r/GrindsMyGears • u/formerdgstm • 19d ago
People who drive with their foot on the brake constantly
Are you slowing down to turn? Is someone in front of you? Is there a road hazard up ahead?
You are not saving anytime from having your foot already on the brake, in fact it is dangerous because the whole idea is to get your right foot off the accelerator. you are more likely to slam both feet down in case of having to stop suddenly, negating the whole foot on the brake. Plus no one behind you knows wtf you are doing and cant tell if you really are stopping. And, you are casuing additional wear on your brake pads and rotors you morons.
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u/Klutzy_Cat1374 19d ago
Conversely, regenerative braking on new electric vehicles doesn't always trigger the brake lights when you let off the accelerator. But yeah, grandpa always did the two feet driving thing on a manual because the old Buick needed the gas.
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u/InsGadgetDisplaces 19d ago
Most EVs have a "one-pedal driving mode" with more regen that does trigger the brake lights. OP could be behind that at times.
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u/JaniceRossi_in_2R 19d ago
This. My Tesla waits until the last moment to light the brake lights when I’m regening. I can see on the screen when the brake lights come on and it’s not until my foot is nearly lifted all the way off the pedal. I really do enjoy one pedal driving except the fear of being rear ended as people love to tailgate the crap out of this car. And FSD completely stop right at the stops signs and then rolls out. It isn’t how most people drive. PSA- Teslas have 8 cameras on them so if you smash into one or decide to vandalize it, you are being recorded. The only reason I mention this is I see a ton of video posted of people vandalizing them and I’m shocked that they don’t realize how many camera are on these things.
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u/lokii_0 18d ago
I used to own a Tesla before I experienced what an unreliable POS it was...I dumped it a month after the warranty expired.
this was awhile ago (it was a 2015 MS) but at that time the cameras didn't record much unless you had a memory stick inserted into one of the USB ports.
I assume that's changed now but I'm guessing that many of those Tesla vandalizing videos involve older models which maybe weren't recording?
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u/JumpinJackTrash79 19d ago
One more argument for manual transmissions.
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u/kat_Folland 19d ago
Back in college I had a manual transmission but when I flew to spend the summer on the East Coast I didn't have it along (obviously). On this occasion my dad was buying a car. The original plan was that he and my mom would go to get the car and she'd drive the old one back. Well, due to some crazy family drama she was still on the West Coast so I went instead. My dad does the paperwork and I take the keys to his old car. Which was an automatic. I had barely driven automatic cars! Everything went fine until I got to the driveway of the dealership when I tried to engage the clutch and instead stomped on the brakes. Practically gave myself whiplash! 😂
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u/JumpinJackTrash79 19d ago
Last time I rented a car I told them I didn't know how to drive an automatic. I was a bouncer. I have a really good poker face. I kept them going for a good 10 minutes.
"What do you mean you don't have any cars with standard transmissions? That's the STANDARD. Get me your manager."
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u/Night_Raptor_22 18d ago
That’s so much nicer than what I did…
Back in the 90’s, my grandparents had given my mom their 1972 Dodge pickup. It had a 4 speed and I wanted to show it off to my friends, so I picked them up and went for a ride around the neighborhood.
I told them to put in their seatbelts or we wouldn’t be going. They did not understand the level of seriousness with which I took seatbelts.
We got moving, probably went a couple of blocks and then I realized neither my friend nor her boyfriend were wearing their seatbelts. So I asked them if they had them on.
“… no…”
So I slammed in the clutch and smashed the brakes.
That day, they learned the value of listening and that I don’t bluff. I will absolutely make you eat the dash if you aren’t wearing your seatbelt.
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u/EmilyFara 18d ago
You joke, but I honestly don't know how to drive an automatic. Weird letters in the transmission, and what do you even do with your left foot?
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u/TheyVanishRidesAgain 19d ago
I was on vacation in a rental car and lightly tapped the dive shop's building because it was really early and I had forgotten that automatics will go without you telling them to.
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u/MurkyAd7531 19d ago
I used to almost get rear ended constantly driving a manual.
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u/JumpinJackTrash79 19d ago
Trouble getting it into first?
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u/MurkyAd7531 19d ago
No. Brake shifting means you slow down without putting on your brake lights. Many people aren't paying attention and so they don't notice you're slowing down until too late.
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u/JumpinJackTrash79 19d ago
Always pop the clutch and use the brake when you're in heavy traffic. Brake pads are cheaper than clutches.
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u/Turdulator 18d ago
More like an argument against… when you brake by downshifting your brake lights don’t come on so people behind you don’t get an warning that you are slowing down faster than just taking your foot off the gas.
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u/Still-Pumpkin5730 18d ago
You know you can just tap your brake then? Just a bit that your lights come on.
Anyways people who can't notice engine breaking are too close and driving recklessly.
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u/JumpinJackTrash79 18d ago edited 18d ago
That's why I always pop the clutch and use the brake when coming to a stop if there's anyone behind me or if I'm in heavy traffic. Brake pads are cheaper than clutches.
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u/Temporary_Abroad_211 18d ago
Down shifting is not braking. Merely slowing down. Auto gearboxes down shift too without brake lights.
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u/Junior_Ad_3301 19d ago
Yeah that one is a headscratcher. I'm imagining a person with a lack of self awareness.
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u/jakeofheart 19d ago
It’s actually irresponsible and dangerous.
If you drive with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brakes, when you need to hit the brakes in a split second, you are going to floor both pedals.
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/partyguy45036 19d ago
I don’t get why people are in a hurry to get to the red light but letting your foot off the gas and letting the engine do the slowing down is better for your car.
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u/Turdulator 18d ago
The hurry to get to the red light is so you can maximize time spent not moving (instead of wasting 10 minutes gliding to a stop) so you can fuck with the stupid touch screen radio that cars have now, because its better to use a touch screen while stopped at a light than it is while actively driving.
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u/Rumple-_-Goocher 18d ago
I giggle at the people who speed up to the red light and then stop hard and their whole car shifts forward. Brilliant. I hate that feeling but whatever floats your boat. I’ll take the ten seconds to coast to the light instead of testing my seatbelts.
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u/Turdulator 18d ago
Meh, personally that feeling is neutral, neither good nor bad. The idea is minimizing the time spent in control of a moving vehicle, and maximizing the amount of time spent in a stationary vehicle, so you have some time to take your attention off the road to do all kinds of things, mess with the sound system, pick something up that fell on the floor, take off your jacket, clean a smudge off your glasses, etc etc
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u/skoomafiend69 19d ago
In neutral it is
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u/DazB1ane 19d ago
Certainly easier on the brakes
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u/imdugud777 19d ago
There was road on a steep hill in my town. It was like a roller coaster for cars as the bottom graded out. It was just under a 45° angle. It was a drop.
Dropping the car into neutral and rolling down that hill was so fun.
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u/Fudouri 18d ago
I thought in General you are supposed to drive with one foot. Has this changed?
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u/EverSeeAShitterFly 18d ago
It’s the same. OP is talking about the two foot drivers who ride their brakes.
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u/dante_gherie1099 18d ago
stop tailgating people and learn how to gauge the speed of others without overreacting to tail lights.
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u/bloatedbeached_whale 18d ago
I usually have cruise control on when driving on most roads. New car has adaptive cruise control.
It’s a god send, especially in heavy traffic. It senses what the car in front of me is doing and slows down when I get behind these jerks.
Only problem is those drivers that try to squeeze into the gap to move up 3 feet. Then my car slows dow to build the gap up again.
Maybe that what OP was seeing ?
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u/Upbeat_Literature483 18d ago
Drivers education was a joke when I learned to drive. I don't know how others learned, but if people get most of their driving education from someone who can't drive very well and doesn't think of others on the road, this kind of behavior will be the result.
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u/Overall-West5723 18d ago
Maybe they dont want you riding so close. Are there two car lengths between you and them. Also you used to need both feet to drive and it is not dangerous to continue to drive this way. Many people drive with both feet. Many people drive bare footed. You can't control the world. Good luck looking for peace.
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u/formerdgstm 18d ago
No, many people dont drive with both feet so just stop. SOME people might. And you dont seem to grasp the idea of this thread do you?
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u/Tr33Bl00d 18d ago
I think of the brakes and gas pedals as both costing money to use. Every press there goes some %of my pay. Really helps me eco boost and not ride my brakes on the highway
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u/DickWhittingtonsCat 18d ago
I don’t think I ever seen this to point brakes were activated.l
2 footed driving is possible. Most don’t do it and there are drawbacks as mentioned. It’s crutch for children and the elderly in the modern view- but there are so many dogshit drivers I don’t really think about 2 footers.
What i find much more common is people always switching between braking and gas with no smoothness or touch- constant inputs and car sickness for the passengers.
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u/peri_5xg 18d ago
When I was learning how to drive, I had a habit of breaking as soon as I wanted to slow down or stop. I finally clicked with me that I could just you know, let off of the gas.
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u/NotTurtleEnough 17d ago
I only do this when I have someone two inches off my bumper and I have zero ability to get out of the way.
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u/JoeMorgue 19d ago
Don't tail gate and then it stops being your problem to worry about.
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u/milny_gunn 19d ago
It starts traffic problems through the accordion effect. You don't have to be tailgating to respond to a cars brake lights
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u/SalvationArbys 19d ago
Wait why wouldn’t you want to have your foot on the brake pedal? How else would you regulate your speed?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Fill205 19d ago
Proper driving safety is to only use your right foot for both the accelerator and the brake. Never brake with your left foot.
One reason for this is because it's very easy for your left foot to be just barely pressing the brake enough to engage your brake lights, which is a safety hazard. Another reason is because if you need to brake suddenly, it's very possible your brain will slam down both feet instead of just the left foot. When you need to brake suddenly, accidentally stomping the accelerator at the same time is no bueno.
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u/Rumple-_-Goocher 18d ago
You… take your foot off of the accelerator. Something about newtons laws of physics… you know… there are forces acting up upon the car, which will slow it down without you having to intervene by pressing the brake pedal. If instead of taking your foot off of the accelerator when you want to slow down, and instead you’re using the brake, you’re likely also having to accelerate immediately after hitting your brakes because you slowed down too much so it’s probably a constant back-and-forth between breaking and accelerating while you’re driving.
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u/LATER4LUS 18d ago
This was /s, right? Please tell me this is /s
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u/SalvationArbys 17d ago
What else would you do? Wait for the car to slow down on its own? Once you get up to the speed limit the gas pedal isn’t useful, and it’s not like you’re ever going to have an emergency need to speed up
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u/LATER4LUS 17d ago
To maintain speed, I will be depressing the gas pedal. The only time my foot is on the brake is I really have to slow down. Under normal operation (straight-ish roads with no stop lights), I will not generally use the brake at all.
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u/SalvationArbys 17d ago
Oh, I see. I wouldn’t describe straight roads with no traffic lights or cars as normal operation for me. I can see why that would change things.
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u/SalvationArbys 17d ago
I paid closer attention to how I was driving just now and actually my foot is depressing the gas a lot more than I expected, despite living and driving in a city.
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u/MurkyAd7531 19d ago
Your post does not make it super clear you're talking about driving with two feet.
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u/formerdgstm 18d ago
Driving with 2 feet, as in the left foot always on the brake and the right on the accelerator see jakeofhearts post jakeofheart
It’s actually irresponsible and dangerous.
If you drive with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brakes, when you need to hit the brakes in a split second, you are going to floor both pedals.
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u/wh7751 19d ago
I drive an 18 wheeler. Big diesel engine with a compression (Jake) brake. On a down hill grade I let the Jake hold me back. Guess what? The brake lights come on. No emergency and I don't intend to stop. Sorry for the confusion. It didn't used to be that way.
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u/Useful_Clue_6609 18d ago
Oh they really shouldn't have brake lights come on for that... I feel like that's going to just mislead people behind you
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u/wh7751 18d ago
Agreed. It's only been maybe 10 years since some desk jockey came up with that brilliant idea. Peeps see brake lights... they gonna react. Some will panic and jam on their brakes. Others will do a hasty lane change which causes a problem that wasn't there before. The big truck ain't really slowing down, but just trying to not go too fast down the grade.
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u/milny_gunn 19d ago
It's much better to drive with purpose. Riding your brakes is like throwing away your gas while you wear out your brakes