DriveSmartBC - Final Article

[skidmark]

I am occasionally asked about using the left foot for braking instead of the right foot. The usual justification given for this is that the brakes may be applied more quickly because the left foot is ready while the right foot is busy with the accelerator pedal. While there are different schools of thought on whether this is appropriate for highway driving it may not be a good idea for the average driver.

An important job for your left foot and the leg attached to it is to press against the raised portion on the left side of the driver's foot well. This action forces the driver into the seat and anchors the body leaving the arms free to steer with during lateral acceleration and heavy braking. Staying in complete control means not hanging on to the steering wheel in order to keep your body in position.

If you get lazy and ride the brake with your left foot enough to light the brake lights will confuse the driver behind you. Are you stopping or not? Confusion like this will lead to an increased chance of being hit from behind and contributes to excessive brake wear and poor fuel economy.

In the event of a collision, the resulting pressure on both the brake and the accelerator will reduce the effectiveness of the brakes at a time when they are needed.

Finally, check with your driving examiner. Left foot braking during a road test may not be acceptable in all circumstances.

Reference Links

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[Simnut]

Are you leaving the DriveSmartBC website too Skidmark? :O

[sebberry]

Why are you leaving us? I enjoy reading your articles, even if I don't always agree with them.

As for the left foot thing - the real purpose of the footrest is that it is something to consciously press your foot against so you don't accidentally mash the brake pedal with your left foot. You'll understand best if your regular car is a stick shift and you occasionally get stuck in an automatic rental or loaner....

Why they make the brake pedals on auto cars extra wide I'll never know

[MindBomber]

I always enjoy reading your articles, Skidmark.

What's prompted the departure?

[jlenko]

Originally Posted by skidmark

An important job for your left foot

is to operate the clutch.

Anything else is just "steering"

[zulutango]

Left foot braking on a Road test will get you demerit points.

[underscore]

the only time my left foot is on the brake is when I'm stopped at a light and my right foot is itchy.

Skidmark are you leaving DriveSmartBC, or RS?

[taylor192]

1. People actually do this enough to warrant an article? Fuck me, would've never known that.

2. Why does everyone think Skidmark is leaving? What I got was that he's done writing the DriveSmart articles and posting them here.

[325isMSPORT]

Originally Posted by zulutango

Left foot braking on a Road test will get you demerit points.

I recall you can fail the whole test if you left foot braked.

[BallPeenHammer2]

The only time I do it is on the track. Sometimes.

But I do agree with having the left foot on dead pedal to hold position, given that I've had to do that to stabilize myself on the track as well.

OEM seats don't provide a whole lot of lateral support when it comes to hard driving.

[skidmark]

I guess that a reply is long overdue! I was just too busy to keep up my writing, visit forums and take care of family life. Something had to give and this was it.

Even in 2023 I'm still busy with my DriveSmartBC website though.