Why are some drivers seemingly incapable of left-foot braking?
I continue to be astonished at the letters in your columns on the subject of left-foot braking, and just thought you might like some more support for your arguments on this. I have driven an automatic car for many years. I have two feet, there are two pedals, what other allocation than one foot per pedal makes any sense? I'm also sure it's safer because in situations when I think I may need to brake I can have my left foot hovering over the brake pedal, whereas in a manual car braking involves lifting the right foot, moving it across, before depressing it. Sometimes I drive a borrowed or hired car, which nearly always (except in the USA) has manual gear change. I seem to cope with the switch to right-foot braking without any trouble.
Asked on 20 November 2010 by CP, Luton
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Many thanks for your support. Two feet, two pedals, what could be simpler? But regarding the email on which you comment, I thought the edited version of my reply was quite good, because it was as anti inflammatory as it is possible to get against the uncoordinated who cannot left-foot brake and therefore think that if they can't do it, no one should. Every successful race and rally drive in the world left-foot brakes, every smooth driving chauffeur left-foot brakes. All I can try to do is save a few more lives in car parks where the unwillingness to left-foot brake seems to cause the most deaths.
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