I was gonna post a discussion about women driving in Saudi Arabia, but just don t have the heart to do that to poor carolyn
I, at 75 yrs.+ have NO problem being called “older”,since I AM older than most folks. The pedal confusion issue is not always related to age. I belong to the Odyclub, which is a series of forums which deals specifically with my vehicle, the Honda Odyssey. A while back, there was a woman on the site who said she had a sudden acceleration event. I reckon she was much younger than I, since she had children, if I remember correctly. There was much arguing over the event, but she disappeared when it was suggested that the vehicle data recorder be checked to determine which pedal she actually pushed prior to the crash. My feeling is that the multi-tasking of the right foot, when not necessary, can contribute to such events, no matter the age of the driver. Many “older” folks, often women (yes, I have my stainless steel shorts on) have admitted to just such confusion when meeting a crisis while driving. While left-foot braking may not be right for everyone, I do think it could be beneficial for many, if taught from the beginning of one’s driving career.
Jerry O.
Well as much as I hate to admit it,I’m less cooddinated then most Folks,if I look at the pedals or shift posistions I cant find them,I cant even cross my limbs up and do things correctly and to top it off,it seems my world is about.05 second behind everyone elses and Facial recognition,forget it it takes me almost a week to learn a new face.
I dont know if this has anything to do with it or not,when I was young I had a bout of the Measles that likened to do me in,it actually affected my hearing in my left ear,I remember fading in and out of consciousness and gasping for breath(make sure your children are immunized against measles{bad juju-that measles} so when its all said and done left foot braking is not for Me,was about 13 before I could ride a bike and still havent mastered swimming,so go for it coordinated people(the World is your oyster)-Kevin
"It is a feat untangling your left and right feet to apply the brake when breaking, no?"
If you break your foot, it will probably be necessary to brake with the other foot.
;-))
give me a break
Maybe I am coordinated. Try accelerating with your left foot sometime. Some years ago I had a triple planters wart on the bottom of my right foot. After a little self surgery on it, I couldn’t put any weight on it for a week or press the accelerator. So I drove my 50 mile commute with my left foot on the gas and also for the brake. Luckily I had an AT.
I’m sure all of us who have passed the half-century mark (over 50) have had medical situations that have caused us to temporarily, and in some cases permanently, alter their driving activities. In my case my accumulated infirmities are the reason I drive an automatic now.
I found the claim in Irlandes’ post that older people can get confused in their driving footwork to be, well, in all honesty, downright silly. I can’t even give it enough credibility to call it demeaning.
The suggestion that older people should be taught to brake with their left foot because that’s the correct way is, I guess I can use the term again, downright silly as well.
Perhaps I should be offended by these comments but, while the statements were written as serious statements, I simply cannot take them seriously. They make me wonder about the writer.
I have used the left foot braking for years ( on an automatic for the nitpickers ). I would not begin to tell someone they should do so, It works for me but not for someone else. A few months ago I had to make one of those sudden panic stops where your main thought is fear of injury. After I got stopped and calmed down and did not hit the car that pulled out in front of me I realized I had both feet on the brake pedal and have no clue which foot got their first.
Is this an “odd driving behavior”? Rolling through stop signs. I rarely see anyone really stop anymore if traffic is clear. I drive a lot in rural/suburban areas and confess, I do it. I have a vague feeling I’m saving brakes and gas.
“for the nitpickers”
I’ll take that as a compliment . . . !
Whether you intended it that way is besides the point, as far as I’m concerned
Teaching older folks to left-foot brake would be extremely dangerous and should never be attempted. The time for left-foot braking to be taught is when a person is learning to drive. At that point, I’m sure it would feel natural and become a lifelong asset. “We never did it that way before” is not a sensible approach.
Jerry O.
I brake with my right foot and am very happy doing so, but to play the devils advocate I do have an example from personal experience which can provide a benefit to left foot braking.
Less than a year after I first got my license, I was driving while wearing flipflop sandals. I was waiting to cross a busy street and when it was clear I took my foot off the brake. However, my sandal had slipped under the left side of the brake, and I was temporarily unable to get my foot over to the gas. Had a little bit of a scare as I was slowly rolling across the street and a truck was approaching. Fortunately I managed to untangle my sandal and get myself across the street in time.
I have a feeling that there is more to the issue of irlandes getting so upset about braking methods than meets the eye. he is usually not the ranting type, from what I ve seen here.
perhaps some tragedy that we aren t aware of.
You may be right, wes.
Re: left foot braking, for people that drive both automatics and manuals, as I did for many years, it could create a left foot habit wherein should one be driving the manual and need to stop suddenly he/she would slam on the clutch rather than the brake… and crash into the thing he/she wanted to stop for.
Again, IMHO there is no “correct way”, but it’s just another factor to consider when advocating teaching right-foot-brakers to be taught left-foot-braking.
I don’t actually remember but I think I must have been 10 years old with the 57 Ford sitting on a Sears catalog. In 58 and 61 it would have been MT so left foot clutch, right foot brake. By the time I was 15 though in 1964, I was well into left foot braking and very comfortable with it.
I think we’re puttin too much emphasis on AGE in this discussion. The focus should be on ability.
Age, in my opinion, only matters if you’re WINE or CHEESE!
Rolling through stop signs? Not for me. The only California Roll I’m interested in is at the sushi bar.
Aged beef matters, too.
Happened to me just once. I am used to driving a manual transmission and one day was driving my wife’s automatic and came upon a stop sign and depressed what I thought was the clutch pedal. I thought I had hit a brick wall before realizing what happened. Fortunately, no one was around to witness the foolishness.
Nine times out of ten when I see the random brake light activation, I find the driver looking down, probably texting. This is usually accompanied by slower speed and slight wandering in their lane.
Just to get away–for at least a few moments–from the topic of left foot braking, here is a situation that I encountered a few days ago:
On a 2-lane road, there was a commuter bus pulled over on the shoulder in order to discharge passengers. The car in front of me refused to pass the bus, even though there was plenty of room to do so, and so we waited–while I worried about getting rear-ended.
After waiting for over a minute for this person to pass the bus, I tooted my horn. The driver leaned out of his window, turned back in my direction, and shouted, “Moron! Don’t you know that you’re not allowed to pass a school bus?”
Trust me–this bus was not yellow, had no flashing lights, and was definitely not a school bus.
I guess this proves the old adage that, “a little learning is a dangerous thing”.