Hey, old polls never die, they're just resurrected! For automatics, I learned the "one foot for all" technique when I "learned" to drive a car with an automatic transmission through my High School at the age of 15. I'd been riding as a passenger with people "in-the-know" long before, and saw lots of left foot braking. Why is this a big deal? Recognizing that years-old comments are what they are, the whole "using a foot to brace for impact" is total bunk, and it sounds like it comes from the dark ages before lap belts were available. In my opinion, for a frontal or any other impact in an unrestrained situation, bracing yourself against the floor with one foot or two is only good for getting the fibula and tibia fractured. And having said foot on a pedal at the time will yield no different result, and in fact injury may be lessened with a foot on a moving brake pedal than otherwise. I have spent a lot of time in auto crash worthiness, so please reply wisely. Look, with a manual trans, some people ride the clutch with their left foot and it's bad. In an auto trans, some people ride the brake, and it's bad. They are all stupid, ignorant, taught poorly, or just have bad habits. People who are cognizant of the advantages of splitting +/- acceleration and braking between their two feet shouldn't be too badly criticized if you ask me. Is the skill of hovering a foot over the brake while modulating the throttle and using both in concert too much for some? I'd say "give me a brake" but the pun fun due to the spelling may be lost. Devon
You can always telll a 2 foot driver by the light show their breaks display, flickering on and off like a disco ball it's verry annoying.For the record I drive with 1 foot unless my truck's running bad and I have to feather the gas like Bill
Granted, those are the idiots, and we'll never know about them. Be glad they have brake lights working. Others don't, and are too passive to check their own lights on a regular basis. By the way, the word is "BRAKE" "brakes". If you talk about "breaks" we think something is broken. Devon PS sorry, I'm in a bad mood and will recover quickly, I promise.
yeah having both feet in line with the crash sounds like a lot better way to brace for impact then having a flat foot on the floor,and if you were in an accident severe enough to for the sake of argument disrupt the assumed to be working corectly factory lap belt and"suck you under the dash" than its probably one of those captain kirk zero win situations anyway only time i can remember actively riding the brake pedal somewhat was when i was driving an 89 toyota celica with a sticky throttle body, an idle in dire need of a good retarding and had an officer behind me for at least 15 miles of stop and go freeway.
brakes who needs that ---------- Post added at 07:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 AM ---------- actually there not taught that way anymore at least not in ky
You gotta love watching the car ahead of you starting to go faster but the brake lights are on. ou: It's obviously a telltale sign the driver doesn't know what he's doing.
I Use both feet, Left for brake and right for gas. But, only for parking or low speed through a parking lot. Regarding riding with one foot on the gas and one on the brake, I agree with earlier posts; There's no reason for me to do that (I don't race) The only trucks I drive bigger than 1-1/2 ton, were off-road dump trucks with automatic transmissions. Only right foot driving with them. I've had 1/2 ton pick-up trucks with manual transmissions. With those small trucks, I only use the clutch for starting and stopping. When in motion, I upshift and downshift without the clutch. (Left foot only for the clutch). ---------- Post added at 07:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 AM ---------- ---------- Post added at 07:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 AM ---------- I remember that when anti-lock brakes appeared on patrol cars, hearing the Police Officers around here talk about re-learning to NOT drive with both feet.
I drive with one foot! Either the left foot on the brake or the right foot on the gas! Very rarely at the same time.:Brow:
I generally use one foot when I'm in motion, but it's a habit whenever I start my car, or whenever I'm parked, or stopped at an intersection, to switch my left foot to the brake pedal. My car has manual brakes, so it gives my right foot a bit of a rest, and lets me apply more pressure. When I first got my car I had to use both feet to keep it running at intersections, but the carb issues have been smoothed out now.
glad this post was kept alive,this seems to be as contentious an issue as ford versus chevy pickups or the seattle seahhawks versus the denver broncos in a montana sportsbar.
I had forgotten about my old Dodge truck that had un-synchronised low gear. In order to down shift to low, while in motion, that's the way to keep the (un-synchronised) gears from clashing. Letting the clutch out in neutral, allows the gears (without synchronisers) to mesh. Bulldog
My Parents who would have started driving in 1935, were 2 footed drivers for all the years they drove. When I was older, I quizzed Dad as to why? He said that it was a habit from driving a manual. Once automatics came on the scene, they just moved the use of their left foot over to using it for the brake pedal. The last couple of cars they owned always had pulsing brakes from warped rotors. The last brake job I did on the Park Ave Mom drove included new rotors. It was only a matter of months until those new rotors were warped. God bless her soul.
had heard this technique(the double clutch) was a rumor started by a movie about streetracing,and sadly primarily imports at that (there was 1 charger or maybe it was a gto,cant remember and point is they roll it)called the fast and the furious. a truck driver/car enthusiast i read a post from earlier also was inclined to say it was bunk unless behind the wheel of a big rig.so unless theres anyone here who has extensive knowledge building 500 horse civics(why?)and it is a technique i am unaware of specific to front engine front wheel drive cars which have been tuned to the hilt, would definetly agree. but even then cant see any benefit especially on ff jap. man. cars which almost exclusively take the turbo tuning method wouldnt the increase in time spent shifting affect your boost pressure negatively after it purges on the upshift.especially since the same guy in the film says something about it doesnt matter whether you win by an inch or a mile, and (in my mind at least)youd be losing at least a second and a half per shift which would amount to a whole lot of inches .
two, when I was a little boy my uncle let us drive his stock car round the track, and he told me never let of the gas just tap the brakes before the turn as to not lose rpm so Im still stuck with my two feet.
Depends on the car. If one foot is comfortable, I drive with one foot. If two feet feels comfortable I drive with two feet. Since I first learned to drive a stick, I'm not limited to one or the other.
Here are some thoughts from a professional race driver. I think this sums it up. "Of all the techniques a High Performance Driver uses, left-foot-braking has got to be the most controversial. So, lets take a look. First, Im assuming were talking about left-foot-braking in an automatic transmission car on the street or using it in competition driving. I'll comment on the advantages and disadvantages of both one at a time. In an automatic on the street, left-foot-braking is only effective if you drive with your left foot poised just above the brake pedal, ready to brake in an emergency. This saves the fractions of a second it takes to lift your right foot off the gas pedal, move over to the brake, and then apply. The argument goes that fraction of a second can mean avoiding a collision. However, the disadvantages may outweigh the advantages. I'm sure you've seen the most obvious problem with leftfooting it - the driver who allows the left foot to rest on the brake pedal. As you follow this driver down the road, with his brakelights ablaze, don't you ever have this overwhelming desire to rear-end them right now to get it over with? You know someone is going to do just that, soon. By the way, they are probably on their way to the brake shop to have them replaced for the fifth time ("cheap car!"). This is not, as far as I'm concerned, the most serious disadvantage. What is worse is not having the left foot available to brace the body under heavy braking, and not having the sensitivity for smooth braking that your right foot has. The right foot is in use probably 80 to 90% of the time on the gas pedal. This educates a driver's right foot to become very sensitive, so that when you apply the brakes, it's a smooth application. Even if you always left-foot-brake, your left foot is only being used at most about 30 to 40% of the time, and never becomes quite as sensitive as the right foot. And you know how smooth and sensitive you should be with the brakes!! A driver needs to brace his or her body under heavy braking - and using the steering wheel and the seatbelts is not good enough. By left-foot-braking, you are sacrificing the support your left leg gives, and smooth braking will suffer. Getting back to the so-called advantage of it taking less time to react by having the left foot poised above the brake pedal. A study showed that 90% of your reaction time is mental the actual time it takes to move your foot from the gas pedal to brake pedal is a non-factor. The advantages mentioned above are real factors. Now, rally, slalom or racetrack driving are a different story. Left-foot-braking in rallying is almost a must - it is used to help pitch the car into a turn. In slaloming, again it can be used to help pitch a car into a turn, while helping save time moving the right foot - not to mention being able to keep the right foot on the gas while braking to avoid having the engine bog out of a corner. Left-foot-braking in road racing is used by a few drivers. When it is, it is usually to either transfer a little weight onto the front tires (to aid turning-in) without really slowing down (still keeping a little throttle on at the same time), or to help keep the boost up on a turbocharged car (again keeping the throttle on while braking). Or, the drivers became so accustomed to it from karting or after a leg/foot injury, it has just become habit. These techniques are not for the novice. In fact, left-foot-braking for competition driving is a technique which takes quite a bit of practice to become very proficient at it. This is when I would recommend left-footing it during street driving - to practice. Otherwise, use the right foot. I believe that the minor advantage of left-footing on the street is heavily outweighed by the disadvantages. On the slalom course (and sometimes on the racetrack), however, perfect it and you're on the way to many more wins." Ross Bentley, Senior Instructor, Driving Unlimited Professional Race Driver
