Left Foot Braking? WTF?

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Most people are "footed" the same way they're "handed". Usually, it's your right foot that is more sensitive and has better "feel" than your left. I know if I try and use my left foot in normal traffic in an auto, I have nowhere near the gentle touch on the brake that I can with the right

but you practise and you get better at it - most of us are right handed but we change gear with the left hand. i am no where near ambidextrous but i can brake with both feet and change gear with both hands
it all comes down to practise - whether some wish to practise or not is up to them, but it is very, very easy to learn and it is (in my opinion) much safer. if you see potential danger down the road, you can have your left foot sitting over the brake just in case and still drive normally

[NickyN]

I'm in the US so it's opposite feet for me.

That said, I drive with my right foot for gas and brake. I tried using both feet (left for brake and right for gas) and it was jerky and I found myself nervous with my left foot hovering over the brake pedal. I just couldn't get it and friends begged me not to do that anymore.

The only time I use both feet is when I'm on a hill and parking my car or pulling out of a stall on a hill. I have to use both feet or I'll roll. Or hit the car that's downhill from me.

[ryeman]

Which goes to show some will never be assessed as advanced drivers.
Driving instructors are teaching you how to begin learning, surely they would be shocked to know you didn't think for yourself how you could improve....?

[NickyN]

I thought about it but I'm comfortable driving with just my right. I'm a safe driver and have no tickets.

I think it's also because that's how I learned to drive. Now if I learned with 2 feet I'm positively sure I'd be driving with 2.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by NickyN

I'm in the US so it's opposite feet for me

same feet, but opposite hand for the gears

the whole world has the accelerator on the right, the brake on the left and the clutch on the far left
lhd countries have the shifter on the right
rhd countries have the shifter on the left

[NickyN]

Really? Learned something new today....

I've driven in Japan before....guess I just don't remember.

[da_ilks]

Originally Posted by Stefan

My opinion is it is a recipe for disaster that I would class as neg driving and wouldn't surprise if this has resulted in accidents.

I don't understand the logic here? Can you please expand?

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by NickyN

This thread isn't about what kind of drivers the US has or hasn't produced.

true, plus many indy car drivers since (and maybe before) the early 90's have used the left foot braking technique
i see no reason why they would have changed back to right foot braking

[Ryan]

I'm right footed in both auto and manual.

[2011G6E]

Erm...I've done two advanced driver courses over the thirty years I've been driving, and neither advised having the left foot on the brake and the right on the gas in an automatic. Certainly not for street driving anyway.

[Rev28K]

LFB is better on reaction times, go to any driving course and they will pound it in to your head that there is so much lost time, braking and metres in perceiving a problem, reacting to the problem before you even jump on the "oh bother" pedal.

I also tried LFB with my manual road car for slowing entry speed yet still trying to nail my accelerator as early as possible at the start of the straights and for trying to fiddle a bit of chassis balance in some tight 2nd gear corners on track. I couldn't definitively say I improved but I'd hope that I would have. And if we were racing for sheep stations I'd definitely want to try it (same as Greg Murphy and others do/does/did). If I'm Go-karting (just for fun with workmates) I'll LFB for sure.

Rubens Barachello (ex F1) was RFB and forced himself to LFB when he went to Honda. Dario Franchetti was a RFB but had to LFB with the latest Dallara Indycar because the early layouts didn't allow for RFB. http://www.indycar.com/en/News/2012/...ight-of-center

[JC]

Lfbftw

[chevypower]

People have long trivialized the minute details of driving, insisting you have to use only your right foot for both pedals and insisting your hands be at a certain position on the steering wheel. The reality is, people should do whatever makes them feel comfortable and in control. Most of the time I use my right foot for both pedals. But sometimes I do two feet, like people have said, you get quicker response times. I also have no issue driving a manual, though don't often get the chance anymore.

[Mickxr8]

Right foot for me , bought up with it .
Learning to drive out on ol gravel roads in a 3 on the tree , left foot for clutch .
"spirited driving" , washing off a ton of speed going back down the gears real quick will not help if your lefty is undecided ? ( good for carpark driving , bout it ) , right handers will know that the right foot talks to the brain better .

Did you ever wonder why ford never made the parkbrake ala landau/ltd available on manual cars ? ( beer worked , night )

[HBWC]

your all doing it wrong i RHB yep right hand brake and accelerate with that hand to and yes i can easy do both at once

[LTDHO]

I do not agree with left foot braking.

My left foot is idle when I drive an auto, however more often than not I drive manuals.

I think 'heal toe' is more of an skill then left foot braking.

I have always seen it as slack and it really annoys me when I follow a car with the brake likes on (could be a fault with the swithc, I know).

[mcnews]

left foot definitely, there are also times in an auto where you are trailing a little brake while powering down out of a corner to keep car settled and balanced.

[tex]

My left only brakes when the tachometer is beyond 6500, mainly second gear, occasionally third, the smelly white fog filling my mirrors.

At the circuit I still use my right heal to brake on fast down changes into corners. Tbh, I can't see the relevance of left footing it in a car on the street putting around.

[OzJavelin]

I've owned so many old cars which will not idle properly when cold that LFB is normal for me, although I was taught not to. The exception to the rule is our FG, that I've found LFB means I can't push the brake from perpendicular and i get a nasty vibration if I push at a slight angle with my left foot .. :(

[Sprint]

I raced go karts so nothing is wrong with left foot braking, the problem happens when people panic and plant both feet down to the metal.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by tex

My left only brakes when the tachometer is beyond 6500, mainly second gear, occasionally third, the smelly white fog filling my mirrors.

At the circuit I still use my right heal to brake on fast down changes into corners. Tbh, I can't see the relevance of left footing it in a car on the street putting around.

I guess doing it all the time breeds the familiarity so when in panic situation or at the track and too busy it all comes naturally, rather than then in those situations doing something that then feels unnatural, and thus more awkward / less effective etc...

[LukeGT]

I left foot brake autos and always have, I drive manuals normally. I often drive different cars some auto some manual and have no probs with pressing wrong pedals...

I think we have proven the point here, some people left foot brake... Is it unsafe? probably, for some people, but personally i'm more concerned about other peoples ability to use a steering wheel, indicators & mirrors ...

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by da_ilks

I don't understand the logic here? Can you please expand?

1. Well in my opinion you should never be able the press both the accellerator and brake at the same time. In an emergency you may not get off the accelerator quick enough or worse actually press the accelerator too.
2. in the event of an accident you brace yourself with your feet, resulting in burying the accelerator.
3. In stop start traffic there is a chance you never get off the brake completely your car has it's brake lights on at all times. Not great for people hehind you.

Why do you think the pedals are placed next to each other in the righ hand side of the footwell?

[aussie muscle]

auto = two pedals + two feet. why not use both feet?

I heard that 'one shalt never use thy left foot to brake' stuff when i was starting to learn, but i never believed or followed it. since i learned manual, i can use either foot for braking.

[aualright]

I only use my left foot to brake on my ride-on mower.

Can't see the use for it on the road. Fractionally quicker? How close are you tailgating to need this technique?

****

[Auslandau]

In the Landau at the end of the 1/4 mile it's left & right foot, usually standing, bum off the seat with a few hail Mary's and hope that I stop before the paddock comes into play.

Other times I swap between left and right without thinking. As said, it's what you are comfortable with and if it works for you just do it! Didn't think there would be a definitive right or wrong way

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

your brain having to worry about what two feet are doing at once instead of just one foot

Was it Gerald Ford who had to stop walking when he talked?

Only a problem for us males. Women would have no problem and indeed are capable of putting on makeup, talking on the mobile and solving the theory of relativity at the same time as well. Fabulous brains they have.

[madmelon]

I've been left foot braking for at least 5 years and don't have any issues with driving a manual- I have two cars and bring the manual one out every weekend.

Working where I do, I have had to drive a development vehicle with a manual pedal box but with an auto transmission. It doesn't have a clutch pedal but the brake pedal is too close to the accelerator to be able to operate with the left foot. In driving this vehicle for the first time last year, I really felt the difference in going back to one foot braking on an auto. Much less confident and much poorer reaction time.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Ryan

I'm right footed in both auto and manual.

Me to, have tried left foot prefer right more. Particularly in my manual.

[FRDGAL]

I tend to use the left now and then. If I drive with my sneakers on, the top of it will sometimes get caught under the corner of the pedal when I move it over to brake so I started using left foot, it's easier, just sit it on the corner of the pedal. Plus for me the braking reaction tends to feel a lot better under the left foot too. Lol a little tricky at first, feels like you're going to slam through the windscreen but it gets easier as you learn.