About recalls for runaway cars.

You do know that people who ride motorcycles use their feet (and hands) differently then when they drive cars? Similarly, people who fly aircraft use their feet (and arms) differently then people who drive cars? Yet they all manage to do so safely even when switching between the various modes of transportation. Or do you think aircraft pilots are creating a hazard on the roadways as they drive to and from the airport?

The notion that people can't manage to use two feet in different ways when driving is silly. Like anything, it's a skill that must be learned. If you haven't, or are unable, to learn that skill then by all means continue to let your left foot just flop around on the floor and use only your right foot while driving an automatic.. Those of use with the skill to use both feet will continue to do so and be safer and more refined drivers as a result. Perhaps you ought to give it a try, and I don't mean for 2 minutes, I mean for a week or two until it's second nature, you might be surprised at how much smoother and more effectively you can control your car in traffic. I've driven (cars [with and without a clutch] and motorcycles) and flown aircraft and never had a problem with my feet getting confused. It's something you LEARN, just like the rest of the skills you acquire in life.

=3D=3D "Safer and refined"...what b.s. you are peddling...all in your own mind perhaps. =3D=3D

Unfortunately, many left foot braking drivers rest their left foot on the brake pedal, and nobody behind them can tell that they press the brake because their brake light is on all the time.

Always use the correct foot. It doesn't matter what pedal you put pressure on, as long as you use the correct foot :-)

It's not the first time and wont' be the last. It usually shows up in the driving forums though.

I defy anyone to drive any time at all with their left foot in the air above the pedal. Whether they are aware of it or not, they _will_ have their foot touching the pedal.

Harry K

I don't see 1 out of 10000 drivers do that and I have no idea if it's because they left foot brake or what the cause is.

Perhaps it's just in your mind that other people can't do it because you can't.

Harry, I've done it for years and my foot doesn't press the pedal. Is your foot really so insensitive that you can't tell the difference between when you are touching something and pressing something? It's no different then when someone has their foot on the gas pedal, if they are moving they are pressing the gas and holding it in a fixed position. If they are stopped they will merely be touching it and it won't move yet you can tell you are touching it. it's the same with the brakes. As I said in the other post, these things are skills that you learn by doing. If people don't want to learn them it's their choice, if they learn them poorly, that's their problem, but there is no doubt that left foot braking can provide shorter reaction times and smoother driving, all other things being equal, it's just the physics of the thing.

Really? I guess they will need two left feet so they can ride the clutch as well?

??? So you think you can hold your foot in the air for long periods?

Harry K

??? Who rides with their foot above the clutch unless they are about to use it?

Harry K

Same answer holds true for the brake pedal. No one needs to have a foot hovering over the brake pedal to brake with the left foot.

If you have your left foot on the brake you need to hold the foot up. Resting the front of your foot on the brake pedal is riding the brakes on many cars. After hours on the road you will relax those muscles.

it to confirm

=3D=3D After 60 years of driving, I have never heard of such a ridiculous claim regarding left foot braking. Ashton must be of a very small minority who practices "left-foot" braking. I'm sure most of the long- haul truckers would laugh at his conclusions. =3D=3D

As a mechanic, when doing brake jobs I used to look at the wear on the break pedal If the pedal was worn on the left side instead of the right and the customer complained of poor brake life I told them to stop riding the brake, and to brake with the right foot.

If they wore the pads out early because of left foot braking and riding the brake they didn't stand a chance.

Change the topic to "left foot whiners"

"jamesgangnc" wrote

As a practical matter, you don't hold your foot in the air, nor do you rest in on the pedal. You keep your foot on the floor just like any other driver. If you are in a situation where you "may" need the brakes at any time, you can then elect to move that foot to a ready position, thus the faster reaction time.

"Faster" than using the right foot, which is already there? Left foot brakers should not be allowed to drive. Period.

"h" wrote in news:hnrncj$sp1$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

Or allowing for confusion and the wrong foot applying pressure to the wrong pedal. It also allows pressure to be applied to BOTH pedals at the same time. (riding the brake;not good for both car and traffic behind it.)

and the reflex HABIT of always using the same foot for the braking task never gets developed,and in an emergency,confusion can result.

No,just on racetracks. Maybe the "dead pedal" on auto tranny cars should be a deadman's switch; remove the foot from it and the engine shuts off.