RedlineMan

Hey;

I can't say that it is a failing offense or not, but I know why it may be frowned upon. Those against the idea of LFB will tell you that if you have your right foot on the brake, and you are thrown forward, you will brake harder. If you left foot is on the brake under the same circumstance, your left may plant the throttle into the mat. This does make some sense, at least in theory.

Since my legs are always folded up to some degree, LFB is a lot easier, quicker, and more nuanced than picking my entire leg up to brake. I have always done it, even before I drove in earnest. I don't believe I did so for my test, however. I'd encourage both ways, just for the sake of versatility, if nothing else. I'd definitely encourage RFB it for the test.

FGL28

Point well taken. Most good karters have made the adaption to RFB. It is like using hand over hand steering. Do it for the test and then attend a DE to learn how to really do it right.

Greg Smith

You really pick up your entire leg? I rotate my right foot on the back of my foot, so I never pick up my entire leg.

Bill L Seifert

I was driving one time and a friend that was a cop saw me left foot brake. He told me it was against the law in Tennessee. I never checked on it, but my dad had the examiner he had when he got his Tennessee drivers license, tell him not to do it. Which he did as long as the examiner was with him. But then that was over 50 years ago.

Bill Seifert

tkerrmd

lewis it was illegal in PA way back when at least at we were taught in driver ed in HS that was to stop people from riding the brake or gas and brake at the same time.
I personally think it is a carry over when most cars were stick shift?

I bet your son can make it through with just his right foot!!

RedlineMan

Yeh...

Didja see the 6'5" part? With your leg bent, you can do the rotate thing only if your knee clears the steering wheel. Mine doesn't.

mdrums

I would take this opportunity to make this a lesson to your son. Have him call or stop by the local license place and talk with an officer that gives the test and ask his left foot brake question. No argument about how he is super fast in a kart and has been left foot braking since he was 5 years old, just ask the question get the answer thank the officer and move on.

If he will be failed or docked points on the test for left foot braking then that is the rule he must live by, just like all others. If you son has mad driving skills then braking with his right foot for the test should be no problem. This will teach him to respect the driving rules and authority because driving a car on public roads is a privilege not a right.

best of luck!

ltc

His mother is bringing him tomorrow for his permit test (20 written questions IIRC). She will ask while they're at the RMV.

My concern is simply reflexes. If he's not 'thinking', he might just touch the brake pedal with his left foot and be failed. I know, not the end of the world.

Still does seem like an odd 'rule'.

ltc

Regarding his 'skills', it's really amazing watching these kids grow up driving.
The vast majority of them simply have no idea how advanced their driving skills actually are. To them, it's just meeting other friends at a National event, racing the hell out each other, then throwing a ball around in the paddock when they're done.
(Out at Miller Motorsports Park, after he was done with his FBMW test, he asked if him and his friends could go and drive the 'concession karts'. I paid for him and his friends and told the person doing the flagging at the arrive and drive track to take a 15 minute break.....they went out and beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes, laughing, drifting, just being kids. 10's of thousands of dollars in karts/engines/parts and they just enjoyed crappy concession karts. Go figure.)

I showed him the course handouts at Skippy School and he looked perplexed, like 'what is CPR' and 'you actually pay someone to teach you this'?
It's something he just reflexively/instinctively has done. They all do.

I will be curious to see how it carries over to street driving.....with the 'mouth breathers' (as was previously described).

:-)

I have dealt this for one of my daughter. NJ's Basic automobile driver manual states "...A motorist should always use his/her right foot for both the brake and the gas pedal. If the vehicle is equipped with a manual transmission, the left foot should be used for the clutch." under Proper Braking section.

Reimu

In NC they'll fail you for it.

I'm sure your kid can manage not LFBing for 10 minutes to pass the test.

savowood

I wasn't aware of this, and when I took my driver test 25 years ago, I actually had a point where it did a quick grazing of the brake with my left foot. At the time, I had been racing a lot of different vehicles and was used to doing what worked best at the moment. After doing it, I wondered if they allowed it. The examiner didn't catch it. She did however catch my heel-and-toe, and commented on it to my mother. My mother said she was going to learn it from me.

About a year or so ago, I actually drove from the DC area to a client in WV while suffering from a sprained right ankle. Freshly sprained actually...that very afternoon. I drove the whole way left foot braking, and left foot gassing. Although it should have felt very odd, it was quite natural.

I think a lot of the general mouth-breathing population would not find it as easy as I did.

-Michael

mdrums

The scary thing is what you are seeing is natural talent and then you start explaining it and breaking down and analizing it and some kids get all caught up and confused and think it through too hard and can never get back to relaxing and just doing it. This happens in a lot of things and I've seen it happen with kids playing musical instruments.

dblapex

I say to tell him if he knows he failed because of using his left foot just turn the rest of the test into a drfiting exhibition.

ltc

Yes, I get that a lot with my son, usually after downloading Mychron data to the laptop, goes something like this:

Dad (underpaid, overworked mechanic...slave laborer to team President/CEO/CFO....aka his Mom)
"I don't care what your *** is telling you, look at the data"

Son (the apple of his mother's eye)
"I don't know, I don't think, I just drive, make it go faster"

So I stop explaining and let him do it.