OT: I'm an Automatic Heritic!

[schosh]

Opinions wanted:

While attempting to teach the basics of driving to my 15 yr old step-daughter I was schocked to learn that I don't know didly-squat about the correct way to drive a modern american car. This from first the kid, then her Mom , her drivers ed teacher, and so far everyone else I've asked. Her drivers ed teacher suggested I either learn to drive "correctly" or cease from teaching the kid to drive.

A little background. In the late sixties I was fortunate enough to have as a neighbor and driving instructor a retired Desoto race driver/permormance engineer. This fellow had competed in, among other things, the PanAmerica Carrera and the Mobile economy competition. He had ( among several other cool cars) a race prepared, aluminum bodied, Firedome(hemi)powered Desoto in his garage.
His basic belief was that the same skills that made a made a driver quick made a driver safe. He preached a gospel of Awareness, Anticipation and Smoothness. He taught me several "tricks" that I have used to my benefit over the years.

He felt that the smoothest way to drive an Automatic tranny involved - and here is the great herisy of which I am acused - LEFT foot braking.
Though the majority of the driving I have done in the last 35 years has been in manual equiped aircooled cars, I have always driven automatics using left foot brakeing . I find it much easier drive the car smoothly this way.

So my question for all you teeners is this:

When driving an automatic do you use your right or left foot to brake?

and why?

[bryanthompson]

right, becuase clutch in with left foot, brake with right foot. I suppose if you take it out of gear you could left foot brake, but that seems like more steps.

[914helo]

Right, I learned to drive on a manual and used the left foot for only the clutch. The right foot braking carried over when I drove an automatic.
Kent

[Acox914]

stop the blasphemy! right foot it is. :lol:

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Being able to left-foot brake is a worthwhile skill to have. Particularly if you're gonna drive a turbocharged car, because you really want to keep the boost spooled up if you can at all times!!

You can react quicker with your left foot already above the brake pedal than you can if you have to move your right foot over.

Conversely, it's much easier to drag the brakes all the time by resting your left foot on the pedal. (I see people accelerating away from stop lights with their brake lights on all the time.)

I use my right foot because my left foot is trained to go all the way to the floor when I tell it to push on a pedal. Years of manual transmission cars have done that. Trying to left-foot brake is very hard on my tires, as I tend to lock them up by pushing the brake pedal all the way to the floor...

Neither way is "right". Tell your daughter that--and that the teacher is specifically teaching her only one of two ways to do the job.

--DD

[AaronM]

[i]Conversely, it's much easier to drag the brakes all the time by resting your left foot on the pedal. (I see people accelerating away from stop lights with their brake lights on all the time.)

I use my right foot because my left foot is trained to go all the way to the floor when I tell it to push on a pedal. Years of manual transmission cars have done that. Trying to left-foot brake is very hard on my tires, as I tend to lock them up by pushing the brake pedal all the way to the floor...

Neither way is "right". Tell your daughter that--and that the teacher is specifically teaching her only one of two ways to do the job.

--DD [/B]

While I agree with you in principle, left-foot braking is something that should be reserved for racetracks, it has no place in on-road driving (well, OK, not _no_ place, but it's certainly not useful for _legal_ on-road maneuvers ).

His daughter should be taught that left-foot braking is a specific track racing skill that, while legitimate, is more bother than benefit in on-road situations. It's kind of like double-clutching. A nice technique to know, but rather pointless in modern on-road vehicles.

Aaron

[Jason Porter]

I think the reason you brake with your right foot, is because there really is no reason on the street for you to be using the gas and brakes at the same time. The only reason on the street I can think of is a turbo, or power braking smoke into some idiots window who just cut you off in traffic.

[Scooter311]

Happy Monday
I'm guilty on this one - I'm 'ambi-footstrous' (my new word). I drive with both feet, I can even throttle with my left foot pretty smoothly in an automatic. I used to drive a parts van during college, and on long drives, I'd rest my right leg on the seat and get comfy, while driving with my left foot. I got good at it, and sometimes someone will comment "HEY LOOK WHAT YOU'RE DOING", and after I swerve around a bit, I have to look down at it because I do it subconsciously sometimes. I never get crazy with braking or accelerating however, I've never even thought about it like that.

[Rouser]

I use my right foot because my left foot is trained to go all the way to the floor when I tell it to push on a pedal. Years of manual transmission cars have done that.

Yep, when you're teaching a newbie to drive (especially in an automatic), it's Right Foot - Throttle/Brake, Left Foot - Clutch/Rest.

You don't EVEN want ANY confusion cropping up when you're right-seating with a newbie and something suddenly hops/runs/bounces into view and you yell, "STOP!!!"

I had to right-seat 4 sons into driverdom, and they all now own at-least one manual-tranny vehicle; I've ridden with each of them and was pleased with their ability to slam the clutch to the floor and feather the brake during some sudden maneuver, saving me a visit to the dentist.

[norustscott]

When in doubt both feet out... ahhhhh, but not with an automatic! Right foot only for automatic. I watched an elderly gentlemen drive through his garage, kitchen and into the back yard with both feet out in an automatic...

[applescotty]

After learning to drive a manual, I didn't drive an automatic for a month or two. The first time I got into one, it was jerky as hell. I just couldn't seem to get it to move smoothly. Then I looked down and found that I was trying to ease out the brakes with my left foot while accelerating with my right. Dead pedals in automatics are nice because they keep my left foot from thinking it needs to do something.

applescotty

[schosh]

Thanks everybody for the input. Rousers reply made me decide to not push the issue..He's correct about not wanting to confuse the kid anymore then necssary.
In the last couple weeks I have been hyper aware of what my feet are doing while I drive . The biggest surprise is how often I have both feet off the pedals. I find that in stop and go traffic I often let inertia carry the van between the acceleration phase and braking phase. If the upcoming light goes green in this phase I gently press the go pedal if not I use equally gentle pressure on the brakes. On acceleration from a dead stop my foot is coming off the brake a fraction of a second before i begin to genly press the gas. In that fraction of a second the idle speed of the motor has already begun the accleration process. While I will admit that rate of acceleration for the first few seconds is slower then many other folks it really doesn't matter in traffic , they just get to the next light a second or two before me. One benefit of this style is better gas milage..I get on average 1mpg better then my wife in the same van. ( We put the odometer readings on our gas reciepts).
For those who might think I drive too slow I offer the following data. For several months I used my gps , which provides such info as average moving time, overall average speed ect, to try to figure out the best route for my daily commute. I was suprised to discover that driving the van and the teener produced almost identical overall averages on each of three routes used. The biggest differences were max speed , time stopped ( both higher on the 914 ) and time moving (higher on the van). Of course the 914 wins hands down in the grins per mile.
Bottom line.. I'll continue to drive automatics with leftfoot braking..it just works well for me.
I will focus on teaching the kid the importance of awareness and antcipation when driving.
Bill