wouldn't it be smarter?

Good example. The higher end cars will not have an automatic tranny. Many will be manual, the top will be paddleshift. Yes, you are not going to see a paddleshift car as often, but when there is one, who gets that call? YOU do. More money for you for having more diversity than everyone else in your age group.
Automatics, 3 on the tree, 4 in the floor, 5 speed, 6 speeds, 7 speeds, paddleshift, sequentials with dog gears...etc.

Should every rookie be required to drive a manual? Absolutely not. Thats communism. Communism is the main problem with the whole industry.
I figure the government will eventually say that shifting a manual transmission is a distraction and they will outlaw manual transmissions. They will do a "study" based on rookies who cant walk and chew gum, and determine that no driver can walk and chew gum. The amazing thing is, every driver that has 2-3 million miles safe driving knows how to drive a manual. They know how to drive any truck you put them in. Yet they are forced by the government to rub elbows with people who are not smart enough to operate an CMV. Yeah, some driver's been out 45 years, 4 million safe miles on a manual and suddenly, deskjockeys will consider a manual a distraction. That way, they can get more people who cant drive a job (and shouldnt be driving if safety reallt was an issue) to fill the "driver shortage."

Til then, the capitalist rule is: The more marketable you, the driver, make yourself, the more money you will make. If you prefer an auto, thats fine. Know how to drive everything just in case. Companies disappear overnight.

 

i remember reading how canada wanted to outlaw the cb because it was a distraction to driving

it all depends on how the media frames the argument

same thing with this gun control issue, its all decided how to market it to the masses by the 4 or 5 owners of all of media

the one thing they dont own yet is the internet, but they are trying to tax and control the internet also

 

You're talking about making regs to fix a problem that supply and demand will fix on its own. In other words you're talking about trying to fix a problem and isn't really a problem.

If a driver gets a CDL with an auto only restriction, that driver is going to be less marketable and have fewer employment opportunities available to him or her. If a company hires a driver with an auto only restriction and runs into the issue you described above, that company will probably think twice about hiring more drivers with auto only restrictions and thus the 'problem' fixes itself. To suggest that stricter regs are required because of this issue is just ridiculous.