The present invention is directed to a rolling protective shutter having an improved manual drive mechanism. The improved manual drive mechanism may include a hand crank pole having a female connector that demountably attaches to a male connector of the rolling protective shutter to rotate a drive shaft. The female connector may be attached to the hand crank pole by a universal joint so that the female connector may pivot relative to the hand crank pole. A resilient alignment mechanism, such as an elastomeric sleeve or coil spring, may be disposed on and engage the universal joint to axially align the female connector with the hand crank pole while allowing the female connector to pivot relative to the elongated pole section when a force is applied.