Two armed robbers failed their attempt to steal a car in Melbourne because the vehicle was a manual.
According to Victoria Police, two men used a knife to force a man to give them his wallet and keys after he parked his car in Bentleigh early yesterday morning.
The victim complied and gave the men his personal belongings. However, the getaway plan failed when the robbers got in the car.
Victoria Police say the car was a manual Hyundai i30, and the wannabe robbers didn’t know how to start it.
A police spokesperson told News Corp: “[Detectives] think that these two crooks might have only had an automatic license.”
After growing frustrated for not being able to start the car, the two men fled the scene.
Authorities are now looking for more information on the incident.
While it might sound outrageous that someone might not be able to drive a manual car, the rate of stick motorists in Australia is dwindling.
Figures given to CarAdvice last year revealed the number of people opting for manual Toyota vehicles has been plummeting since 2015.
Between 2015 to 2019, the demand for manual Toyota Corolla hatches fell 80 per cent, and it dropped 86 per cent for the sedan variant.
A spokesperson for the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) told the car publication that they have noticed a declining number of manual drivers over the past decade.
“In the last 10 years we’ve seen a steady decline in people requesting manual RACV Drive School lessons. Requests for manual Drive School cars have been trending down from 38 per cent of requests in 2010 to just 12 per cent of requests in 2019,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re also seeing more regional Learner drivers making the shift to automatic vehicles. This is partly due to more farm and heavy vehicles having an automatic gearbox, which has meant there is less need for a manual licence in those areas.”
Manual license? What the hell is that about?