Driving one footed or two

[therevjay]

Being a LONG TIME motorcyclist one of THEEEE things that I HATE are idiots that drive with their brake lights on all of the time or flash on now and then.
Sometimes I think it's some kind of insurance scam - You get to where you believe that they aren't going to stop just because you see bright red lights.
That's why when I'm not driving my bike I drive an F-250

Also being a long time motorcyclist one of the things that STILL upsets me is "big sister" making all the mfg's move the shifter to the left side.

Apparently our nannys think Americans are not smart enough to tell the difference between a gear shift and a brake pedal. Also I guess we are incapable of learning a shift pattern other then 1 down and the rest up with neutral between 1st &2nd.

As far as braking go's. Should we use the rear? Or the Front? Or both? Or just lay on the horn*? (clear hooter, for you old timers from Blighty.)

P.S. I just thought, if you have a genuine Lucas clear hooter it probably won't work anyway. So just delete that option.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

Back when I drove my fire truck I always used two feet. I also used two feet to stop!

 

[eschoendorff]

I am a proud graduate of two auto cross schools. Guess what? They both taught left foot braking...even with standard transmissions. It's tough to get down and the car's peddles have to be located right, but it will get you into a turn better than any other method I know of. (I don't do it on the street any more.)

Ed

Same here. I learned about using both feet in a HPD course, and used the method when I used to autox. The cool thing is that you can feather the throttle and the break and blend the two when appropriate.

It's hard to explain in a post, but it works very well once it is mastered.

 

[finesse_r]

Only an idiot would think moving the right foot off the gas and over to the brake is faster than a left foot poised to stab said brake.The key word was faster.

The same can be said of anyone that drives with their foot constantly poised above the brake or touching the brake. And unless you know when you will need to brake in advance, that is what you have to do to gain an advantage. And if you do have some warning you can do the same thing by coming off the gas peddle.

If I were drafting in a race and riding inches off someones bumper I might use your system, but for driving around town or highway driving it is no slower to come off the gas and hit the brake than it is to come off the floor board with your left foot and hit the brake. Also for most drivers it removes the possibility of braking causing the right foot to press on the gas peddle, or of riding the brake.

 

[Maddog 521]

I am a left foot braker also. I bought a 2012 Ford and if I touch the brake when I'm still accelerating the engine dies out. They told me the computer regulates the stopping and the starting. I noticed it real quick while driving in parking lots.

 

[Bullzaye]

Only an idiot would think moving the right foot off the gas and over to the brake is faster than a left foot poised to stab said brake.
I never said better for you. Works better for me.
The key word was faster.

Perhaps my meaning was misunderstood. When I said

"I'm not going to stand and say that "RFB" is superior to "LFB", just as I won't say that "X" cartridge is definitely superior to "Y" cartridge, and
anyone that says otherwise is an idiot.",

I guess I should have said...

"I won"t say that "RFB" is superior to "LFB", just as I won't say that "X" cartridge is definitely superior to "Y" cartridge...and I won't say that anyone that says otherwise is an idiot."

I apologize if I wasn't being clear enough. It was never my intention to call anyone an idiot...I was saying I would never refer to anyone as such for not agreeing with my opinion. I really am very sorry if anyone believed I was calling them names. As careful as I thought I was being, I guess I left room for misunderstanding.

However, for the record, and for clarity, you claim that,

"I never said better for you. Works better for me.
The key word was faster."

This actually contradicts your original statement,

"Nobody can stop faster with the right foot.
Nobody."

...because you emphatically state "nobody", not just you. Additionally, you contradict yourself in your first sentence, when you call me an idiot for believing that RFB is faster than LFB (which I never said). IOW, you were only saying it works better for you...but I'm an idiot for believing otherwise.

And this was the part I was saying that I had a problem with...essentially, you were stating that anyone that disagreed with you was wrong.

I'm sorry for this long explanation, and for having gotten so far off track. I hope some of you read the post about the race car driver's thoughts, and understood my meaning. Now, to hopefully avoid any more drama, I'll leave this thread.

Tim

 

[Jst1mr]

In countries where you have to learn how to actually DRIVE, it is understood that there are many situations where judicious use of throttle and brake simultaneously (heel and toe, as stated previously) is advantageous, Cars from those countries come with the gas and brake pedals arranged so you can cover parts of both with one foot. If you want to learn and take advantage of this technique in most American cars, you will likely need a two footed approach, as the pedals are so far apart (to keep all those safe who are busy with so many other affairs while "driving"). If you took half the drivers around here and dropped them onto something resembling an Autobahn, they would end up like armadillos on a Texas highway

 

[wbraswell]

One foot is correct, period. Sorry, but standardized motorcycle controls are progress. Standardization is safety. It happened in cars long, long, ago. Just cause you think some dangerous, old bike is cool is not my problem. We don't have cars with right foot pedals, or right hand drive. We all know that no civilized country drives on the left. Hmmm, that probably why old brit bikes were backward. Back in the 70s I drove a pal's Norton 750, and thought I was going to die before I could get back to his house.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I don't always drive a stick, but when I do, the left foot (of course) activates the clutch pedal. That is why I drive an automatic with only the right foot for both gas and brake. My left foot is trained only for the clutch, and I don't want to confuse it by trying to also make it work the brake on an automatic. I can hop in any stick, and my left foot does not have to be re-trained. It's get in and go. That foot knows what to do. I trained it on a '50 Chevy, a '55 Chevy, a '60 Corvair, a '58 Chevy pickup, and a '65 Vette.

John

 

[PA Reb]

Two footed drivers are a car mechanics dream. You can follow those folks all over town or for miles and miles down the highway with their brake lights on grinding away at those pads.

I have to agree 100% with you "hittman77" when it comes to those who actually rest their foot on the brake. I see those kinds all the time and try to get them in my rearview mirror as soon as possible, especially when I'm on a motorcycle.

This is just my opinion but the right foot was always meant to control the brake and the accelerator while the left foot was meant to control the clutch. When I took my test many years ago, if the instructor saw you brake with your left foot, it was an automatic failure. All studies show that people who use their left foot for the brake are also a lot more prone to hit both in an emergency situation.

 

[dcxplant]

I love internet debates, and this is a good example of one. Folks using extreme examples to prove a wider point. In this case auto-cross racing, Formula 1, and Bondurant classes. Classic fringe-of-the-bell arguments and very entertaining. Another funny thing about debates like this is how quickly it gets into a right/wrong, this way/not that way, debate when the reality is that several proper answers apply. Again, highly entertaining as long as you don't get, um, wrapped around the axle about it ;-)

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

.....the left foot was meant to control the clutch.

It also is for the dimmer switch on the left side of the floor.........

 

[BillBingham2]

Two for manual (heal and toe), one for automatic 99.994% of the time. The other 0.006% of the time I use my left foot to light the break lights while the right foot pounces on the gas to get the jerk running up my butt off of it. Rather like the racer mentioned above.

I learned standard on the floor (R10) and then took my test with the stick on the column (R16). Taught my first wife manual and small car driving after she learned and passed her test on an Old 98. She learned to love it. Second wife claims she can drive a standard (did it twice in drivers ed) but why should she do so much work? I purchased a Jetta before we were married with a stick and still hear about to this day (25 years ago).

I feel so much more in control with a manual but such is life.

B2

 

[BillBingham2]

It also is for the dimmer switch on the left side of the floor.........

Wasn't there a lever to pump windshield wiper fluid in some cars too?

 

[the ringo kid]

The question ought to be rephrased. It should be: "Do you brake with one or with two feet? See image below:

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

Wasn't there a lever to pump windshield wiper fluid in some cars too?

Only windshield wiper fluid I remember back then was the stuff that fell out of the clouds...and it was free!

I do remember the starter switch on the floor between the gas pedal and the brake....and it took the left foot to operate while the right foot was pumping the gas pedal.

 

[ralph7]

Perhaps my meaning was misunderstood. When I said I guess I should have said...

I apologize if I wasn't being clear enough. It was never my intention to call anyone an idiot...I was saying I would never refer to anyone as such for not agreeing with my opinion. I really am very sorry if anyone believed I was calling them names. As careful as I thought I was being, I guess I left room for misunderstanding.

However, for the record, and for clarity, you claim that, This actually contradicts your original statement, ...because you emphatically state "nobody", not just you. Additionally, you contradict yourself in your first sentence, when you call me an idiot for believing that RFB is faster than LFB (which I never said). IOW, you were only saying it works better for you...but I'm an idiot for believing otherwise.

And this was the part I was saying that I had a problem with...essentially, you were stating that anyone that disagreed with you was wrong.

I'm sorry for this long explanation, and for having gotten so far off track. I hope some of you read the post about the race car driver's thoughts, and understood my meaning. Now, to hopefully avoid any more drama, I'll leave this thread.

Tim

Nicely spun.
Are you a politician by chance?

 

[MK]

Only time I ever use my left foot is for a clutch, light dimmer, or
parking brake. None of the above, no left foot usage.
I have both including an ancient Ford truck with all of the above for
the left foot.
The left foot has no work to do in my automatic Toy car and gets
the day off.

 

[blujax01]

 

[gdnagle]

Wasn't there a lever to pump windshield wiper fluid in some cars too?

And just a reminder as I forgot about them until they were mentioned as with the foot starter switch, 49 Ford convert had it also, first car I learned to drive.

1964 Ford Falcon

1967 I don't remember it on my fathers 67 Custom but could be my memory.

Porsche 365 A,B,C for you foreign car lovers.

Ford Falcon with lever

Fiat 850 Spider true bulb no lever


Remember they went with the vacuum wipers that slowed down when you sped up.