# So what does a clutch do, anyway?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-a-clutch-do-anyway/460885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 22, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-a-clutch-do-anyway/460885 "2008-08-22T01:56:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-a-clutch-do-anyway/460885/21 "2008-08-22T21:16:11Z")

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I’ve tried braking with my left foot and nearly caused a couple accidents by pushing the brake pedal to the floor when I meant to merely tap it. I ditched that habit pretty quickly. :smack:

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-a-clutch-do-anyway/460885/22 "2008-08-22T21:26:35Z")

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[QUOTE=tygerbryght]  
As for adapting any time I drive an automatic, I’ve always used my left foot for braking then. I suspect I have lots of company. It gives me something to do with my left foot. 😉  
[/QUOTE]

IMHO, that’s a bad habit. I always use my right foot for both brake and accelerator. At one stage I learned the trick of doing a hill start with left foot on the clutch and right foot controlling both brake and accelerator – heel end on brake, toe end on accelerator. Yes, you can control two pedals independently with one foot.

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**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-a-clutch-do-anyway/460885/23 "2008-08-22T22:24:22Z")

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[QUOTE=friedo]  
How do you do all that and still manage to concentrate on the road? It sounds like you need to be a fighter pilot to keep track of everything. But more importantly, how to automatic transmissions manage to solve this problem without involving the driver in any way?  
[/QUOTE]  
the description 6Sage Cat gave is basically how I viewed it as a kid. The first time I drove a clutch was when I was 15 and accidentally rolled an MGB down a hill while practicing how to shift. The owner thought it would be fun to see me pull the car back up the hill so he threw me the keys. I pulled the car up hill on the first go because I understood how the clutch worked. I also learned to drive without the clutch because I knew how the transmission worked.

As to your question about automatics, The traditional ones are a completely different and use planetary gears with a torque converter. There is a new type of auto on the market that greatly resembles a manual and it is a whole new breed.

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