Simple charge her whatever the heck dealer charges for new brakes and rotors.I am trying to break my daughter from riding the brake with her left foot. She left foot brakes and complains she gets horrible gas mileage. I've tried to explain it to her and she keeps doing it. She was rear ended recently and I'm convinced it was because she was riding the brake and her brake light was constantly on.
I want to rig a light inside the car to tell her when she is riding the brakes, either on the dash or near the rear window where she can see it in her rear view mirror. I want it bright so she can't ignore it.
Any suggestions on how to do this? She has a 2005 Mazda 6 Wagon and has the high mounted third brake light on the lift gate.
Way back when I was learning to drive, there was debate over left-foot braking. It was thought there would soon be no manual transmissions (or "standards", as we called them back then) left, and that people driving only automatics would benefit from left-foot braking. Quicker reaction time, I guess.This is usually the behavior of a nervous driver, they are afraid of the reaction time between moving their foot to the brake or not being able to find it, so they hover their left foot over it. It's dangerous because they can inadvertently apply the brakes causing an accident, in addition to the wear on the brake system of the car. I have come across drivers slamming their brakes on when they see any car approaching, even if they aren't anywhere near them.
Way back when I was learning to drive, there was debate over left-foot braking. It was thought there would soon be no manual transmissions (or "standards", as we called them back then) left, and that people driving only automatics would benefit from left-foot braking. Quicker reaction time, I guess.
Dad tried it for a short time, and warned me off - he said he'd gotten confused one time and hit both the brake and the gas at the same time, and almost drove into a building.
I took my lessons on an MT car (an AMC Hornet), and my first couple of cars had MTs, so I never got into the left foot thing.
That's like saying it's illegal to drive barefoot.In most states it’s illegal to brake with your left foot anyway so definitely need something to break her habit I am sure you could wire something up but she will need to pay attention to it for sure.
I know lol.That's like saying it's illegal to drive barefoot.
Interesting! I wonder if that's because most people's right leg is their dominant one (and therefore whether it would be the opposite for us lefties), or whether the neural pathways for right-foot braking are stronger because of use, or something else.There's a test machine at the Ontario Science Centre that tests your brake pedal reaction time. It's a machine with both a gas and a brake and you have to hold down the gas and then slam on the brakes when the screen tells you to stop. I tried using both feet and the traditional single foot application and in every single test using just the right foot was significantly faster. I observed the same characteristic with a number of other people.
Ergo, there's actually a reaction time DISADVANTAGE by going to left-foot braking on top of the other disadvantages inherent with it. If I were the OP I'd focus on trying to teach her to drive properly rather than adapting the vehicle to accommodate her doing it wrong.
Interesting! I wonder if that's because most people's right leg is their dominant one (and therefore whether it would be the opposite for us lefties), or whether the neural pathways for right-foot braking are stronger because of use, or something else.
When L foot braking was considered an option, we were told to "cover" the brake with our L foot (that is, hold it just above the brake pedal) in certain situations - the standard scenario was driving past parked cars on a residential street, and a ball bouncing out from between cars, followed by a young child dashing into the street.
Dad's '67 Chrysler Newport seemed to be set up for it - that brake pedal was incredibly wide, at least in my memory.
Found a photo online. Dad's didn't have the console shift, but otherwise it looks pretty familiar.
View attachment 38240
Yep in some places. When I was taking my driving test I was so used to driving manual I kept hitting it with my left foot and he said if I did it again he would fail me because it was illegal in Virginia. You can use it for the clutch of course in a manual but not a b
And job security for the asbestos brake shoe relining companies, more cores please!You can also tell her that way back when this was the style of older ladies wearing thick lipstick. The power brake pedals used to be much bigger than they are now and those ladies would ride those brakes all over town. The smell of hot drums made it apparent.