Those of us who have been driving all our lives know how to use our feet when driving. We use both of them—left for the clutch pedal, and right for the brake and accelerator pedals—when driving a stick shift (manual). Also, we’re sure we know what to do when operating an automatic-transmission vehicle: We only use our right foot to alternately step on the brakes and the accelerator. Right?
Even without consulting a professional driving instructor, the idea of using just the right foot when driving an AT car makes perfect sense. You pivot between the brake pedal and the gas pedal using your heel. This way, you eliminate the possibility of accidentally stepping on the wrong pedal. It’s really just like driving a manual—minus the clutch.
But the other day, we saw something on our Facebook page:
Needless to say, we couldn’t believe what we were reading—that many people actually drive automatic-transmission cars with two feet. Our faith in proper driving education was threatening to crumble.
For a while, we were thankful that Google’s Generative AI had our back:
To be completely certain, we decided to ask race driver Georges Ramirez, who also usually functions as a driving instructor to the motoring media. Surely, he would be in the right-foot-only camp, yeah?
Well, this is the answer that he gave us:
If you are used to it (driving AT cars with both feet), it’s okay. It’s like driving a go-kart. But older people like us grew up with the clutch, so we usually feel more comfortable using the right foot only. [So driving AT with two feet is] okay lang if they are more used to it. Some race drivers also developed the left-foot braking technique.
We suppose if it’s good enough for Sir Georges, it should be fine with us as well.
How about you? Which side are you on: right foot only or two feet?
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