ltc

That is on the 'things to do list'.
Here in MA, you get an insurance discount if your young driver takes an advanced driving course, from a company licensed by the state. Basic stuff, emergency lane changes, threshold braking, yadayada. Taught by amateur racers/instructors....I sent my daughter.
www.incontroladt.com


The "Plan" was to send my son after he gets his license, have him say nothing, get the instructor in the car and take him "for a ride", just to see what the instructor does/says.

kfyork

Where can this information be substantiated?

NC statute?

In my quick perusal of the NC driver handbook, I can find no reference to this.

However, my son has very recently been through driver training in the Charlotte metro area and the driver instructor told him - you guessed it - left foot braking will "get you failed"....

My son is in much the same situation as ltc's is. As a matter of fact, we had just had a "LFB legality" question after a driving session when I stumbled upon this thread.

He's been karting since he was seven (now fifteen) and LFB'ing truly is second nature to him.

However (and as been noted here), I've taken it as an opportunity to advise him that a complete driver can use both feet interchangeably and - most importantly - can have the fortitude to use exclusively one of them for a required period so he can attain the coveted goal of a successfully passed driving exam!

Great thread - thanks!

Flying Finn

I get your point but with the clutch, you some times can't left foot brake, maybe that's the reason?

BTW, I get from your post that your hybrid is not manual transmission?
If not, you've just failed and lost big chunk on man points and more importantly, are doing a disservice to your son.

Also, no matter how much you can drift karts, driving a real car in traffic is different. Kids with bikes, old slow people, just very stupid people, turning signals to be used etc. etc. so there is a ton of stuff he's not good at even though he has car control skills.

ltc

No, the Hybrid is a CVT.
(AFAIK, all current hybrids are CVTs...makes the most efficient use of the powertrain)

His mother just sent me a txt msg....he passed his permit test.....I just lost the Cup car....knew this day was coming.

MTosi

True on both accounts, it doesn't matter if your gods gift to the racing world the street is a whole different ballgame. Also one that doesn't involve talent, just hard earned experience and hopefully a bit of luck while you get that experience. That being said not a single one of my karting friends has put so much as a dent in a car (speeding tickets, well thats a different story), yet at least a 1/3 of my friends from school have crashed a car, typically totalling it.

wlittleman

I coached a 13 y.o. kid in a Spec Miata at a NASA DE once (yes, the NorCal region of NASA allowed it) . He came up from years of carting experience, and although he had all the handling skills down pat, he lacked a lot of the basic skills we learned from our years of driving production cars on public roads.

He did not look behind him when backing up, he was very hard on the clutch, hard on the shifter, not accustomed to right-foot-braking, and unfamiliar with the gear slots. The worst part was that he would look at his shifter before and during the shifts. For some reason, his father wanted him to race Spec Miatas, and had asked that he be considered for a provisional license....meanwhile, I was recommending (to his father) that his son spends more time in a stationary vehicle or in an empty parking getting used to shifting without looking down. I'm quite certain that he did not receive his provisional license because he could barely drive in HPDE1 without someone babysitting him in the passenger seat. At the same time, I bet you this kid can do circles around me in a kart.

He was a good kid, with a great attitude, and a good head on his shoulders. I wouldn't say the same thing about his father.