Do you brake your vehicle w/ your left ot right foot?

Question

I went through drivers education being taught to brake w/ my left foot. Apparently, this lead to a disruption in traffic because some were riding the pedal. I hover over the brake pedal to give me a reaction time edge but not every vehicle is designed to accommodate this.

Answer 1

I use right, my husband left. He drove a big rig for years and got used to using both feet.

Answer 2

The only way your left foot should be on the brake is when the transmission isn't working correctly or your clutch is slipping & you're on an incline.



Report your instructor & take another class. If you paid, you should get free reinstruction or a full refund so you can go elsewhere for lessons.



Riding your brakes could cause many problems for the people behind you & your vehicle.



Taking your RIGHT foot off the gas pedal & moving it to the brake pedal is the only safe way to apply your brakes.....in stick(manual) or automatic vehicles.

Answer 3

I was taught to use my right foot for the brake. This way you have to remove your foot from the gas pedal before you apply the brake. This eliminates the possibility of getting excited and pushing on the accelerator and on the brake pedal at the same time.



I'm surprised to hear you were taught to use your left foot for braking. We were taught just the opposite in drivers education and this is one of the things that the DMV instructor would look for when I took my drivers license test but, of course, that was a lot of years ago so things may have changed.

Answer 4

I switch back and forth and don't give it a conscious thought. When driving a manual transmission I use the right foot and with an automatic I use the left. A lot of the older motorcycles had the brake on the left side. Again I switched from left to right without thinking about it.

Answer 5

Right foot. Of course I owned standard shifts for 40 years and just took possession of my first automatic yesterday.



I can't imagine driver training teaching people to use their left foot. You'd think people would ride the brake all the time, like someone above said.

Answer 6

The person/company who taught you to drive should be put out of business.



The right foot is either on the accelerator or the brake.



The left foot is for the clutch. When not changing gears, the left foot should rest on the resting pad to the left of the clutch.



In an automatic car the left foot remains idle. Which is very annoying for left footed people.



Are you left footed ?



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I brake with my right foot.

Answer 7

When I learned to drive, I always braked with my right foot since the left foot was for the clutch.

Answer 8

Always my right foot. Of course, I learned to drive on a manual transmission, so my left foot was needed for the clutch (and riding the clutch isn't a good idea either).

Answer 9

My right foot. I always thought it was dangerous to use the left foot because you might give gas with your right at the same time.

When I was working as a carhop as a teenager, one of my fellow workers a young women of only 19 and an only child was killed at work because a ( hate to say senior but that was what she was) lady laid hard on the gas pedal thinking she was braking. My co-worker was crushed against the brick wall and died in front of everyone, it was really horrible.

My dad used to use his left for the brake and right for gas and I always thought he was dangerous.

Answer 10

Since I have a 4-speed, I brake with my right foot, so that I can use the clutch with my left foot. My grandson just got his learner's permit, and hates my car -- loves Grandpa's car, it's an automatic. We told him as soon as he gets used to the automatic, he has to learn to drive a stick-shift, just in case he ever needs to do that in an emergency.

Answer 11

The left foot is for the clutch. People who drive automatic transmissions forget how to drive a real car.

Answer 12

I use my right foot. It just seems more natural to me. I never heard of being taught to use your left foot for the brake. I used my left foot for the clutch when I drove a straight shift, so I had to use my right foot for the brake.

Answer 13

Always my right foot. It is much safer because you have to remove your foot from the gas pedal to apply the brakes.

Answer 14

My right foot is used for braking and accelerating. My left foot is reserved for the clutch.

Answer 15

Right foot. Standard transmission.

Answer 16

My right foot. It feels uncomfortable and awkward to keep both feet hovered over the pedals.

Answer 17

Brake and accelerate with right foot. Law where I live...UNLESS you have a standard shift.

Answer 18

I brake with my right & accelerate with my right as I was taught. I've never heard of anyone being taught as you were. Riding the brake could have bad results in time, when it's needed to apply them. I refuse to drive behind people who ride their brake. :(

Answer 19

Manual Transmission -

Left foot for break and clutch and right foot for gas



Automatic Transmission-

Right foot for break and gas

Answer 20

left, it just always worked better for me to use both feet. I don't ride the brake, simply have my foot poised to be of use.

Answer 21

My vehicle is a standard so I use my right foot.

Answer 22

Right foot for me as I am right-footed.

Answer 23

depends on the transmission and the traffic/load/road situation

Answer 24

Stick or automatic I use my right foot.

Answer 25

I was taught to use my right foot.

Answer 26

I was taught to use the right so I still use the right.

Answer 27

If the situation is urgent enough, I may damn well use both of them at the same time !

Answer 28

My right.