I say to each their own and whatever they feel most comfortable with. Personally, I’ve been left foot braking almost my entire life and have yet to have a problem with doing so.
I also do not ride the brake pedal and my brakes outlast most others on the road. The Lincoln just rolled over 235k miles and it’s on the original rotors with one set of pads on each end. The brakes on my cars are generally good for 100k miles or more.
Just some food for thought. I’ve got a few back issues, nerve damage, a surgically repaired knee, and a misdiagnosed hip problem; all on the right side. I have had chronic paid for decades. I also have muscle spasms mostly through the right leg; sometimes severe spasms. This can come on gradually or suddenly.
On a few occasions while approaching a stop sign (I live out in the sticks) I’ve had a sudden muscle spasm while right foot braking. This leads to the foot coming off of the pedal and bypassing the stop sign and especially so with manual shift cars.
So knowing that, who wants to be crossing the T as I approach the stop sign while braking with the right foot…
Oh and by the way, since I put those deer whistles on my cars I’ve driven about 5000 miles with narry a deer crossing my path. Even saw three of them snacking by a grain bin on the side of the road but they didn’t even look at me. So they really do work and nuts to those who say they don’t.
If you have ever sat behind the wheel of a bus or a garbage truck, you won’t find yourself braking with the left. We don’t hear about those crashing through brick walls very often.
You know that very few cars crash through brick walls either? Most brick walls, even those in parking lots will live their entire lives without a single car crashing through them.
Jimi Hendrix and Dick Dale both played guitars left handed, but Jimi restrung his guitars so the bass strings were at the top and Dick left the strings as they were, playing with the bass strings on the bottom. Who was doing it “wrong”?
Trying drawing circles on a piece of paper with both hands simultaneously and then rapidly switch the direction of one of the circles (clockwise vs counter-clockwise). Most people would get “confused” for a couple of seconds…it is the same with using both feet for acceleration and braking.
With all respect, @xaml, left foot beakers insist they aren’t operating the brake and throttle at the same time, and in terms of cognition, left foot braking is more akin to typing or playing the piano than drawing circles. After all, those of us who drive cars with manual transmissions can operate the clutch and gas at the same time. We can operate the brake and clutch at the same time too, independently. Your analogy is definitely flawed.
My sister was having a fit nagging one day, because my mother was driving with both feet.
I never noticed and her and I go on day trips all the time together.
I cannot remember an accident that she has ever had and never have had to repair any dented front end or fenders.
I say at 85 you aint going to change her and with such a clean record "if it ain’t broke don’t fix it"
sounds right to me.
The only time I was a little worried was when she had her right hip replaced 2 years back, and I was a little concerned that she wouldn’t have the control flexing her ankle.
On our first drive I kept my hand on the E-brake…just in case. We got about 5 miles thru traffic and I had realized that I had let go of the handle because I was comfortable enough with her driving.
I’m just glad that at this age she’s still driving and doing everything for herself and enjoying her later years. As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for her to pull in one day on a Harley and say “I’m off to sturgis”.
My mother-in-law…thats another story.
She always has to have a sports car, just like she likes the younger men.
I have fixed so many grills and air dams for her it’s nuts.
@MikeInNH: “I’ve been behind many a vehicle that’s accelerating with the brake light on.”
A friend of mine used to drive an old Dodge police cruiser. It had all kinds of things wrong with it, one of which was that the brake pedal had a malfunction that required my friend to stick his left foot under the pedal to hold it up when it wasn’t in use. When he didn’t hold the brake pedal up, the brake lights would come on. Therefore, I’m forced to deduce that when you see someone accelerating with the brake lights on, that person might or might not be a left foot braker. It could be a malfunction of the brake pedal or the brake light switch. The cause could be one of many things.
One time while driving from Jacksonville to Stuart, FL, I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed my brake light was on even though I wasn’t pressing the brake. I pulled over and discovered that the brake light switch mechanism (the part that presses the switch) had broken. I did a temporary repair so I could make it home, and then the next morning I did a more permanent repair. I glued a penny to the pedal lever in place of the plastic part that had broken. If I hadn’t been able to see into the trunk while driving (because I removed the back seats years ago), I might not have noticed my brake lights being on.
When you see a vehicle accelerate with the brake lights on, it could be the result of a number of causes.
The “unintended acceleration” scare will have new cars deactivate the throttle if the brake is touched. This should quickly retrain anyone resting their left foot on the brake.
B.L.E. My 1966 Triumph 650 Bonneville had rear brake on the left and shifter on the right. It was easy for me to adjust as it was my second motorcycle and I was 19 years old. I know trying to learn left foot braking in an automobile would be a very bad decision now at 62 years old.
Now really, ask yourself, why does this bother you? Are you concerned about the proper way to install toilet paper, over or under? This conversation is still going on? And the same lame reasoning to support their position is still being used? I have a direct line to the neurology department so don’t start with the left brain right brain idiocy again.
After retiring, I have little to entertain myself with so I installed a brake light switch to turn the brake lights on. I like to drive at 55 in the left lane and pretend to hang onto the wheel for dear life acting like I can’t see where I’m going. Then when young whipper snappers tail gate me, I flick the brake light switch just to see their faces. I’m looking for a straw hat to wear just to complete the scene and thinking about a cross country trip just for fun. If I had one of those Prius’ it would really be complete. Gotta take a nap now.
