I mostly see it (or assume it’s happening) with elderly drivers. My wife’s grandfather switched to two-foot driving when his arthritic right ankle got bad enough that he knew his response time to move his right foot from the accelerator to the brake was compromised.
It’s called the “dead pedal”, and it is, indeed, meant to give your left foot a place to rest (though, not so you can move it back onto the brake pedal 
).
Which is precisely why I left-foot brake when driving racing sims (as do many other simmers). Some actual race car drivers drive that way as well; they don’t use the clutch except to get the car moving, precisely matching the revs for every upshift and downshift.
My mom has done this ever since she started driving; no major wrecks in over 50 years, very few tickets.
Exactly. But it suits my purpose perfectly.
I often wonder if old people who accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and crash into 7-Elevens would not have this mixup if they drove with both feet.
Many, many people drive with both feet and do not ride the brake. That’s just being bad drivers all-around. Until imported cars with manual transmissions started taking over from GM cars with automatic transmissions in the 70s and 80s, loads of people were taught two-footed driving. Right-footed braking was seen as kind of a throwback to the olden days of standard transmissions.
I hate it when I leave food on the brake.
But what do you feel about the Falkland Islands?
Oh, God, I’ve done that too, when I had to drive an automatic after years of driving manuals.
Yup, do that too - left foot is frantically looking for a clutch pedal while my right hand is waving around between the seats.
I taught myself to drive with either foot when I sprained my right knee.
It’s bad to use both feet to drive an automatic. You’ll burn out the brakes faster.
I can drive manual as well, and have taught myself to drive it cross-footed.
When I first learned to drive, I did that. I thought “hey, two pedals, two feet.” My dad told me to knock that shit off. Politely, of course, but he made it clear that this was Just Not Done, and I stopped.
I do it. I don’t rest my left foot ON the brake pedal, it just goes up there when I wish to brake. I don’t push both pedals at the same time unless for some reason I’m in neutral and have a reason to be revving the engine while preventing the car from rolling. (I can’t think of a situation where I wouldn’t just put it in Park instead).
I sometimes use all three pedals simultaneously in a manual. Clutch in, brake down, rev engine just as clutch & brake are released. (Steep hill, red light in mid-hill, cars behind me). Other folks might use the hand brake instead but that’s awkward too, trying to release a handbrake just as you engage the clutch while steering with the other hand. Running 3 pedals with two feet isn’t difficult once you’ve done it a couple times.
I can do without the whole “there’s only one right way” attitude, personally.
My father drives this way. I always put it down as him having grown up left-handed (and I assume left-footed) in a time when left handed people just. don’t. exist. He’s been confused by teachers to the point of being forced to become ambidextrous.
He does not ride the brake pedal, he is not a bad driver, and, most importantly, he did not teach me to drive this way, even though he was my primary driving instructor. He told me to do what came naturally to me, which, being right-handed, meant I feel better using only my right foot.
Mrs. Gelding use to do that. Cured it early in the relationship by getting a ‘62 VW Beatle. That fixed it.
My husband, who can only drive automatics. It makes me crazy.
My nephew was in a vehicle accident just over a year ago. He was not expected to walk again. However he is although it is painful to watch.Left leg has no feeling and the other has feeling but isn’t responding very well. He’s going through physical therapy.
I asked him just last week if he’ll ever drive again.
Apparently he’s been told he’ll have to learn to brake with his left leg, because he’ll never be able to pull off and reset the right leg quick enough.
I am stunned that there are this many people driving in this manner. The only people who should ever be left-foot breaking are right-foot amputees, or race car drivers.
A drivers Ed instructor taught this?!? Using it to maneuver through parking lots & driveways? That is the absolute worst time, since you would be more inclined to make sudden braking action.
I was taught my entire life (Even driving the farm truck when I was a kid) that this was a big no-no. I recall the horror my driving instructor had on our first day of behind-the-wheel, when a kid attempted to brake with his left foot. When I was going through EVOC training for firetrucks, the entire class ridiculed one guy for for this behaviour.
I’m sure I will be told six ways from Sunday how this is great and it’s “not a big deal”, that you are all such better drivers than everyone else- but it is. Maybe not now, but one day when those reflexes slow, and your brain isn’t working as quickly, you are going to plow through a crowd of people at a farmer’s market. Let the lame “roll-eyes” commence. 
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I am stunned that there are this many people driving in this manner
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Me too except…
My parents’ drive has a steep curving slope which causes me grief. My car’s automatic transmission is set up such a way that it holds the car steady on a slope*. Maneuvering slowly *in reverse *up a slope is very hard to control using just the accelerator, it tends to move in jerks as the throttle is so sensitive. I think the recommended method in this particular situation is to left foot brake, to get the sort of control you get in a manual by riding the clutch. I’m no good at this (the brake thing not the clutch) having spent years driving manuals I have a heavy left foot.
it is designed like this* since there’s no way to do a handbrake/clutch style hill start since it doesn’t have a progressive “hand” brake - the parking break is foot operated and is an on/off affair.
** on preview it occurs to me that maybe all automatics are like this, do any automatics have handbrakes, as opposed to a ‘parking’ brake?
Some cars have what is called “hill assist”. The way it works on, Toyota’s at least, is that when the vehicles sensors detects that you are on a hill and are stopped. It will apply the brake for up to 2 seconds after you release the brake so you have time to apply the gas and you will not roll.
Even if your car does not have a hill assist feature some cars engines and transmission are able to send enough power to the wheels at idle to keep a vehicle steady even on an incline.
The term parking brake applies to the hand operated type and the foot operated type. Please do not call them emergency brakes, they are NOT for emergency’s they are only for parking. A lot of vehicles with automatic transmission have hand operated parking brakes such as the Toyota Corolla, Mazda RX-8, and Nissan Altima. Some vehicles even have parking brakes that are operated at the push of a button or completely automatically. These would include the later model Range Rovers and the Lexus LS460.
I normally only use my right foot, however, I learned to control the brake accurately with my left foot from driving old cars with crappy or badly adjusted carburetors. The choke thermostat didn’t work well in my old Chrysler, so I’d have to use both feet for the first 5 or 10 minutes of driving because the car wouldn’t idle until it was completely warmed up. I’d have to keep a little pressure on the gas pedal to keep the car from dying. It takes a lot of practice to be able to do that without the car getting away from you.
Anyway, those old cars had big wide brake pedals. Modern cars have little narrow brake pedals. I tried using both feet in my van and I had to position my left foot and leg so unnaturally far to the right, I can’t understand how anyone could do that on a regular basis.
I don’t know where you got that idea, but the parking/emergency brake is a mechanically operated brake. In the event that the hydraulic braking system fails, due to loss of brake fluid, broken brake lines, etc. the emergency brake will still work. The brake handle is connected to the rear brakes with a cable.
It takes a little more effort, but it will stop the car in this type of emergency. (Of course, once you’ve stopped the car, it should not be driven again until the hydraulic brakes are fixed.)
I work as a technician at a dealership and we always called it a parking brake. Although you can use it during emergency situations, its not the best route to go.
If the pedal goes to the floor you have lost pressure in your brake system and you should try to pump the brakes to get pressure back up at least partly. Even a little pressure will be better than using your parking brake. This is rare though, because even if you have a leak in your system, all cars today (since the mid 70’s) have a dual master cylinder with a dual diagonal system. This means that the hydraulic lines of the left front brakes and the right rear brakes are completely separate to the other two. This way if you lose pressure in one system you have the other as back up.
If the pedal is very stiff and you feel like it is barely braking, there is a problem with your vacuum/hydraulic brake booster and you should step on the brakes with both feet and press as hard as you can.
If all else fails you can use the parking brake but at speeds over 30 mph its ALMOST useless. If your parking brake is the “drum in hat type” it will overheat very quickly and render them useless. The same goes for the types that compress the rear caliper. Plus you may lock your rear wheels which may be better or worse since a spin out is likely.
Another point is that if the parking brake was meant to be used due to loss of brakes then why do electric ones exist. They will not engage if the vehicle is at speed.