[Jeema101]

Speaking of snowy roads, it's also easier (in my experience) to get a car with a manual transmission unstuck in the snow because you can quickly alternate between first gear and reverse and rock the car.

Obviously wouldn't be an issue for people who live in warmer climates, though.

[cf100clunk]

It is also sometimes possible to get going on a slick or icy surface by directly using a lower (numerically higher on the shift knob) gear rather than having the wheel(s) spinning in first gear, the tallest of the forward gears. A car with a manual transmission can possibly be made to crawl out of the predicament by using third or fourth gear as the driver lets out the clutch with extra throttle to overcome stalling. This goes for 4x4s too, which seems lost on some of the folks I know today who don't have the background experience that earlier generations of drivers have had.

[eimrine]

Some vehicles not supposed for being used on roads like ЗиЛ-131 have first and reverse gears settled on a line against each other for making rock the car as easy as possible.