I have noticed lately seeing brake lights on constantly while the cars/suvs, trucks are accelerating weaving in&out of traffic and stopping. Obviously left foot braking.
With almost all cars having automatics these days; is left foot braking now normal practice?
Or is this the video game generation just playing another game?
Or aggressive big city appliance driving? (i live in the Ozarks )

As a person who grew up with clutches and still uses them; I wonder if my right foot brake/accelerator driving style is antiquated?

In heavy traffic I tend to cover the brake with my left foot. You can definately react quicker in that mode. I started that practice while riding a motorcycle, by always covering the brake lever with my fingers in tighter situations.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

I use my left foot exclusively while braking. My mom could never drive with a manual transmission so we always had automatics. That being said, you'll never see me riding the brake. I never use both feet at once and it is automatic now that as the left foot goes down the right foot lifts up.

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

Isn't left foot breaking illegal?

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5 speed '91 190E 2.6 320,000 mi. (new car, fast, smooth as silk six, couldn't find any more Peugeots)
5 speed '85 Peugeot 505 2.5l Turbo Diesel 266,000 mi. (old car, fast for a diesel, had 2 others)
5 speed '01 Jetta V6 (new wifes car, pretty quick)
5 speed '85 Peugeot 505 2.2l Turbo Gas 197,000 mi. (wifes car, faster, sadly gone just short of 200k )
5 speed '83 Yamaha 750 Maxim 14,000 mi. (fastest)
0 speed 4' x 8' 1800 lb Harbor Freight utility trailer (only as fast as what's pulling it)

I don't know. I learned using both feet on automatics and continue to this day....it does help in an autocross, though.

Began left foot braking several years ago when my right knee was painful. Works well for me.
regards,
Mark

Only if it's someone else's left foot.

Being consistent is probably more important than which foot you use. I was driving a car with a manual transmission and was goofing around braking with my left foot. I came on a situation where I had to stop. I got confused as to where my feet were and wound up hitting the clutch instead of the brake. Scared the you-know-what out me.

I've been right foot braking for so long, it's second nature. No interest in changing now.

Never really found the need to. If you are not racing you shouldn't be close enough to the guy in front of you to always need your foot over the brake pedal.


Lots of people love tapping there brakes constantly, drives me nuts.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I have always been a left footer and always will be. Quicker response time on both pedals that way and I never ride the brakes!!! Also, I have never heard of it being illegal but wouldn't change if it was!

you cant seriously think that your not riding the brake, can you? Try to drive without touching the brake pedal, not even resting your foot on it...
Theres no way I can keep my ankle poised that far up, for any lenght of time...

Theres really no reason for it, unless your on a race track... The left foot brakers ARE using the DOT reccomended 3 second following distance, right???

Didnt think so... I think changing the way you drive is harder then increasing the following distance.



Slow reaction times are kinda expected, and I was tought that if you go less then 5 seconds from accelerating, to braking, your doing something wrong... bar of course an emergancy, but as mentioned before, theres no way you can brace yourself properly... If there is such a way

What do I know anyways, I'm just a kid whos supposed to be driving by the books...

~Nate

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95 Honda Shadow ACE 1100.
1999 Plymouth Neon Expresso. 2.4 swap, 10.5 to 1 comp, big cams. Autocross time attack vehicle!
2012 Escape, 'hunter" (5 sp 4cyl)

Left foot braking is so much better for inducing oversteer.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I tap the pedal with my left foot to illuminate the brake lamps without taking my right foot off the feed pedal, when the situation demands. Otherwise I use my right foot.

Once, however, I owned an old pickup, with three on the column. My father owned a newer pickup with an automatic on the column (see where this is going...).

I was driving his. I was coming to a corner, and simultaneousely slammed my left foot onto the brake pedal and shifted into reverse. Four tires screeching, rather loud bang, and a stopped engine resulted. Fortunately it did restart and didn't seem to have been hurt.

i do with my manual tranny in off road situations. it actuates the LSD in my rear axle.

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

Thought that works well for turbo cars when you want to keep the RPMs up?

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
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