This Filipino Jeepney driver clearly has his shifting down to a science, shifting only with his feet.
I’m a simple man, I see Filipino excellence in motoring and I write about it. Indang City resident Giancarlo Dones posted up a video earlier yesterday (May 1, 2019) showing off just how well this Balibago Jeepney driver shifts without using his hands. It’s not like this driver doesn’t have the use of both arms because he does, it’s just that, for him, it’s much easier this way. Check out the video for yourself below.
If you didn’t already know, the main way Filipinos travel around their locale is on Jeepneys or stretched Willy’s Jeeps. With most Willy’s Jeeps that remained after WW2 already converted into Jeepney’s or salvaged for parts, the majority of Jeepney’s on Filipino roads are copied Willy’s Jeep designs modified for mass transport and packing Japanese engines under the hood.
Fans of the original Willy’s Jeep know that there are at least three shift levers on an original Jeep: a shifter for the gears, a shifter to engage 4×4, and a lever for high/low engagement to get out of sticky situations where low gearing is required. Since Jeepney’s don’t need 4×4 as their main purpose is transport, the complexity of adding 4×4 is taken out and 2WD operation is preferred, hence only one shift lever in the video.
I have two theories about why he shifts this way. The simplest and most likely reason is that he never got around to getting a longer gear shift. With such a long shifter and not getting the geometry right, his shifts would be even longer making it a chore to shift at all. So, to make it easier and presumably as a stop-gap, he uses his feet.
My other theory is that perhaps he’s found a competitive edge by using his feet. In the unregulated world of Jeepney transport, it’s a game of MPHs and inches in getting passengers. If he can keep his hands for steering at all times maybe he’s more competitive than the other Jeepney drivers.
Who knows, really. It’s pretty darn cool and would never fly as a way of shifting here in the United States (where we have rules regulating this kind of driving.)
I hope this dude gets famous for his shifting, making him even more bank in the process.
Source: Giancarlo Dones
