PKponder, I have the same problem. My left foot is a clutch foot and goes straight to the floor quickly- not good to accidentally put on a brake. In the rare event I'm driving an automatic, I jam my foot onto any foot rest available to avoid accidentally trying to clutch.

My mother drives 2 footed in an automatic. Fortunately I was trained differently because in all my 30 years of driving I've only ever owned manuals. Remember when those were called "standard transmissions?" :^) Not so standard anymore.

As a general rule, I use my right foot for both gas and brake, the way I was taught. Only in very special circumstances as mentioned above would I put my left foot on the brake pedal.

And I'd never drive in shoes I can't walk in, LOL!

edited to add: hurray for all us standard transmission drivers! My daughter has a t-shirt that says "Real cars don't shift themselves"

No. I don't drive two footed, but I can always spot those drivers. A car moving with it's brake lights on stands out.

:) To all the manual drivers. Me too!

Lol, that’s funny Nickel! It’s fun to drive a manual car and to ride a manual motorcycle though ( not in the heavy traffic). It’s just like playing a game, but I don’t drive big manual trucks or ride big motorcycles. They are a small convertible 2 seater and a 125cc small motorcycle ( Honda Grom). You might like them too. :-)

My daily car is automatic, but we have a manual truck which I drive once per week or so. I learned to drive in a manual, and have no problem switching. One foot at a time only, unless clutching.

I drive one footed and one handed. Both the truck and van have a hand break so that I can drive. I can keep my right foot in position to use the gas pedal, but can not lift it to apply the break. So many years ago, the hand break was installed so that I would not get into the habit of left footing it. The left foot back then was used on the headlight dimmer switch that was on the floor! Now, doesn't that take you back a bunch of years.LOL

Yes, it does take me back, and in my opinion, moving that dimmer from the floor to the steering wheel was a bad move on the part of the automobile makers. It's was so much easier to tap the dimmer with my foot than it is to be constantly flicking the dimmer thingy that is now attached to the steering wheel. Bah, humbug!

Only when I drive stick, which I really enjoy driving much more than automatic.

I have never in my life seen anything like those toe nails...yikes! That’s really something.

If you're a runner/jogger ... have you found a way to be running ... and stopped ... at the same time?

Driving an automatic transmission-equipped car with two feet ... is ham-handed, wouldn't you say?

If you're inclined to follow such a system ... ask your mechanic how much it costs to do a repair-overused-brake job.

That should go a long way toward curing you of that problem.

ole joyful

Yes, because I drive a manual, always have and always will. The few times I've driven an automatic it seemed to drive by itself in a very disconcerting way! I love the "feel of the road" the stick shift gives.

That photo is nearly obscene to me. Yuck.

Yes, I drive with two feet. When I first started driving 50 years ago, the car would always stall when on a hill at a light with just a foot on the brake. So I started keeping one foot on the gas, and the other foot on the brake.

I was taught you should never use your left foot on the brake...You would fail your test for it, but not positive whether that's changed by now.

Never ever! I learned to drive on an automatic, but as soon as I got fairly proficient driving, my Dad took me out and I learned to drive our manual transmission car. That did it for me. Have loved a stick ever since.

No, I learned to drive on an automatic, but use only the right foot. My mother drove an automatic too but used both feet.

Even though I learned on a stick, never. It doesn't feel natural.

two feet only when driving stick. those toe nails are ridiculously HIDEOUS!!

This is an honest true! None! I mean, no feet on any of the pedal while driving, and yes, I am the driver. LOL, a few of you know why but shhhhhh.... please don't tell yet. The rest of you guess how :)

Long ago I had a friend that used a wheelchair. His vehicle has a special knob (or two) on the steering wheel so he could drive without using the pedals. I'd guess designs have advanced considerably since then.

But I don't know your situation ntt_hou, so I don't know if that would apply to your riddle.

I don't even like to ride with someone who always uses their left foot for braking. They always think the brake is a clutch and it's like riding with Aunt Bee when Goober was teaching her to drive and the car is jerking along. There's a couple rare exceptions when you need to use your left foot (e.g. driving up onto car ramps) but generally speaking, no way.

And I much prefer the headlight dimmer on the steering column. I hated having my foot resting on the dimmer switch.

The only thing the left foot touches is a clutch. Braking and acceleration done with the right. No excuses. Dangerous, dangerous habit to brake with the left foot.

Funny this thread has just come up. I was talking to a friend on Tues - her DD and my DD are very good friends and I got to see her DD and her DGD when they were in town for Thanksgiving. She said that DGD is learning to drive and they were letting her practice on their farm while they were here. They were very surprised that she thought she was supposed to use her left foot for the brake pedal! NO!!! She thought it made sense. Ha!

Cynic, I totally forgot about the dimmer switch down there! Glad they moved it. I never get to use my brights here anyway because of relentless oncoming traffic.

I did for the longest time, they learned that it's actually very dangerous in an emergency. It took me forever to get used to putting my left foot as far away from the brake pedal as I could to keep me from using both feet. As for stick shift cars, I admire anyone who can use two feet and a hand on the stick and one on the wheel. lol

DH tells me a pair of spinsters used to drive their family's old electric in his town's parades. I think those were entirely hand controlled, with a sort of 'paddle' for steering. Seems everything old is new again -- electric cars being the wave of the (near) future.

Have hopped back and forth between manual/standard and automatic transmission vehicles my entire driving life and for a long time had one of each. Never had any issues keeping to one foot for the automatics and two for the standards. In either case, the right foot is always for the gas and the brake and the left only for the clutch.

I will say that automatics almost drive themselves (and in some newer cases actually do). I get a much stronger feeling of actually driving or being in control of the car with a standard transmission........but that may be because all my standards were sports cars and just plain fun to drive!!

Do they even make cars with stick shift anymore? I thought I read so ewhete they weren’t going to make them anymore. I always liked them. Lol about the floor dimmer switches. I forgot all about those! My Durango turns on and off the brights on its own.

True Lisa. Once cars become fully automatic & drive themselves there will be no need to shift anything. Just sit back & relax & let the car get you to your destination safely & stress free.

I wish they invented them long ago, I’ve always hated driving. Sadly by the time everyone owns one, I’ll be dead.

Yes, they still make cars with fully manual, stick shift transmissions. But the numbers and varieties are declining :-) It is more likely you will see the end of the stick shift long before you see the end of a manual transmission - most high performance cars now have 'automated' manual transmissions with steering wheel paddle shifting and no clutch. You still shift gears but with hands on the wheel and no clutch pedal.

And then there are the fully electric cars that have no transmission :-)

I wish cars were simple again...

I don't mind shifting gears. Or winding the window down using *gasp* muscle power. I like bumpers and a horn in the middle of the wheel.

When we have to rent a car, we sometimes can't figure out how to turn the darn thing on! By the time we have to return it, we occasionally know how to turn off the AC so it's not 49 degrees...

My sister has a very new car with push button ignition - no key required. And it is also very quiet. She is still trying to get used to remember to turn it off :-) She's left it a couple of times with the engine running. But it also has an automatic locking and unlocking system, so locks when she closes the driver's door and unlocks when she gets close (sensor), so fortunately not likely to be absconded with!!

No It is dangerous and so are those nails and shoes. Yikes.

The only time I use both feet is when I'm at a stop light or stop sign that is on an incline, such as one near my office. I wouldn't want to roll back and bump the driver behind me who is less than a yard behind my bumper (Give me some room, people!). I will press on the gas and release the brake slowly and simultaneously.

Gardengal, we have a car with paddle shift (and no clutch pedal). After the first drive or two, even my husband quit fussing with the paddles. So now we both drive it exactly like an automatic. The good thing is, when I'm driving, husband no longer fusses at me about when I should shift because the car does it. (He's such a "helpful" back-seat driver .... yeah.)

Pennydesign, we once rented a manual transmission car ... how to put it in reverse? Husband ended up driving all the way to the back of the car dealership because we were pointed that way and couldn't find a way out without backing up. You had to pull up a silver ring around the stick shift to go into "R."

gyr_falcon, you almost got it.

The knob on the wheel is actually for us to enable to turn the steering wheel safely with 1 hand. That's all the knob do. The other hand would be occupied using a "Hand Control" device. This device is usually installed below the steering wheel. It is also attached to both of the pedals. The device is used for both accelerating and braking by a pull or push motion. I used this system for many years up until the past 20 years or so. The current hand control system that I have in my van looks and operates a bit differently. It is designed for "zero effort" which means it is very light to control.

So there, instead of using 1 or 2 feet to drive, I must use both hands to drive. It is also stated on my driver's licence that I can only drive a vehicle with the required equipment.

Ah, you mentioned about technology, I've seen some amazing modification on vehicles that enable all sort of disabled people to drive. I once saw a van that was modified for a person without arms. She was born with hands but no arms. Yet, with the modified van, she was able to drive. The steering wheel was the size of a toy car so she could turn it. I was in awe and still am just to think about it :)

You know, I am one to look forward to the time when we no longer need to drive. Let the vehicles take us wherever we need to go. I believe, it would be safer that way but only if there would be no human drivers on the street.

I'm happy to have even gotten close, as the memory was from about 40 years ago and I don't recall ever being a passenger in the vehicle to witness how it actually worked. I've often thought that the self driving cars would do a lot to help people with mobility, and other, disadvantages. I don't necessarily think it would require no human drivers to make them compatible on the road, but the technology isn't quite there yet. It is coming quicker than I would have thought ten years ago. Like most new things, it will be harder for those familiar with hands-on driving to adapt, than those that grow up with the idea.

As nit_hou may know, it is unlawful for anyone who can use two hands on the wheel to drive with that steering wheel knob in place. In a crash, that knob could cause serious injury to the driver. I have one in the van because I must use my left hand for breaking. When anyone else drives it, the 'spinner' knob must be removed which is done easily with the push of a button.

I wish cars were simple again...

They are! Try an EV.

Only need one foot a lot of the time. Electric car with regenerative braking. Not even a push button to start. On some you get in, press brake pedal, car on.

Let the vehicles take us wherever we need to go. I believe, it would be safer that way but only if there would be no human drivers on the street.

Even then there will be "human drivers"--because humans write the software to control the vehicles...and increasingly with AI software and hardware, humans will still write the AI software that then writes software. Human minds, with our great virtues and serious flaws, will be embedded in there somewhere, even after the AI decides we are no longer necessary and gets rid of us all.

I hate following a left foot braker, never know when they "really" are stopping because their brake lights are always on.

I drove truck a lot of years and a lot of miles. 2 sticks mostly; occasionally 3. No automatics. You mostly shift with the throttle not the clutch. Therefore braking and shifting same time required the left foot on the brake. You are not driving just to the store or work you are at it all day (or night) long year in and year out and get damn good at it. Your left foot does not ride on the peddle - it just knows when to go for it.

With my pickup (1 stick) there is no need to left foot it but I do occasionally run the brake with my toe and the throttle with my heel. Especially starting on a steep adverse but occasionally to goose it up when downshifting. My right foot just seems to know when and how to do that.

10-4?

I drove a standard for years, and used the brake when stopped at a light, especially on a hill. I could put my foot on the clutch fast enough so that it wouldn't roll back when it was time to go.

Driving a rig, most guys gear down, instead of using the brakes. That's why there are signs on hills telling guys not to use the engine brakes (because of the noise). Rev high to gear down, and keep the revs low when gearing up.

I use a spinner knob because my arm movement is very limited due to arthritis in my shoulders. I wasn't aware that they are considered unlawful so I looked it up. Here is a state by state list of laws and rules making them illegal: http://www.suicideknob.net/state_laws.html. As you will see, there aren't any.

Yes, I am aware that they can be dangerous. But so is not having full control of the steering wheel.

Rusty

As for stick shift cars, I admire anyone who can use two feet and a hand on the stick and one on the wheel. lol

That would be why I can't stand when someone won't go at a stop sign unless you wave them on. I can't. I don't have a free hand. I will run you over if you're waiting on a wave

Actually, I do use my left foot for the brake but I don't leave my foot on the brake pedal unless I'm braking. So I don't drive with my brake lights on. I have driven this way for decades and it just feel natural for me.

I wish I had not seen that picture. It hits me in the viscera.

Nope, don't drive with two feet and did not know that some people do.

I learned stick and have even driven older cars without synchronized gears that required double clutching. Have driven in mountains and in tight steep twisties. Have driven stick in heavy San Francisco traffic on hills. Never have I used the left foot to engage the brake.

At one time I had hoped to race cars. Never got to but it was on the list. ;-( A guy who raced taught how me heel toe downshift. Again right foot does the work.

It's also a pet peeve of mine that people don't seem to be taught or bother to learn how to slow an engine by gearing down. Yes this applies to automatic trannies too. They are the ones riding the brakes over the hill, braking in the middle of the turn and doing sundry other things endangering my life and that of others on the highway.

Rusty, interesting info on the spinner (aka suicide) knobs and legal/illegal use. I got the first one in Ohio 40 years ago and we were told then that it had to be removed for other drivers. Haven't heard anything different in the 2 states we lived in since then, so just assumed it was true everywhere. Truth is mine is never removed for anyone.

When I had my standard, I lived about 40 miles outside of the city. My boss used to tell me that if I could make it in, there was no excuse for other workers who lived inside not to make it during the winter. :-)

One time, I made it all the way in to work then slid on the icy road and parked it in a snowbank right outside the factory where I worked. I tried, but couldn't get it out and left it there.

I told my foreman that it was there and he said he'd bring it in for me. He came back in and said "You drive a stick!! I don't know how to drive one." He said that one hand was for his cigarette and the other was for his coffee and he didn't want to bother shifting gears too.

I did that same thing jasdip. Except it was on a university campus in front of a frat house. Back in my slim and twenties days. A handful of strapping young men came over and lifted my tiny little matchbox sized car onto the road. Ah, those were the days.

As a two-footed driver, I don't understand about the brake lights. The left foot isn't on the petal except for braking so how would the lights be on? Actually I prefer "no-footed" driving, that would be cruise control.

If they use only one foot for accelerating, and the same (both right, right?) for braking ...

... it is possible to do both at the same time, but it requires rather complex manipulation.

If they use the left for braking, while the right does the accelerator thing ... it's easy to do both at the same time.

Hard on gas ... hard on brakes ...

... and it gets the following driver quite confused.

o j