Whats with only one foot to drive an automatic?

[Funkmachine7]

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

[ATG]

If you're only using one foot it makes it rather harder to push both pedals down at the same time, if, for example you're instinctively bracing yourself because you think you're just about to crash.

Also your muscle memory from a manual car is to just use your right foot for the brake and accelerator.

[nordboy]

Funkmachine7 said:

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

Why not try it? works for some people I'm sure. The majority use one foot.

As for muscle memory of the manual car, you use the left foot to change the clutch, so there is generally no muscle memory when it comes to gradual braking with the left foot. So what happens is you slam your foot on the brake.

Oh, and remember to come back and tell us if it doesn't work and what happened when you tried it. Once you do it wrong, you'll never do it again

[MikeM6]

Just make sure you don't try left foot braking for the first time with anyone around you.

[BertBert]

Having done it for years i always use both feet in autos. The challenge is getting the muscle memory in your left leg to be able to do braking not clutching.

Takes quite some time

[PhilAsia]

BertBert said:

Having done it for years i always use both feet in autos. The challenge is getting the muscle memory in your left leg to be able to do braking not clutching.

Takes quite some time

Agreed. For those that are keen to adapt, I always teach to use the right foot as normal and press the left foot against it to mimic the right foot's movement. This (normally) avoids the brake being used like a clutch and kissing the windscreen!

It takes about six months of using the technique (left foot only) for it to become natural and proficient in the majority of cases. It is also a very worthwhile adaption IMHO (not shared by others) as it has many benefits.

However, many cannot adapt and, if that is the case, they should avoid it's use in the majority of driving scenarios.

As another pointed out, when first attempting to learn LFB, choose somewhere devoid of traffic.

[brisel]

MikeM6 said:

Just make sure you don't try left foot braking for the first time with anyone around you.

Especially passengers.

You will learn to brake gently with your left foot with practice, but it does take a little while to perfect the motor control in your left leg. I do it naturally now. I’ll teach myself to LFB in a manual one day, but my current car (911) hasn’t got a decent pedal layout for it, though I’ve driven with a few folk who seem to manage it well.

Left foot braking can save you a fraction of a second in an emergency, and for regular drivers, it can help with weight transfer and keeping a turbo spooled up at the risk of unnecessary brake wear or heating. LFB is discouraged in Roadcraft.

[Courser]

Funkmachine7 said:

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

The muscle memory of a manual car will only help you if you already use left foot braking, which is highly unusual.
That’s the reason “everyone “ says use one foot. It’s because you’re unusual.

[PhilAsia]

Courser said:

Funkmachine7 said:

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

The muscle memory of a manual car will only help you if you already use left foot braking, which is highly unusual.
That s the reason everyone says use one foot. It s because you re unusual.

True. But then "everyone" used to say that the Sun and planets revolved around Earth.

[Courser]

Not sure of the point you’re trying to make but, ok.

[Six plus Six]

PhilAsia said:

True. But then "everyone" used to say that the Sun and planets revolved around Earth.

And whats the relevance?

The vast majority of people find it easier to drive an auto with one foot.

They're not all going to wake up suddenly and go "well fk me, its actually easier to use both feet".

[PhilAsia]

PhilAsia said:

Courser said:

Funkmachine7 said:

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

The muscle memory of a manual car will only help you if you already use left foot braking, which is highly unusual.
That s the reason everyone says use one foot. It s because you re unusual.

True. But then "everyone" used to say that the Sun and planets revolved around Earth.

Yep, I was just about to edit that comment as it did not get across the point I was attempting to convey.

"Everyone" saying something does not mean what they are saying is true, nor in everyone's best interests. Some driving instructors do teach LFB as "usual". I, for instance, encourage the choice of either LFB or RFB.

Once everyone adapts to the above it will become normal. Not gonna happen though, like women in politics...

(incoming...!)

[Pica-Pica]

I only use my right foot when driving my auto. Reasons:
My wife's car is manual so I prefer to keep that practice.
My car has hill hold on the foot brake, so it helps with that; hold on the foot brake with right foot, then when I want to move away I take my right foot off the brake pedal (it will still hold for some time) and then use the same foot to move to and press the accelerator and move away as it (very smoothly) releases the brakes.

[PhilAsia]

PhilAsia said:

PhilAsia said:

Courser said:

Funkmachine7 said:

Ok i might be a bit slow here
But when it come to driveing automatics every one says to only use one foot.
Why?

I have two working healthy legs that i can easly control a manual car with, one makes the engine faster an the other slows the car wheels down.

Why set my self up so i have to move my foot across and then start to the brake? i could just have my other foot there.
Why not use the muscle memmory of a manual car?

Is it about not resting my foot on the brake?

is the fear that will move my feet as normal, try and depress the foot rest and use the other foot to break?
Or that i just push both pedals and do a burn out in an emergancy?

The muscle memory of a manual car will only help you if you already use left foot braking, which is highly unusual.
That s the reason everyone says use one foot. It s because you re unusual.

True. But then "everyone" used to say that the Sun and planets revolved around Earth.

Yep, I was just about to edit that comment as it did not get across the point I was attempting to convey.

"Everyone" saying something does not mean what they are saying is true, nor in everyone's best interests. Some driving instructors do teach LFB as "usual". I, for instance, encourage the choice of either LFB or RFB.

Once everyone adapts to the above it will become normal. Not gonna happen though, like women in politics...

(incoming...!)

And.., my apologies for introducing an off-topic overly grandiose example.

My point was simply that “everyone does it” isn't, by itself, an argument for why it's the optimal way to do something.

Also, I have just realised it is not what the poster was stating.

6am here, just woke up after getting only two hours sleep. I am going back to get some more shut-eye and shut up.

[119]

Don’t most autos now cut the throttle pedal when you apply the brake at the same time?

[BertBert]

119 said:

Don t most autos now cut the throttle pedal when you apply the brake at the same time?

My Fiat based motorhome goes into a limp mode if they get overlapped ever a tiny amount and won't do more than about 5mph so I have to be really careful!

On the learning to left foot brake one of the high risk areas is emergency braking. That's hard to know what's going to happen when you automatically react as you get very little practice at emergency stops!

[dvenman]

BertBert said:

On the learning to left foot brake one of the high risk areas is emergency braking. That's hard to know what's going to happen when you automatically react as you get very little practice at emergency stops!

I had this experience when learning LFB. Come round a corner to find a Golf head on on our side of the road ...

It's surprising how quickly the car stopped with two feet on the brake pedal !

[tozerman]

Been left foot braking for years now.First started learning it when I did a bit of chauffeuring many moons ago as it was considered then to be "smoother" for the passengers.It does take a lot of practice though. The first time you unexpectedly need to do an emergency stop is when you know you've cracked it or not.For comparison my daily car is a manual..

[Evanivitch]

MikeM6 said:

Just make sure you don't try left foot braking for the first time with anyone around you.

... Or your kids in the back.

[jamescarrter]

It’s mainly about avoiding accidentally pressing both pedals at once. With one foot, you’re less likely to ride the brake or apply the accelerator while braking, especially in an emergency. Using your left foot for braking can also make it harder to judge pressure smoothly if you’re used to a clutch. One foot for both pedals usually gives better control and makes driving an automatic more predictable.