Do you brake with your RH or LH foot? (auto only)

[russellw]

The aim was to look at the reaction time in isolation for one driver who is predominantly a left foot braker in urban traffic situations and a right foot braker the rest of the time.

What I have attempted to quantify is the gain made by having the foot placed over the brake pedal which I see as the main advantage in left foot braking and not to test whether left foot or right foot brakers were "better" or even quicker.

Naturally the reaction time to remove the left foot from the footrest (unless you have a BA and don't have one) is going to be roughly similar to that required to remove the right foot from the accelerator and any such tests would not be testing the theory I held in a valid manner.

If we want to accurately detemine whether the use of the so called non natural side (for a normally right handed person) is definitively slower than the use of the natural side then we would require the pressure sensors mentioned above so that we could determine not only how much time delay was apparent between moiving the foot from footrest / accelerator (respectively) to the brake pedal and then how much actual brake pressure was applied and whether this differed between the two sides of the body.

When time and facilities permit I'll rig something up to do this with but it might take a little more research to ensure the validity of the resultant data.

Cheers
Russ

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Russ, it probably would be a good idea to do the test with a sample of drivers, both left foot and right foot brakers.

Also, obviously if the left foot is hovering over the pedal, this would react faster than a right foot braker with the right foot on the accelerator.

I would think that the left foot would not be hovering all the time over the pedal, only when anticipating 'danger'. If its not hovering all the time, you would need to ensure that the left foot is placed normally where it is when driving (ie. on the footrest or next to the brake pedal).

Would be interesting to see the results that you get.

[Full Spectrum]

Here are 2 pic's of my feet on the brake peddle.

[russellw]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Can't see myself with the left foot hovering over the brake pedal for the whole hour getting to work, where there's traffic the whole time. I think my left foot would become quite unreactive after a while if it was (with the foot twisted around to reach the pedal because my knee is against the steering column). Is this brake pedal position only typical of BA's?

Also, I have found that an emergency braking situation normally happens when you least expect it.

Well I'm not driving a BA anymore and still do it - and it's not as hard on the left foot as you might believe. My daily commute is in the order of an hour and I'd spend 2 hours on the road on the average day and that's where my left foot stays.

Still, the main thrust of ths thread from my POV has been that you can do whatever works for you. My original stance was that I'd rather shave the reaction time as much as possible because of the unexpected.

Let me digress for a moment with a real world example.

This morning in moderately heavy traffic on a two lane (in each direction) suburban road with a 60 km/h limit, I was travelling in the RH lane behind a Toyota Land Whale. Because I'm not overly fond of what they do to my forward visibility I was in the process of accelerating to move into the LH lane (at about 65 km/h) when he swerved into that lane (with no indication) to leave me facing a stationery vehicle turning right from my lane and about twice the length of his suburban truck to stop in - say 15 metres or so. I did but the three cars behind didn't all of whom had close encounters of the expensive kind. I didn't manage to pull up with a lot to spare but the combination of a closer braking foot and the space I had in front of the car behind me, left me out of the melee. Even if we work on the 0.4 second reaction time difference I can assure you I didn't have the extra 4-5 metres I would have needed to stop in.

Certainly the 360/350 mm Brembos played their part as they probably shaved 1.5 metres from the stopping distance on their own at that speed (based on our 2005 brake tests) but the rest of the gain - or almost half the available stopping distance - was down to the lower reaction time.

Anyone who wants to test the theory is welcome to attend the next AFF brake test and we'll include a couple of these in it just for the exercise.

Cheers
Russ

[Silver Ghia]

Russ, your example is the reason why I am persevering with trying to learn this left foot braking technique in emergencies. I can see the benefits of having the left foot over the pedal, and I'm glad I raised this thread to learn of this benefit.

I am always trying to improve my driving techniques, even after over 30 years of driving.

I suspect though that the BA Ghia brake pedal is designed for right foot brakers, as its on the right side of the steering column, which is in the way of my knee.

[XA Coupsta]

Russell.

Very very impressive to say the least.

I'd like to go on record in acknowledging that. I've had plenty to say on the topic - and I've still got more - but so as not to detract from my public acknowledgement of your efforts I wont be offering those immediately. This post was simply offered to yourself (and other readers of this thread) in pure respect.

Would love to see anymore results on this if you ever do pursue some variations to your experiment.

Hey Laminge - the zip tie thing now makes sense. You knew this was happening didnt you! The zip tie....cut spring.....about to break.......
Not fair. You had insider knowledge! LOL

[Asteam]

I was encouraged to practice left foot braking at an advanced driving course and i have found that it enables you to set the car up for corners better as you can balance the car
quicker. Once to get used to it your reaction time from accelerator to brake is instantaneous. you dont need to rest your foot on the brake pedal ,it becomes second nature to have your left foot near the brake pedal. my wife also was taught to left foot brake as well.

[[Tonko]]

I replied in this last year, but the reasoning has changed now...
i brake with my left foot, because my shoe hits something under the steering column, or it hits under the pedal (damn wide Oakley shoes)
Its funny going from the XD to the EL though, In the D the pedals were at the same height, whereas the EL the Acc is about 50mm lower, bit annoying that...

[Falcon_Phill]

Right foot.. same as accelerator.

[xwgasaxe]

I have always used my left foot for braking and when I went on an advanced driving course the instructor said "If you can master it then it's better"
I never rest my foot on the brake and find that I can maintain better flow in heavy traffic.
I actually hate braking and despise people that prod the brake unnecessarily which causes other people to follow suit.