How about a 9 speed ? Or 13, 15 ,18, 21 ???
Most youngsters can not that's why the trucking industry got automatic .. youngsters can not cut it ...
Actually - trucking moved to autos because they were recruiting drivers from older people looking for second careers. They found that people of advanced age had a harder time with the heavy clutch and double clutching on bad knees.
Anyway - that was the reasoning at the carrier I was working at when the autos started taking hold and we were buying 3800 new trucks every year to keep the fleet average at 3yrs.
NOW - I would state it's not because someone can't drive stick - as in unable to learn. It's because they never had to and training programs aren't revenue generating for carriers. Put them in an auto and not need to teach someone from zero how to drive a manual saves time and gets that trainee on the road, pulling loads sooner. Autos in class 8 have gotten a lot better but I still prefer to float a 10 or 13 speed if given the option.
