I was given a ride recently by someone who I had never been in a car with before and I noticed that they drive with both their feet. The car had an automatic transmission and she used her left foot to brake and her right to accelerate. I have never noticed any one else do this. Only time I ever use my left foot when I drive is when the car has a manual transmission. Does anyone else drive like this? Any advantages/disadvantages to driving this way?
By the way I tried driving with both feet recently and I noticed I can not brake smoothly with my left foot. It reminded me of when I first began to drive and I had to “teach my right foot” how to brake properly.
I have a friend who did this, at least back in his teens and 20s (don’t live near him now, so I don’t know if he still does). He learned it from his dad, and insisted that it is advantageous in emergency situations where time can be lost or mistakes can be made in the process of switching from one pedal to the other.
Although he was my best friend for a good chunk of my life, he also had some stange ideas. I never knew how much stock to put in this particular wisdom of his. Clearly, not enough to try to convert, anyway.
It’s also likely that if you get rear ended at a stop light you could end up punching the gas.
There’s also a good chance that you’re riding the brakes, which isn’t good.
It’s also confusing as hell to be behind someone that appears to be slowing down and speeding up at the same time.
Anyways, my grandfather did that. According to, someone (one of my aunts maybe) it had something to do with him growing up driving sports cars. But that doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve driving stick as well. Driving with your left foot on the clutch doesn’t make you want to drive two footed (at least not for me). Even when you drive stick, your right foot still operates the brake.
I think some people just learn that way or get set in their ways and that’s it.
I learned to drive in a standard. The first time I drove an automatic, I found myself constantly stomping on the brake with my left foot. Not because I was trying to brake, but because I was trying to shift, and my left foot just instinctively sought out a pedal.
Oddly, although I’ve been driving automatics with no problem for years, when I rented a car in Scotland (we got an automatic even though it was more expensive because my wife has never driven stick), I started doing the same thing. I think the disorientation of sitting on the other side of the car and driving on the other side of the road messed with me.
If you are resting your foot on the brake pedal when you are driving you probably have your brakes lights on all the time which dangerous. The driver behind you is probably relying on seeing your brakes lights come on if you stop in a hurry. It is pretty much the same as having brake lights that don’t work.
Exactly. When the brake lights in front of me come on, every time it’s a shout of, “HEY! THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU IS BRAKING FOR SOME REASON SO BRAKE OR SLOW DOWN YOURSELF!” When this happens every five seconds, it gets really irritating. I was taught not to do this by a very good driving instructor when I was learning to drive - I’ll take his instruction over people’s parents any day.
I’m pretty sure that I have been told that dual petal driving is the standard in Brazil because the driving is so frantic with full-power acceleration and full-on braking by everyone that if your reflexes are even slightly slower than everyone else’s, it’s a guaranteed accident.
We were taught NEVER to do this when I was in driver’s ed. My mother however, uses both both feet – years ago, she had knee surgery and somehow driving that way was easier while her knee healed. Thus, she got into the habit, and still does it.
All of my elderly neighbors do that. Every curve they come to requires braking from 20MPH. And I have 3.5 miles of curves to get to my house. It’s maddening to be behind these drivers.
I no longer drive a stick, but in the past I found that when switching temporarily from my stick to an automatic that my left foot would go looking for the pedal. I’d even make a move at the transmission lever a time or two until my brain switched back to driving an automatic. This only happened when I’d be starting to brake and getting ready to downshift.
I haven’t felt safe in a car with anyone I noticed doing this. Usually it was noticing bad driving in general, then realizing they were using both feet and riding the brake. I make sure never to be a passenger with them again.