# Which foot do you brake with? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2023, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023 "2023-05-14T11:56:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/41 "2023-05-14T22:31:35Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > [@commasense](#): > > > > While I was still driving on track I happened to see a video of a NASCAR driver’s pedal work and was interested to see how he used left foot braking to slow the car slightly without lifting off the throttle. (Race car drivers generally don’t have to worry much about wearing out the pads.) > > Race car drivers who drive manual transmission cars learn ‘heel and toe’ braking, where you move your heel over to the brake pedal while keeping your toe on the gas. That way you can keep the revs up between shifts while braking. > > I’ve tried heel and toe braking. I suck at it. I wrote about the technique [here:](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heel-and-toe-shifting/302259/13) > For most drivers in most cars, “heel-toe” is a misnomer. I put my toes on the right side of the brake pedal and, while applying brake, roll the ball of my foot over to the left edge of throttle pedal to blip it. You quickly run it up to, say, 6000, and let go, then as the revs fall, pull out the clutch to smoothly match the speed you need. Off the brake, and power through the turn. Presto. You’re a race driver! (You can read more about how and why to use the technique at the linked post.) > [@steronz](#): > > As for left foot braking while racing, most race cars are automatics so it just makes sense. AFAIK most racecars are not automatic in the sense that street cars are. The driver selects the gear, usually with paddles on the steering wheel. They don’t need to use the clutch for most changes (except maybe on launch), but they’re not automatic transmissions. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/42 "2023-05-15T01:45:59Z")
See, that explains why I suck at it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/43 "2023-05-15T02:29:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > It also consistently allows me to place my left foot loosely on the brake pedal > > > [@RitterSport](#): > > > > You can tell when you’re driving behind a two-footed driver – their brake lights stay on as they’re speeding up. I weep for their brake pads. > > ^This. It’s very distracting when you don’t know whether the car in front of you is braking. And I imagine them thinking, ‘Why do my brake pads wear out so quickly?’ Did you miss the comments about the difference between competent and incompetent drivers? As an aside, as I mentioned I owned two different manual-transmission cars in the distant past. That was when I lived in a relatively small town. I’m pretty sure that the left-foot braking habit evolved after I moved to a big city and started commuting (in an automatic) in stop-and-go freeway congestion. Note that the left foot braking habit doesn’t mean that the left foot is always touching the brake pedal or hovering above it. This, as I and others have said, only happens when you know or suspect that you may have to stop soon and possibly quickly. Otherwise the left foot is off to the side as normal. But if the former condition is experienced frequently, consistent left-foot braking can become a habit. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/44 "2023-05-15T02:41:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Just like I use my right hand for writing and my left hand for mousing. Now that one’s perplexing! I would venture that very few right-handed people do left-handed mousing. I suppose it’s very useful if one often takes notes while doing computer stuff, which you may need to do in your profession. It’s probably an easy skill to acquire, in the same way that pilots are acclimatized to left-handed yoke control. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/45 "2023-05-15T02:52:55Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Did you miss the comments about the difference between competent and incompetent drivers? No. Most drivers are incompetent. (Cite: Over 100,000 miles on L.A. freeways on a motorcycle.) > [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > Just like I use my right hand for writing and my left hand for mousing. > > Now that one’s perplexing! I would venture that very few right-handed people do left-handed mousing. I mouse with my left hand, and type with my right. It’s much more efficient when using a keypad. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/46 "2023-05-15T02:59:27Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Now that one’s perplexing! I would venture that very few right-handed people do left-handed mousing. I’m cross-dominant. I use my right hand for most stuff, but my left hand for some stuff. The left-handed mousing dates back to when I was doing books for my dad’s store, the old-fashioned way: paper, pen, pencil, and a huge old analog adding machine, which Dad kept on the right hand side because, you know, right handed. I just instinctively moved it from the right side of the desk to the left, so I could do the notes and stuff with my pen hand, and the adding machine keying with my left. That just transitioned to left-handed mousing. Puzzled my dad no end, but it just felt the most natural way to do it. But, that’s part of why I brake with my left, I guess. I use both hands for stuff at the same time (eg I stir different pots on the stovetop at the same time, going counter-clockwise with the right hand, clockwise with the left), so why not use both feet when driving? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/47 "2023-05-15T03:03:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s much more efficient when using a keypad. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/48 "2023-05-15T03:06:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I normally use the right foot for braking. > > However in stop & go traffic, close quarters maneuvering into parking spaces, etc., I use left-footed braking. When using left-footed braking, both feet are actively up on the pedals. That’s it for me. Normally I use the right foot to switch between brake and gas, so there’s no accidentally double pressing. But if I’ve wandered into traffic that’s moving too fast for road conditions, then I’ll have one foot on each pedal to save 1/3 of a second when braking, and be less likely to slam the brakes if I do an emergency gas-to-brake switch. I’ll only do the 2-foot technique when I’m paying exacting attention to the cars around me and to the road conditions. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/49 "2023-05-15T07:55:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Did you miss the comments about the difference between competent and incompetent drivers? > > No. Most drivers are incompetent. (Cite: Over 100,000 miles on L.A. freeways on a motorcycle.) I’m not. Cite: 52 years of driving with no accidents (the number 0, zero). In many different places in many different weather conditions, including severe winter storms. Highest possible rating for insurance. Please don’t judge my driving habits by arbitrary criteria applied to the kinds of incompetents that I’ve had to avoid and evade for more than half a century. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/50 "2023-05-15T11:27:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > > > Just like I use my right hand for writing and my left hand for mousing. > > > > Now that one’s perplexing! I would venture that very few right-handed people do left-handed mousing. > > I mouse with my left hand, and type with my right. It’s much more efficient when using a keypad. I do the same. I had a job where I was living inside Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS just as mice were becoming commonplace PC accessories in the late 1980s. Pre-mouse the right hand worked the number pad to fill cells while the left hand mostly just drove the shift key that switched the number pad between numbers & cursor arrows to move between cells (original 84-key keyboard). Once I had a mouse, using it left-handed to move from cell to cell while the right slammed in the digits made all the sense in the world. Here 40 years later I still mouse left-handed. I never developed the habit of switching the mouse buttons, so the left button is my primary despite the fact I’m using my left hand. I’m utterly right-handed in everything else I do. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/51 "2023-05-15T13:11:50Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m not… > > Please don’t judge my driving habits by arbitrary criteria applied to the kinds of incompetents that I’ve had to avoid and evade for more than half a century. I didn’t say you were. But you admit that you’ve had to avoid incompetent drivers for more than half a century. In my observation, more left-foot brakers (not you, of course) use the brake pedal as a footrest than they do as a quick-reaction tool. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/52 "2023-05-15T13:45:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In my observation, more left-foot brakers (not you, of course) use the brake pedal as a footrest than they do as a quick-reaction tool. That may very well be true. I think it’s been well established that the ingenuity of incompetents in all fields and endeavors to find ways to be stupid knows no bounds. Think of any way of doing something, and an incompetent somewhere will be doing it. Even if it’s a good thing, though it’s likely the incompetent will be doing it wrong. The point is, just because some trait is associated with incompetents is not automatically a condemnation of that trait. As I said, my left-foot braking habit began years ago, when I went from driving a manual-shift sports car in a small-ish town to driving an automatic in The Big City With Totally Congested Freeways. If I could switch habits then, I can switch them again now. But I see no reason to bother. I don’t sit on my brake pedal, I don’t flicker my brake lights, I don’t wear out my brakes. In normal cruise, my left foot is resting somewhere off to the side. On a long trip, I’ll turn on cruise control and no foot is anywhere near any pedal. But if I feel I might need to stop soon, by golly, the left foot hovers over the brake pedal. It’s a habit that’s served me well. To each his own, YMMV, and all that. Everyone should do what works best for them, barring strong evidence showing otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/53 "2023-05-15T14:02:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I think it’s been well established that the ingenuity of incompetents in all fields and endeavors to find ways to be stupid knows no bounds. When something is made ‘idiot’ proof, they invent new idiots… Not referring to you wolfpup, or anyone in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/54 "2023-05-15T14:21:12Z")
The danger with left foot braking is that you can ride the brake and the gas at the same time as you try to toggle between them. Not good for the brakes, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/55 "2023-05-15T15:22:17Z")
When I was a fleet manager we kept a small pool of cars for management who didn’t have a company car to use. This being England, most were stick shift, but there was the occasional automatic. One day I gave the keys of an automatic Ford Granada to a manager who assured me that driving an automatic would be no problem. Some while later, one of my staff ran in and told me to go out and stop him. He was revving the engine hard, lurching forward a few feet and then stopping abruptly. he did this both forward and backwards and came within an ace of hitting a brick wall. I managed to stop him eventually. I don’t remember the conversation, but he was a lot senior to me and had a reputation for being vindictive. He, as you no doubt realise, was using his left foot on the brake as if it was a clutch at the same time as he pressed the throttle. He decided that he would use his own car and left with a red face. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/56 "2023-05-15T15:47:01Z")
Depends on what I’m driving and where, but I do both. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/57 "2023-05-15T16:22:02Z")
I’m right foot only. The problem I have with LF braking is that when you brake with vigor, I want something to brace myself into my seat besides the seat belt. If my LF is working the brake, and my RF is hovering over the accelerator, my hips will be free to slide forward as I stop. That seems to me very loosey goosey. I much prefer having my LF firmly pressed on the floor/footrest/clutch and the RF controlling the needs of my braking. ---
**Author:** ![banjopatterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@banjopatterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banjopatterson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/58 "2023-05-16T02:08:47Z")
I did once know a guy who used his left foot to operate the brake but then he only had the one leg. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/59 "2023-05-16T03:23:14Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > my left foot is for clutch and brights/dimmer switch only. How do you get your foot up on the dashboard to mess with the brights/dimmer switch? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023/60 "2023-05-16T04:06:31Z")
Right foot only, as [Young Drivers of Canada](https://yd.com/locations/on/whitby) taught me… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-foot-do-you-brake-with/984023.md?page=4)