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mark~
for some riders it can be difficult to feel the brake pedal, especially if they're wearing boots with very stiff soles or with dual-purpose cleated soles. a foot just "resting" on the pedal is enough to do the job if the pedal is incorrectly adjusted for the rider.

i've fondled many a boot that belonged to a motogp rider (not while attached to said rider....just the boot) and noticed that one element of these custom made boots that differs from production boots is the sole. apparently if they could get away with it, some of these guys would have a thin layer of lambskin on the bottom. many run thin soles so they can feel with their feet.
when we were testing yamaha's first abs system at a track, we wore (don't tell anybody) nike wrestling boots so we could better feel the pulses from the rear wheel's abs. was almost like riding barefoot. awesome feedback.

on the opposite side of the spectrum, many of the mx and particularly supercross pros will run a very stiff sole, since they don't use the rear brake very precisely, and the stiffer sole protects them when they don't clear a triple (look at their footpegs sometime...they're sharp enough to cut your finger).

some of the cheaper made boots have an extra stiff sole insert, to make the boot feel "manly" when it's on the store shelf. wearing those boots feels like you've got a couple of 2x4's nailed to your feet. can't feel nada.

i think it's possible that some riders unknowingly drag the rear brake while riding. depending on how the brake light switch is adjusted, they could drag the pucks and the brake light wouldn't come on, so your riding buddies wouldn't even know.

personally, i use the brake pedal mostly to hook my toes underneath in tight left hand turns. other than that....it's just another piece i have to clean.

ps: bike not equipped with stock brake pedal, nor standard brakelight bulb neither.