car). If you stay in gear, you just jump off the brakes and onto the gas, and off you go. In a sudden, panic situation, coasting will cost you time you may not have.

 

Yeah, that's very true. I've noticed it even when turning corners/accelerating when a light turns green.

 

What's her username? We can negrep her until she changes her ways.

It's like using a clicker with puppies.

 

One of the things that I was told when I learned is that keeping the clutch in will wear out the throw out bearing prematurely.

 

It's all wear and tear on the car. Use the way that works best for you.

 

Take your driver's test in an automatic, and learn how you prefer to drive a manual after you have your license...

 

Yeah, I'd considered that, but I still have four months to go before the test and I have the 'driving part' down. It's just learning the finer things, like preventing wear on the clutch and all that. And parallel parking, which I've yet to try .

 

To me, the best part of driving a manual is downshifting. I rev-match downshift every time.

 

Here's my technique (since brake pads are cheaper than clutches):

As I approach the light/stop sign/Alzilla's fake girlfriend, I brake gradually and put the car into neutral. Then when the light's about to change, I'll put it in first, and off we go. Not too concerned about any last-minute changes since usually I'll be going so slow at that point that I'll just come to a dead stop if something happens.