we better make First Aid and CPR courses mandatory then too.
the costs of making sure everyone can drive a manual car is just not worth it. unfortunately you can't cover every remote scenario.
I think it was more of an 'in an ideal world, everyone would be forced to learn in a manual car' type comments. Obviously it's not practical.
Either way it's not about having the skill to do that one specific task. It's the benefit you gain from having to think about what you are doing, and being able to handle multiple tasks while driving.
Automatic transmissions, traction control, ABS and electronic stability control while making driving easier, and some of them making it safer are serving to disconnect people from the cars they are driving. All you have to do is drive around on a wet day and you will be able to see how many people have never driven anything other than cars with all the gizmos.
It's much easier to know, understand and avoid going over the limit when you can actually get to and exceed it without all manner of things preventing you from doing so. Plus the throttle/steering/braking control you are forced to develop makes you a far saver driver in general.
You can't teach experience.
There's a saying in flying that is 'A superior pilot exercises his superior judgement to avoid having to demonstrate his superior skill'. You could apply the same to driving.
But how are you supposed to use your judgement to avoid approaching/going over the limit if you have no way of finding out where it is?
What I would advocate is the driver training parts of this (ignore his complete butchering of Heikki Kovalainen's name: