Luella Bates(1897 – 1985): First licensed female truck driver in the US, shown operating the 3-speed manual transmission of a 1920 FWD-Seagrave Model B
We recently jumped at the chance to ride along in the cab of a modern “Class 8” truck. If you’re not familiar with that term, just think Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo, etc. Today’s sleeper-unit-equipped Class 8 tractors are not only staggeringly large but also, at least at the hands of a skilled professional operator, surprisingly nimble and comfortable.
Another surprise was watching our driver flick a small steering-column-mounted stalk to select “Drive.” Yes, most big-rig tractors now come equipped with automatic transmissions. More precisely, they employ “automated manual” transmissions, meaning that while there is no third pedal for the driver, the internal workings still utilize a clutch, albeit one actuated automatically.
Freightliner, the market-share leader with roughly 40% of total US Class 8 tractor production, is expected to install automated manuals on 95% of its output this year.
There are a variety of reasons contributing to the disappearance of clutch pedals in big rigs. Not least, automated manuals deliver better fuel economy, because their shifting programs are very smart about optimizing gear changes. With diesel fuel averaging over $4/gallon nationally, even a few tenths increase in mpg can amount to real savings for a fleet.
There is also a presumptive safety factor. Shifting an 18-speed manual transmission requires focus and concentration, and truck safety advocates believe eliminating that distraction enables drivers to be more alert to what is going on around them. That said, some drivers maintain that the “engagement” of shifting helps keep them more attentive on long-haul trips.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to retire the manual-transmission semis is that so many younger drivers have exactly zero experience with a clutch pedal when they first climb into a truck’s co*ckpit. Not needing to teach new recruits an increasingly archaic skill saves time, money, and, no doubt, candidate-pool attrition. And anyone who has glanced at the tail-end of a semi-trailer recently knows how desperate carriers are to get more drivers behind the wheel.
The demise of manual transmissions transcends large trucks, of course. Jalopnik reports that, through the first quarter of 2023, less than 2% of passenger cars and light trucks sold in the US had clutch pedals. As more EVs take to the highways, this number is sure to shrink even further because, well, most battery electric vehicles don’t use ANY type of transmission.
And yet, gear changes that involve action by a human being seem elemental to the enduring mystique of the truck driver. A search of “double-clutching a semi” (i.e., the art of depressing the pedal twice to affect smoother shifts) yields 15 million hits.
Progress is, of course, relentless. For some of us, though, a trucker without a clutch is like a cowpoke without spurs. Kinder and gentler but also, perhaps, just a little less awe-inspiring.
