As you probably kow I have always considered this to be a bunch of worthless tosh for road use.
Those that have argued with me have stated that it is safer because they have triple jointed knees and can hover their foot over the brake allowing them to apply the brakes one zillionth of a non-second before anybody else.
I was out to dinner last night with someone who would know - a rally driver who manages to keep the wolf from the door with his exploits.
Interestingly he agreed with me that the reasoning is utter tosh although rally drivers do need to have the skill. The reason, he says, that rally drivers left foot brake is in order to be able to reapply the THROTTLE quickly, not the brakes.
Therefore left foot braking on the road would only be valid if one was worried about acclerating as soon and as fast as one can. This seems much more likely and certainly in keeping with the driving styles of those people I know personally who have promoted the idea.
He also pointed out that in a real rally car the brake is not under the steering column as it is in a road car, but further to the left allowing the leg to be bent and the heel to rest on the floor and still be over the brake pedal. He felt that applying such an approach in a car was likely to be dangerous since the resulting contortions and inevitable cramp in the left leg would impede braking efficiency. [manouvering being an unlikely, but possible, exception].
Makes sense to me.
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I tried left foot breaking in a Xantia a few years back, intending to dab the brakes going down a small incline on a B road near here.
I touched the pedal and pushed and the car screeched to a halt like I didn't know it could. Mind you the car behind stopped as quickly as well, on the basis it wasn't sitting in my boot. It was also as if my foot was glued to the pedal until I stopped. Brain was saying "release", foot ignoring it.
Message? We don't realise how subtle and light of touch we are when driving modern cars, so if you wish to try left foot braking, do it where no one is around.
Woody
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I thoroughly agree. I've never felt the need when driving autos either. If you mistake the throttle pedal for the brake in an auto where the brake pedal is usually huge, you shouldn't be driving.
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Left foot braking is really only approriate on the road if the driver in question only ever drives an auto, the benefits are then potentially quicker reactions if urgent braking required due to the left foot not having to move from throttle to brake as the right one has to, likewise quicker reactions to the throttle and of course the sharing of the workload between left and right feet. Also auto 4x4's can be held on the brakes on a sharp incline while the throttle is applied. However for anyone who drives a manual to try left foot braking on the road is positively dangerous.
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>>quicker reactions if urgent braking required due to the left foot not having to move from throttle to brake as the right one has to,
Rubbish.
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The time to move left foot from floor to brake is longer then right foot from throttle to brake.
Ah you say - I could be covering the brake with my left foot. Only when you are expecting to stop I say, and in those situations your right foot is tensing ready To move anyway. Any pico seconds in reaction time is of no consequence in emergency situations. Better control? Tosh.
Left foot braking is a load of rubbish. Its only application is motor sport in various forms.
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RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
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It may not be quicker, sporty or sexy, it may not get me laid, but it?s easy. Right foot go, left foot stop - one task per appendage - freeing up the brain to do what it ought to be doing while driving which is mentally undressing pedestrians.
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Rubbish
Have you seen Polish pedestrians?
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RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
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Point taken RF
But let me ask ya, when you sit down at the drum kit, does your right foot operate the bass pedal and the left foot operate the hi-hat or do you try and operate both with one foot.
And did you ever wonder why you?ve never had a hit single?
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- one task per appendage - >>
That's one of the great things about riding a motorcycle!
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I do not advocate left foot braking on the road hence I said that it is only appropriate if the driver ONLY ever drives an auto. However it is true to say that having the left foot constantly covering the brake while the right is controlling the throttle offers the potential for a quicker reaction, nothing more.
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>>is only appropriate if the driver ONLY ever drives an auto
Rubbish.
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>>is only appropriate if the driver ONLY ever drives an auto Rubbish.
A well constructed comment there then!, a nice rational argument as to why you disagree with the sentance.
Ok so you don't think that left foot braking is at all appropriate be it amongst people who drive manual cars, manual and auto, auto only etc. I actually agree with you, all I am saying is that amongst all of the scenarios where one might be attempted to try lefty footy braking it should only be considered by a driver who only ever drivers an auto, i.e does not switch to and fro, auto to manual.
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>>quicker reactions if urgent braking required due to the left foot not having to move from throttle to brake as the right one has to, Rubbish.
Agreed
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So if the benefits of left foot braking by being quicker are rubbish, then so is your aquaintance's argument for doing the converse.
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"I was out to dinner last night with someone who would know - a rally driver who manages to keep the wolf from the door with his exploits."
I was out to dinner last night with a lady.
But I overheard the chap on the next table saying he raced go-carts and anyone who used his right foot to brake was unlikely to win anything.
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LMAO @ BBD
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A high proportion of drivers don't have the necessary sensitivity and control in their left foot and left leg for them to safely brake with their left foot. Occasionally I've tried it out of curiosity, but only at low speed and on a deserted road. I find that after 40 odd years of using my left foot to press the clutch pedal right down to the floor my natural instinct is to do the same with the brake pedal if I try to use my left foot. I've no doubt that, given time and a lot of practice, I could left foot brake. But I've managed satisfactorily for 40 years without doing it and I don't see the value of starting now.
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L\'escargot.
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The only time I've been required to use left foot braking in 41 and a bit years' driving was taking a Toyota RAV4 over an off-road course (yes, a RAV4).
It seemed very strange at the time, but was the only way a RAV4 can be driven over the course without a potential mishap.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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LMAO @ BBD
Wossit mean?
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Laughing my **** off at Big Bad Dave
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I was out to dinner last night with a lady.
That was no lady, that was my wife. b********!
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L\'escargot.
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That was no lady, that was my wife. b********!
So what's wrong with saying "B o o m b o o m" ?
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L\'escargot.
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It's a nasty word apparently in the Eastern Province of Mongolia.
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Driving with the left foot hovering over the brake pedal would, in my opinion be tiring. The reason given for doing it also, is that old people may get confused and press the throttle pedal instead of the brake on an auto. Why this should apply to autos only, I don't know, and I have first had experience that it can happen to a person driving a car with a manual box too, as I have described in this forum on more than one occasion, so I won't bore anyone with the details again (I would hasten to add for those who are not familiar with the details, that I was the victim, not the perpetrator).
In any case, how old does one have to be to be prone to such a mistake? I am 57, am I likely to do it?
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"Driving with the left foot hovering over the brake pedal would, in my opinion be tiring"
Probly. Which is why I keep it on foot rest and move it when I need to slow down. Don?t know anybody in the world who drives permanently like you just described.
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"Driving with the left foot hovering over the brake pedal would, in my opinion be tiring" Probly. Which is why I keep it on foot rest and move it when I need to slow down. Don?t know anybody in the world who drives permanently like you just described.
So how do you manage to move it any faster from the foot rest than the right foot could be moved from the throttle pedal?
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I don?t, it takes the same time.
I drive like that for no other reason than that?s how I was taught by my old man 20 years ago. All this crap about saving nanoseconds... zzzzz.
Has it?s advantages in stop start traffic and parking but other than that I just enjoy the debate.
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=32...0
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=23...4
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I learnt to left foot brake in two days - in a C240 Auto. Yes, it feels bizzare at first, but once mastered it is second nature. A bit like touch typing!
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I don't see an issue with left foot braking as such - its this whole idea of having your foot hovering over the pedal at all times to ensure that you can react and hit the brake pedal in a shorter period of time.
Its rubbish. Its utter tosh.
If you want to drive and brake with the left foot that you normally keep on the foot rest, good luck to you.
And I'd pick upon the other point that says "old" people shouldn't switch to automatics from a manual because they'll get confused and crash. First I would guess its somewhat more elikely that some wreckless kid is much more likely to get carried away with an unfamiliar arrangement than an "old" person.
Second, what is old anyway ? Will I get confused and crash at 64 but not at 64 ? Or is it 59 and 60 ? Or 80 and 81 ? Or is that absolute rubbish as well ?
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Left foot braking has one advantage in a car with automatic transmission.
With the car stationary you press and hold the brake pedal hard with your left foot. Then you put the gear selector in Drive, release the handbrake, press the throttle pedal hard, hold it in position and release the brake pedal to get a real flying start. The technique works best on hire cars and was spectacular in a Cadillac I hired in the USA. I can't think of any other use for left foot braking.
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I do that as well Bagpus but someone told me off when I admitted doing it in the Backroom. Nothing?s gone bang yet though.
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That's the auto go-karting technique, preloads the torque converter, can get disqualified if the marshals notice though.
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>[manoeuvering being an unlikely, but possible, exception].
I do it because I can.
I can and do move between autos and manuals without worrying.
It makes me feel much happier when manoeuvering.
It certainly helps when approaching a tricky junction where the split second extra helps to make a safer approach. Particularly when driving in London - which is more like a rally than road driving.
If you cannot do it, that's because you haven't bothered to learn. I'm not saying you should bother to learn, but it is an extra weapon in your armoury. Just go back to how many times you stalled your car when you were learning to drive. Hundreds, I bet. You'll find this easier than learning to use the clutch. If you say you are incapable of learning, then either I don't believe you or you shouldn't be on the roads. If you say you cannot be bothered... then fine.
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My most recent experience in an auto was just under 1000 miles in the US in Septmeber, I was most comfortable right foot braking though I did on occasions use my left foot to hold it on the brake at junctions, in traffic and when manouvering.
Clearly a case of each to his own, if I drove an auto regularly perhaps I would left foot brake, perhaps not.
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Er - I think the handbrake can be used to hold the car at junctions and in traffic. Well, at least that is what I do sometimes. Sometimes I just put my right foot on the brake. When manouevering I use a dead throttle and brake with the right again.
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IMO the only time left foot braking is required, is by racing drivers, as mark mentioned, rally drivers and racing drivers ( including the go-kart mentioned ) use the brake to settle the car through flat out corners whilst keeping the right foot planted, and also so that they can get the right foot down that fraction of a second earlier coming out of a corner. During road driving this is just not required, as if you were diving like that you would be through the first hedge.
It's amazing to watch the footage (no pun intented) of a rally drivers feet during a special stage run, it looks like some sort of dance routine, especially if there is a slip screen thing going on with a forward view at the same time.
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Can I respectfully suggest if you have ever owned a Vauxhall Vectra with the 'usual' stalling problem then the ability to left foot brake is an absolute must. This is of course because your right foot is busy blipping the throttle to prevent the engine stalling. Seriously though, left foot braking is a skill that tkes a little time to learn because the left leg is so used to stamping on the clutch, but it can be acquired quite easily.
SR
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Our local supermarket has some parking bays on a slope. Left foot braking, rather than the handbrake, is useful with an auto when reversing out
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Left foot braking is far too cautious. In emergencies, I use both feet. Seems to work quite well.....
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Keep your distance from the car in front. Then the nano-seconds (possibly) shaved off your reaction times by left foot braking become irrelevant.
Coincidently that´s the thing that winds me up the most on the motorway (autobahn) - people jumping into the (safe) gap between me and the car in front. Grr.
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Our local supermarket has some parking bays on a slope. Left foot braking, rather than the handbrake, is useful with an auto when reversing out
But what's to stop you using the right foot to brake?
When manoevring at very slow speeds in an auto, I've always found you only need to use the foot-brake. The engine supplies enough revs without using the accelerator to provide the motion you need.
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>> Our local supermarket has some parking bays on a slope. Left >> foot braking, rather than the handbrake, is useful with an auto >> when reversing out >> But what's to stop you using the right foot to brake? When manoevring at very slow speeds in an auto, I've always found you only need to use the foot-brake. The engine supplies enough revs without using the accelerator to provide the motion you need.
Presumably due to the slope, the "creep" doesn't provide enough power....
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This debate is tedious and I'm fed up with No FM2R constantly rubbishing other backroomers opinions because he doesn't agree with them.
I left foot brake in my Range Rover because I actually find it easier and less tiring, not because of any supposed reaction times. I also drive manual trucks every day and have no problem swapping between them and more than I do getting on my motorcycle.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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A few years ago I used to work at a Daf / Volvo variomatic dealership. All of the mechanics used left foot braking and after a few minutes it becomes as natural as turning the steering wheel.
We converted a couple of cars to left foot throttle for disabled customers. The only person who could manoevre them about safely in the workshop was an old chap who had spent many years doing this sort of conversion. I could only drive them by stretching my right leg across past the brake pedal and steering column, none of the other mechanics even bothered trying. The owner of the second conversion brought his car back to have the original pedal refitted with a sort of He Man dual control linkage so that the left pedal could be folded up out of the way, and other members of his family could then drive the car.
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Yes, we had a customer who had a succession of car that we converted to left foot throttle for him. Driving the modified car was a real challenge!
Left foot braking, clutchless gear changes and the like are all fairly standard skills for mechanics, to enable them to bring stricken cars back to the workshop.
I don't really care which foot people who drive automatics use, as long as they stop when they have to.
Number_Cruncher
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Anyone who I knock down cos I?m a nanosecond late on the brake probly has it coming to them anyway
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Spending too much time staring at the babes on Polish sidewalks eh Dave?
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RF - currently 1 Renault short of a family
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>>I'm fed up with No FM2R constantly rubbishing other backroomers opinions because he doesn't agree with them.
and ?
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