Do you drive with one or both feet? (Normal everyday driving)

[Skye]

Two feet (w/manual): sure. My left foot used for clutch, right for brake and gas.

Two feet (left-foot braking): common with several racing setups.

Two feet (w/automatic): I wasn't aware people drove this way. I've always used one with an auto. I wonder how many people, involved in the unfortunate accidents where they mistake the gas for the brake, used the two-foot method.

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[ice445]

In my cars I just use one foot driving for gas and brake, BUT, the two foot driving thing is super natural to me when I go karting, so I get why people who race do it. Balancing the car feels so much more natural when you don't have to waste time moving your foot back and forth (other than to shift).

 

[sk47]

My grandmother (85) uses one foot, BUT when she applies the brake, BOTH go onto the brake pedal. WTF.

Hello; Easy to answer. Brakes have not always been boosted and/or antilock. It use to take leg power to increase brake pressure especially as the old drum brakes faded.

Been some bashing of the old on this thread. Interesting how the young cannot imagine ever being old. Be careful what you wish for as you may someday have to live with it yourself.

 

[Banjoeyes76]

Hello; Easy to answer. Brakes have not always been boosted and/or antilock. It use to take leg power to increase brake pressure especially as the old drum brakes faded.

Been some bashing of the old on this thread. Interesting how the young cannot imagine ever being old. Be careful what you wish for as you may someday have to live with it yourself.

On point with this comment! Makes me wonder how many posting on this have ever driven a car without boosted brakes or powered steering.

 

[Bulldog9]

Automatics=ONE foot driving, right foot for gas & brake
Manuals=TWO foot driving left foot clutch, right foot gas & brake

That is unless I am recovering from knee surgery. Over the years I have had 5 knee surgeries, with the last being a full replacement. I allowed myself the luxury of left foot braking when driving my truck or other car with an automatic.

In general, society is degrading at an alarming rate............. Hard not to hate. lol

 

[sk47]

On point with this comment! Makes me wonder how many posting on this have ever driven a car without boosted brakes or powered steering.

Hello; I have had some vehicles with manual steering, manual brakes and vacuum wipers. If a manual trans then the stiff springs on the clutch pedal was a workout.

 

[MD18EcoStang]

Sammy Hagar taught this to a generation of drivers.

 

[Bulldog9]

I wonder if anyone makes offset pedals to make this less risky of catching the right foot.
I watched a YT a while back where a racer seamlessly switched between traditional and both feet use as he needed to use the clutch pedal on his sequential transmission.

What I noticed the most was when using both feet it was used to maintain chassis balance thru a corner and to adjust his line. You could tell he was feathering the brake while taking some off the gas.

This is called trailbraking, at least that is what I call it. Use it mostly on motorcycles, but some cars benifit too. I was never much of a bracket racer, but did a ton of autocrossing when in my 20's. Wheelspin = lost time, so max traction and grip meant time. The light application will help settle and balance the inertia and contact patches. It's one of the reasons AWD vehicles hold their lines, the power and braking from accel and decel are applied equally V/V a rear or front wheel drive. Ah, not enough coffee yet, I'm rambling.

 

[lugbolt]

Depends. Talking about automatic trans...

If the road is wide open, little to no traffic, one foot is fine

stop and go, lots of traffic? BOTH! Leaving your left foot on the floorboard while swapping pedals from accel to brake, there is a definite reaction time difference when you have to let up off of the accel and swap over to the brake, then push down on the brake pedal. That time is only milliseconds (seemingly, but it's really more than that) but every millisecond counts in a congested traffic situation.

I cannot count how many times that driving two-foot has saved me and the vehicle(s) from wrecks!! And not always in a panic stop situation....using both feet also allows you to quickly go from a braking situation to an acceleration situation, say like in my other car which is a little over 700hp, rear wheel drive, and no nannies, when the car gets stupid (and it easily does), you can "two-foot" it and recover quickly. Swapping feet ain't gonna get you nothing but in the ditch.

Mind you I also drag race often (legal type, on a race track), in a footbrake class. Two footing it is required, and after a while you get sorta good at it.

obviously manual transmission is a different ballgame.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Been some bashing of the old on this thread. Interesting how the young cannot imagine ever being old. Be careful what you wish for as you may someday have to live with it yourself.

It's not being old that's the problem. I believe that people who can't drive properly in their old age used to be poor drivers to begin with.
I think it's all about enjoying what you're doing. Someone who loves cars and who's a good, keen driver in his thirties will most probably be just as good (or reasonably close to that) in his seventies or even eighties. A soccer mom who regards driving as just one of her daily chores is likely to be a menace behind the wheel in her old age.

 

[Linkster1666]

My grandmother (85) uses one foot, BUT when she applies the brake, BOTH go onto the brake pedal. WTF.

Back in Grandma's (mine) day, there were no Power Brakes. You were the power, so she uses two feet from the experience of Needing to, or a left over of having to clutch and brake at the same time. My mother did it too. Smaller ladies needed two legs on the brakes is what I am saying.

 

[wingnutt]

both…always have

 

[Unas2k5]

Lmaoo Are you guys serious ? There’s people that use both feet to drive an auto?

 

[sk47]

Lmaoo Are you guys serious ? There’s people that use both feet to drive an auto?

Hello; I use to do some work on my former neighbors vehicles. One neighbors wife needed her brake pads replaced every 20K miles or so. One day i happened to be behind her on the way home. Her brake lights came on a lot, even on level roads. Turns out she was a left foot braker.
When I mentioned that was the reason her brakes wore out so fast she promptly informed me I was wrong. Her husband wisely stayed out of it.

I think some folks who use a left foot on the brakes do not realize that even a light pressure on the pedal can engage the brakes a bit. Same for riding a clutch. Except for when shifting we should not ride with a foot on the clutch. Some folks tend to leave a foot on the clutch pedal when in top gear.

Riding a brake or a clutch costs extra money over time.

 

[GTP]

OP, the moment you added the "just kidding" category your poll became invalid.

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