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Anyone here drive with two feet?

Bad idea on vehicles that have an electronic throttle body. All newer vehicles have brake over acceleration as a fail safe. With 2 footed drivers, they contact both pedals at the same time. This immediately cuts throttle and applies brake, which causes the jerkiness. On certain models, when brake over acceleration is engaged it will apply brakes until the vehicle is under a certain speed, regardless of input. This is dangerous and for some reason impossible for people that do it to understand.
 
I use the right foot for the gas and brake and I don't use the left foot. And I heard someone saying that they use both feet, with the left over the brake and the right over the gas, and thus their reaction time when they need to hit the brakes is shorter. This seems so obvious that it makes me wonder why it isn't the norm. Any thoughts?
Wrong , the time it takes to slide the foot from he gas pedal to the brake is insignificant in comparison to the "mental processing time" and the "physics involved in stopping the momentum of the vehicle".


Mechanical devices take time to engage, even after the responder has acted. For example, a driver stepping on the brake pedal does not stop the car immediately. Instead, the stopping is a function of physical forces, gravity and friction.

Here's a simple example. Suppose a person is driving a car at 55 mph (80.67 feet/sec) during the day on a dry, level road. He sees a pedestrian and applies the brakes. What is the shortest stopping distance that can reasonably be expected? Total stopping distance consists of three components:
  1. Reaction Distance. First. Suppose the reaction time is 1.5 seconds. This means that the car will travel 1.5 x80.67 or 120.9 feet before the brakes are even applied.
  2. Brake Engagement Distance. Most reaction time studies consider the response completed at the moment the foot touches the brake pedal. However, brakes do not engage instantaneously. There is an additional time required for the pedal to depress and for the brakes to engage. This is variable and difficult to summarize in a single number because it depends on urgency and braking style. In an emergency, a reasonable estimate is .3 second, adding another 24.2 feet.
  3. Physical Force Distance. Once the brakes engage, the stopping distance is determined by physical forces (D=S²/(30*f) where S is mph) as 134.4 feet.
Total Stopping Distance = 120.9 ft + 24.2 ft + 134.4 ft = 279.5 ft

Almost half the distance is created by driver reaction time. This is one reason that it is vital to have a good estimate of speed of human response.
 
Way back when my Dad was teaching me to drive, he taught me on the standard shift Studebaker Hawk because the Buick was automatic. Our first time out, he said the left foot never goes on the brake. When I pulled over on a back road in Lancaster County to blow my nose, I put my left foot on the break to reach for my pocket hanky, he said that’s it. Get out of the car. I am driving home. I told you never to put your left foot on the brake pedal. I learned my lesson.
 
...have been using both feet for driving a car for more than 72 years now - it’s a hard habit to break... :)
...interestingly, back in the 50’s I drove most of the time with only 1
hand - I had a “spinner” on the steering wheel - but they were later ruled illegal... oh, well ...
 
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I use my left foot all the time. But, for the clutch
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Broke my ankle in high school and had a pretty decent cast on it. Ended up driving with my left foot for a few months and kept my right leg and foot straddled over to the passenger side floor board. Not sure how I convinced my parents to let me do that.
Similar situation - tore right hamstring in HS...drove with left foot for months.
 
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Wrong , the time it takes to slide the foot from he gas pedal to the brake is insignificant in comparison to the "mental processing time" and the "physics involved in stopping the momentum of the vehicle".


Mechanical devices take time to engage, even after the responder has acted. For example, a driver stepping on the brake pedal does not stop the car immediately. Instead, the stopping is a function of physical forces, gravity and friction.

Here's a simple example. Suppose a person is driving a car at 55 mph (80.67 feet/sec) during the day on a dry, level road. He sees a pedestrian and applies the brakes. What is the shortest stopping distance that can reasonably be expected? Total stopping distance consists of three components:
  1. Reaction Distance. First. Suppose the reaction time is 1.5 seconds. This means that the car will travel 1.5 x80.67 or 120.9 feet before the brakes are even applied.
  2. Brake Engagement Distance. Most reaction time studies consider the response completed at the moment the foot touches the brake pedal. However, brakes do not engage instantaneously. There is an additional time required for the pedal to depress and for the brakes to engage. This is variable and difficult to summarize in a single number because it depends on urgency and braking style. In an emergency, a reasonable estimate is .3 second, adding another 24.2 feet.
  3. Physical Force Distance. Once the brakes engage, the stopping distance is determined by physical forces (D=S²/(30*f) where S is mph) as 134.4 feet.
Total Stopping Distance = 120.9 ft + 24.2 ft + 134.4 ft = 279.5 ft

Almost half the distance is created by driver reaction time. This is one reason that it is vital to have a good estimate of speed of human response.
Spoken like a true engineer!

Did you know that it takes about a quarter second for light to strike your eye, the signal to pass down the optic nerve, and for the brain to process the image. That means every thing you see is about a quarter second after it actually happened!
 
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Spoken like a true engineer!

Did you know that it takes about a quarter second for light to strike your eye, the signal to pass down the optic nerve, and for the brain to process the image. That means every thing you see is about a quarter second after it actually happened!
Interesting Meister, in my case, I believe there are tiny signs along my optic nerve that read "temporary delay by Jack Old No. 7"
 
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...have been using both feet for driving a car for more than 72 years now - it’s a hard habit to break... :)
...interestingly, back in the 50’s I drove most of the time with only 1
hand - I had a “spinner” on the steering wheel - but they were later ruled illegal... oh, well ...
Did you use your other hand to reach down on the floor to dim the headlights?
 
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