LEFT FOOT BRAKING:

Okay, here's a little something I am passionate about... First, let me say, I LOVE driving... not sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, but cruising along at a good clip (about 10-15 mph over the speed limit).....

Now.... I first learned about left-foot braking (LFB from here on) when I started watching Formula 1 racing back in 1997. Not all the F1 drivers used LFB, but most of them did. I was intrigued by the concept of LFB and wondered what it would be like to drive with LFB technique. It was at that point I started to utilize left-foot braking in my daily driving "style".

At first, I found LFB a tad bit clumsy, but with practice, I was able to acquire good car control -- ie. stopping the car quickly and efficiently.

After talking with a bunch of F1 fans, I found that there was a good percentage of them that LFB. What is so great about LFB? you may ask. Well, let me just give a couple of personal examples:

1.) Better car control. LFB allows you to "balance" the car as you are driving -- especially while turning. If you've ever gone into a corner a bit too fast, you can brake with your left foot and feather the throttle with your right foot. That way, the car does not "nose dive" under conventional off-the-gas-hit-the-break right foot braking style. Those familiar with LFB while cornering know that you can avoid a lot of TBO (trail-braking oversteer), while dancing on the pedals... plus, it is an absolute blast to be cruising through a 45mph corner at 70mph.

2.) Faster reaction time. According to the AAA Insurance Agency, it takes a person an average of 1.5 seconds to react to a driving "situation". That means if you are traveling at a 60 mph rate of speed, you are covering 88 ft./sec. At 1.5 seconds, you are covering 132 feet of road. Now, the cool thing about LFB, is that you can react and stop much quicker. How's that? you ask. Well, if I am traveling down the 605 FWY in the Diamond Lane at 60 mph during late afternoon rush hour traffic, and a car pulls into the Diamond Lane up the road in front of me, I can stop my car 44 feet quicker -- that's 4 car lengths I've "cushioned" myself with! Reason being, I am "covering my brake" with my left foot while I am still on the accelerator with my right foot. If something happens, I have saved myself .5 sec. because I don't need to lift off the gas pedal with my right foot, move it over to the break pedal, and then hit the brakes.

Well, there are a couple of reasons why I LFB. If any of you all LFB, I would like to hear from you... or, if you have any comments -- good or bad -- feel free to drop me a line. Thanks... and Happy Left-Foot Braking everybody!!!