Braking with your left foot

In My Humble Opinion
1

I drive an automatic transmission. And I use my left foot to work the break pedal.

Occasionally, when friends have noticed this, they have freaked out. Somehow they think this provides less control of the car.

On the contrary, I find that it provides me with more control, specifically the ability to break much faster. Even more so in parking lots, where I can switch back and forth very rapidly.

Anyone else out there do the same? Does anyone have a story of a left-braking event causing an accident? Anyone who would hesitate to ride with a left-braker?

I was originally taught to use the right foot, but changed when I had a close call… my big right foot hit both the gas and the break at the same time, and I nearly hit someone. Since then, I’ve used the left foot exclusively to brake.

2

The biggest reason for not using the left foot is to keep from doing what you are already trying to avoid. In time of emergency the tendancy may be to just push down with both feet. If you use the right foot only the theory is that you can’t do both at the same time. You however say you have disproved this and in fact so have I. But it still makes me nervous to see someone using their left foot on the brake.

What do you do when driving a straight stick? Please don’t say that you don’t ever drive one or never have.

3

Formula 1 drivers use left foot braking cos it’s faster than moving your foot from the throttle to the brake.

4

I have done it and still do on occation. It started when I had to to prevent my car from stalling - and even after that was fixed I still continued. I think you do have better (faster) ability to use either pedal using both feet.

5

Yes, I’ve driven stick. And I still do whenever I borrow my dad’s truck to load something big.

When driving stick, I use the left foot to clutch and the right foot to brake/accellerate. Obviously there are some adjustments in that circumstance.

As for pushing down with both feet, like I said, I narrowly avoided an accident once in which my big right foot pushed down on the brake but also caught the gas pedal too… But that was just me. YMMV. I don’t have any plans to change, myself, I’m just curious to know how many others brake with their left foot. Or, if anyone speaks up and says they were in an accident that you describe - in which they pressed both at the same time.

6

I did this on my second driving lesson, which was last Wednesday. In a moment of blind panic, I braked with the left foot and the instructor was like no! Bad dog! But I am told that it is an advanced driving technique done by rally drivers. So I guess I am just too advanced for my time! :D!!!

(didn’t do it the next time!! I might actually learn to drive properly or something…will wonders never cease!?)

7

I’m with Nardo Polo on this: I’ve used both feet to drive since shortly after I got my driver’s licence. I don’t understood why people get worried by it - I’ve never had the reaction of slamming down both feet, and I’ve been in situations where quick stops were needed.

I’ve also read about a study that looked into the point that Niobium Knight raises - that it’s quicker to brake with the left foot than move the right foot from the gas. The study suggested that at highway speeds, it was more dangerous to use the right foot to brake, because it took longer.

Now that’s when I nearly got into an accident! I needed to accelerate quickly, did something wrong, and the car was suddenly ka-chugging along in 2nd or something, with a fully loaded logging truck bearing down on us! Fortunately, we ka-chugged out of the way, but I still remember the Doppler shift in the logger’s air horn as it went past! Haven’t driven a stick since then.

But your question raises something I’ve never heard mentioned by the people who argue that it’s dangerous to use the left foot to brake - doesn’t that argument suggest that a stick shift is inherently more dangerous than an automatic, since in an emergency situation you have to use both feet, maybe moving them in opposite directions, and possibly also use your hand to shift gears? When you’ve been driving a stick, have you ever rammed both feet down in an emergency, hitting the clutch?

By the way, I should mention that I’m sort of ambidextrous (I shoot pool with either hand), so it just seems normal to me to use both feet.

8

The first time I took my driving test, I used both feet. The instructor looked absolutely mortified.

She told me, “NO! That’s dangerous.” I asked her why. She told me, “It takes too long to brake that way.” I was obviously confused, and told her bluntly that that made no sense at all. She simply repeated what she said, and glared at me.

No wonder I didn’t pass the test that time. :slight_smile:

Personally, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to me than using one foot for both pedals.

9

One problem with left foot braking is that many, many people tend to use the pedal as a footrest. This does a few things: It turns on the brake lights so that other drivers don’t know when you’re really braking. The brake lights burn out faster, so after a while you may not have them (when was the last time you checked the operation of your lights?). Depressing the brake pedal slightly can cause the brakes to engage slightly, wearing them out more quickly and reducing gas mileage.

I learned to drive with a standard transmission, so I’m used to braking with my right foot. If I used my left foot in an emergency situation, I can imagine that my reflexes would take over and I’d mash down on the accellerator pedal at the same time I’m putting on the brakes. The only time I use my left foot now (and unfortunately I ordered my Cherokee with an automatic transmission) is when I’m on a hill. For example, I hold the brake with my left foot while using my right for gas when I’m backing out of the driveway so that I don’t roll into my motorcycle.

10

Now that’s just silly. Does anyone use the gas pedal as a footrest when they are using the cruise control? Vroom! But then, I guess, human stupidity is quite resiliant…

11

brake pedal as a footrest!??? LMAO.

Well I guess in UK automatics arent as popular as in US but I’ve NEVER seen anyone driving about with their brake lights on permenently.

I think It’s more common that some people rest their foot on the clutch and wear the clutch out.

12

They have no choice. I sat in a F1 Ferarri from the 1998 season. The gas and brake pedels are separated by a tube that contains the steering shaft, it would be impossible to right foot brake.

I drove race cars for many years and I always used my left foot to brake. And I do the same on the road when I drive an automatic car. I just find it easier. I still right foot brake my truck that has a manual transmission though.

13

I have been using my left foot to brake for more years than I can remember. I can’t remember the last time I drove a stick shift automobile, and, at my age, I have no plans to drive one in future so that argument doesn’t apply. I have never used the brake pedal as a footrest, either, although I suppose someone might. I seen absolutely no reason not to use the left foot in braking, so long as one is driving an automatic transmission car.

14

Now if you brake hard with one foot and slam down the accelerator w/ the other in an automatic wouldn’t the stall converter come into play and shut down the engine?

15

If you are using one foot for braking and one for gas, there’s bound to be some overlap when your depressing both at the same time. Obviously that’s counterproductive. It’s also very hard on the brakes and the transmission.

It’s perfectly fine to drive this way if you can guarranty that you’re not hitting both at the same time. Unfortunately it’s impossible to make that guarranty, so you really shouldn’t do it.

Besides, it really doesn’t help you unless you plan on driving with your foot hovering above the brake pedal, which gets exhausting after a few moments.

It takes just as much time to lift your left foot off the floor and depress the brake as it does to lift your right foot off the gas and do so.

There’s also the matter of leverage.

If you brake the way you are supposed to, using your right foot, your left foot remains on the floor giving you a base of stability and keeps you stable. Normally, this is not a big issue, but in an emergency or a violent manuever, there are going to be considerable lateral forces throwing you forward, back or around. This makes it difficult for you to find the brake pedal, and if you do, it hampers its use as you’re recquired to use a certain amount of pressure to maintain your stability. In an emergency braking situation you are going to be thrown forward, and you need something to push against. If you are braking with your left foot. you’ll instinctively use your right foot, and more than likely stomp on the gas pedal in extremis.

Race car drivers do it with both feet because they are so tightly strapped into their cabins, that they don’t get thrown around at all. Safety restraints in passenger cars aren’t nearly so confining, so you can’t get away with it.

The only reason to do it is because it “feels” convenient and safer. It’s really not. It’s hard on the car, and you’re not nearly so effective in an emergency.

If you feel that you are stamping both pedals with your right foot, then you need to learn to move your foot over to the left more, before you hit the brakes. That’s all.

I got a book on offensive driving here somewhere. It’s for limo drivers who drive celebrities and stuff and it goes into it in great detail.

In fact, the only time you are supposed to use both feet is if you are trying to create a power slide, end even then you’re really only supposed to use one foot sideways on the pedals while you brace with the other. You only use two feet if you can’t master the manuever one-footed or aren’t wearing the right kind of footwear (which apparently is extremely important to good pedal manipulation.)

The two foot method is bad driving.

16

NardoPolo: Ever try to use cruise control in Southern California? I have, and speeds vary so much that I’m lucky if I can use it for a mile or two during rush hour.

Of course people don’t rest their feet on their accellerator pedals when they use cruise control. When I use cruise control (when I’m not driving in L.A.) I put my foot on the floor.

Neither of you have seen someone driving around at 70 mph with their brake lights on? Accellerating with brake lights on? Brake lights flickering on anf off while cruising? I see it all the time. Of course I’m not in those vehicles, but it seems more likely that the drivers are using their brake pedals as footrests than there are that many cars driving around with faulty switches. (And yes, I have been in a car where the driver’s foot was on the brake pedal during cruise.) If “Now that’s just silly.” refers to people riding their brakes, then I agree. If it refers to my statement, then I must stand by it because I’ve seen it.

17

Haven’t any of you guys seen the disclaimer
“Don’t try this at home these are trained professionals”?
Using the F1 driver or rally driver as the reason you use your left foot for braking is an apples to elephants comparison. Your commute home is nothing like what a race car driver or a rally driver does.

A pro driver brakes with their left foot for one of two possible reasons. Either the construction of the car prevents the use of the right foot (F1) and/or they are trying to apply the brakes and throttle at the same time, in order to make the car handle a particular way. Don’t forget after every race these cars get completly disassembled and any wear item like brakes are replaced as a matter of course.
Back when I was fixing cars for a living I had a love hate relationship with left foot brakers. I loved them because they would wear out brakes lots sooner, so I made money. OTOH I hated them cause I had to listen to them whine about why their brakes only lasted 1/4 as long as everybody else’s. Any for some reason they got worse gas mileage. All this time I would grit my teeth and try not to tell them it was becasue they drove like idiots.

The reason you are giving for left foot braking [LFB] doesn’t seem to make sense to me.
You say it is faster, yet you deny leaving the your foot on the brake pedal (trust me lots of LFBers do leave their foot on the pedal) So if you do not leave your foot on the brake pedal then in an emergency situation you must

[list=1]
[li]Look at where you want the car to go[/li][li]steer the car[/li][li]say Hi Opal[/li][li]Remove your right foot from the gas[/li][li]Locate the position of your left foot[/li][li]Pick up your left foot from the foor and place on the brake pedal[/li][li]Push[/li][/list=1]

Now maybe I only have a three cell 15W brain, but it seems to me that trying to move both feet in diferent directions at the same time, is a lot more complicated than just using one foot.

Your right foot is always starting from the gas pedal. You left foot might be in any one of a number positons (to the left of the brake pedal, pulled up under the front of the seat, crosswise behind the gas pedal foot.) Each one of these positions requires a diffferent set of movements to get to the brake pedal.

[The following is personal opinion, and it not intended as a slam against any poster in particular]
Several of you have mention that you got your pedals and or feet mixed up when an emergency occured. I submit that if another comes along you won’t be any better off because you are using two feet. I would suggest that if pedal mix up is a problem with you that you consider investing in a high performance driving course and learn how to drive in an emergency. I have done this and have done it with my son when he learned to drive. Think of it as life insurance.

18

That sound reversed to me - does car design constrain the driving method, or did the driving style dictate the car design? I’m sure the steering shaft tube is necessary, but is there any reason they can’t mount the brake on the right side of the tube?

19

Hitting the clutch down when braking does not hurt the car, your supposed to press the clutch when you brake so your car does not stall out. So if in an emergency you hit the clutch its ok. The only thing that may be a problem is that the engine won’t slow you down like it would if you were shifting normally. By downshifting you can slow down your car much faster then by just braking. Also in an emergency situation you can also use your emergency brake.

20

Interesting. For the novelty of it, I’ve tried driving an automatic transmission car using my left foot to brake and right to accelerate. I couldn’t do it. For some reason, I couldn’t apply my left foot dextrously enough to brake smoothly. A couple of friends have reported the same results.

On the other hand, I have zero problem driving a manual car. Odd, since the clutch-control demanded of my left foot while driving stick exceeds that which would be required to brake smoothly with the same foot.

Ha! If there’s a book on ‘offensive driving’, I bet there’s a dozen websites devoted to driving celebrities around!