Driving instructors say stick with the right
Driver training experts contacted by the Star were in agreement that it’s best to use your right foot for both the gas and brake pedals — and that’s the way they instruct their students.
“We teach our students to use their right foot with the left foot to the wall,” said Marium Malik, a driving instructor with All Nations Driving School, which has six teaching locations across the GTA.
“The reason for not using both feet is there is a greater chance for confusion in an emergency situation. If you make the mistake of hitting the accelerator instead of the brake, there’s the chance of ending up in a more serious collision.
“When using both feet, you could be riding your brakes, which is not good for your car’s brakes because they’ll wear out faster. You will also be confusing the drivers behind you when your brake lights keep coming on and off, and that’s not safe driving,” said Malik, who has been a driving educator for about 20 years.
The same instruction policy applies to the teachers with Young Drivers of Canada, the country’s largest driver training organization, which has been in business since 1970 and has more than 140 facilities across Canada.
“If you see someone with their brake lights on as they’re moving forward, I can almost guarantee you they are using their left foot for braking,” said Angelo DiCicco, YDC’s general manager in Toronto.
“A couple of times a year, I help out seniors, or older drivers, who still believe this fallacy that left-foot braking saves time and makes for a smoother ride.
DiCicco said YDC also uses modified vehicles with a left-foot accelerator to train stroke victims who can’t use their right foot to drive.
“Trying to train the left foot to use the brake and the gas is cumbersome and it takes a lot of training, so I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it makes no sense because people do end up pushing the gas and the brake at the same time.
“It’s a really bad habit for the environment because of the brake wear and gas consumption that both add to the pollution in the air, and also you cannot act as quickly or as efficiently, especially if you are applying the gas and brake at the same time,” DiCicco pointed out.
While the website Formula1-Dictionary.net states “left-foot braking is primarily used in front-wheel-drive cars and comes in handy during cornering at high speeds,” a technique that has been used by racers for years, its hard to find a driving school that agrees, unless of course, it’s a speed school.
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the national advocate for road safety and provider of roadside assistance and a range of auto, travel and insurance services, also has a driver training branch that views left-foot braking as a no-no.
“Left-foot braking is not part of the process of driver training, nor is it something most people would advise,” said Teresa Di Felice, the CAA’s director of government and community relations and driver training.
On the other hand, you won’t fail a driving test if you brake with your left foot. “Left-foot braking is not illegal, therefore, an applicant would not fail a road test specifically because they used their left foot to brake,” said Bob Nichols with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
“If, however, during a road test an applicant is using the left foot to brake and becomes confused and presses the wrong pedal and the result is a dangerous action, then the applicant would fail because of the dangerous action.”
And as far as insurance companies go, left-foot braking is not considered a factor in accident claims.
“It all comes down to how well and how safely you drive,” said Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industrial relations with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Henry Stancu is a staff reporter for the Toronto Star. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.