Left-foot braking

[rf065]

It is entirely sensible and logical to indicate right if turning right at a roundabout. I've done it for years, and I'll continue to do it.

It's not sensible or logical if you're going straight on though, which was his point. Anyone who indicates right on a roundabout then goes straight on is putting themselves and those around them at risk of colliding.

 

[Steeve]

Anyone who indicates right on a roundabout then goes straight on is putting themselves and those around them at risk of colliding.

Depends on the size of the roundabout surely. If it's one of those motorway junction sized monstrosities then the below approach is perfectly sensible:

indicate right until passing the exit before the one I intend to take, then indicate left

 

[E55BOF]

It's not sensible or logical if you're going straight on though, which was his point. Anyone who indicates right on a roundabout then goes straight on is putting themselves and those around them at risk of colliding.

Which is exactly the point of indicating left when passing the exit before the one you intend to take. If you do not indicate, your intentions are unknown; you might be going straight on, or you might be one of the ever-increasing proportion of driving bozos who don't bother to indicate at all. And what of roundabouts with more than three exits? A left indication is entirely clear in all situations.

I am, of course, presuming the driver is concentrating enough to know what's going on around him/her, and on a roundabout with two or more lanes, what if anything is in the lane he/she intends to move into. You have to keep your wits about you, because the bozos don't...

The Highway Code only really works if its unspoken assumption that all drivers will follow it is correct; these days, that assumption is often wrong. The bozos either have forgotten, or never learnt, or don't give a stuff, or are making a phone call/lighting a fag/fiddling with the touchscreen/chatting to their friend in the passenger seat/half-asleep/stoned, or learnt to drive abroad where the practice if not the rules can be very different, or are just crap drivers who rarely think about what they're doing while driving.

 

[whitenemesis]

Seems quite clear and logical?

Using the road - Roundabouts (184 to 190)

On approaching a roundabout take notice and act on all the information available to you, including traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane.

www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk

 

[E55BOF]

Not to me it doesn't, on today's roads. If a car is not signalling, you don't know whether it is just a bozo who isn't signalling, or a driver who intends to go straight on. If the car is signalling, the driver's intentions are entirely clear; either take, or not take, his/her next exit.

 

[AMGeed]

Now we have the left foot braking sorted, stand by for 14 more pages on how to manoeuvre around ,and safely exit a roundabout

 

[Deleted member 149005]

Not to me it doesn't, on today's roads. If a car is not signalling, you don't know whether it is just a bozo who isn't signalling, or a driver who intends to go straight on. If the car is signalling, the driver's intentions are entirely clear; either take, or not take, his/her next exit.

Argh but what if the driver indicated but the bulb isn’t working

My instructor taught me that a flashing indicator only tells you one thing....

....that the bulb is working...

Surely chaos ensues if people start thinking they know better than the prescribed manual, the Highway Code...it is not a menu you can pick and choose from...

 

[Deleted member 149005]

Now we have the left foot braking sorted, stand by for 14 more pages on how to manoeuvre around ,and safely exit a roundabout

I just straight line all roundabouts....keeps everyone else guessing....

 

[whitenemesis]

Until one sees the car turn, assume it's going straight on, indicating or not...

 

[E55BOF]

Argh but what if the driver indicated but the bulb isn’t working

Then you're no worse off than if the driver wasn't indicating, but dud bulbs are I think much rarer than stupid drivers...

Surely chaos ensues if people start thinking they know better than the prescribed manual, the Highway Code...it is not a menu you can pick and choose from...

On this particular issue, the Highway Code is outmoded; my way needs no guesswork as to intentions (see post 285), and is therefore more logical. Other than 'because it's not in the Highway Code', I've yet to see an argument why it isn't...

 

[tbourner]

How about the countless cars you see bumbling along with their indicator flashing for half a mile? Have you honestly never seen a car coming around a roundabout indicating left but continuing around? I saw one today! You get to know the position and movement of a car so you know not to trust them but that's the point: an indicator is no more trustworthy than the lack of (when controlled by an idiot).
In my opinion false positives are more dangerous than false negatives, at least with no indication you have to be alert, in a world where you have to indicate left and then right, we would all learn to trust the indicator that ends up being owned by an idiot.

 

[E55BOF]

You have to be alert anyway...

Bozos who forget to cancel their indicators after turning or changing lane are a different matter.

There will always be idiots, but from my own observations cars that do what their indicators, well, indicate are far more common than cars that don't; 99.5% or more, I'd have said, whereas cars that don't indicate at all are much more common. If you prefer to have the smaller tail wag the bigger dog, fair enough, but I don't share your opinion; it's no big thing either way, though.

 

[tbourner]

That's true, yes, I was just pondering whether a rule change would adjust the expectations of everyone - ie: if we are told in the rulebook to expect a correct signal, would an incorrect signal be more likely to cause an accident, whereas currently a lack of signal just causes annoyance (albeit in a larger number of cases).
I'm sure that's the kind of thing they discuss in the rulebook writing meetings!

 

[Dichtung]

Now we have the left foot braking sorted, stand by for 14 more pages on how to manoeuvre around ,and safely exit a roundabout

Erm, just a mo; and at the risk of opening another can of worms, I tried left foot braking and, (as somebody suggested,) found that I was a tad heavy on the brake pedal.
However, I was talking to a friend about it, and he turned out to be a LH braker. When I pressed him further if he thought it easier, his reply was " of course I do , I`m left handed"

 

[190]

Roundabouts are not universal around the world and perhaps that's because some roundabouts are simply dysfunctional. If too big they are just a series of T junctions and I would only signal before the exit or to change lanes. Yes I know you shouldn't change lanes but on some of the big ones that are only 2 lanes wide at the entry but 4 lanes wide in parts it's impossible not to.

If too small then they don't really function as roundabout and I would only signal if turning left or right as if it were cross junction.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I’ve driven both LHD and RHD vehicles both here and abroad ; I drove my LHD Ponton here and abroad for close to 20 years , and also in Holland/Germany , and have driven both LHD/RHD vehicles on the continent.

Id say that driving on the other side of the road , roundabouts which go then’wrong way’ and require giving way to traffic already on the roundabout ; similar to French priority a droit - give way to cars from the right ( even if you are on the major road ) are bigger adjustments than which foot to brake with

One involves co-ordination and retraining muscle memory, the other involves knowing the rules of the road ......don't see how you can compare them.

I've lived all over the world (homes in 8 countries and worked for extended periods 'single status' in about 5 others) ) and driven on both sides. As mentioned above, the biggest learning curve for me (driving on the right) was the 'giving way to the right' (also in The Netherlands) . You needed to remember be alert to cars coming out of minor side roads in front of you unless, the road you are on was marked as a 'priority road'.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I tried left foot braking and, (as somebody suggested,) found that I was a tad heavy on the brake pedal.

How's your head, and have you ordered a new windscreen yet?

 

[Deleted member 150136]

Draaaaggging this back up, in all seriousness.
This is a new Mazda cx-5(LHD lol)
my left foot is a far left as possible resting on the footrest,
My right foot is as far right as possible resting on the accelerator.
Im sat comfortably.
is this pedal layout really designed for left foot braking?
It is a big brake pedal but its a proper stretch away from the footrest....you could probably get another pedal in there!

I did try to put my left foot on the brake but it made my knees catch the steering wheel.

So Is this a safe car to left foot brake in?

 

[togthecat]

So Is this a safe car to left foot brake in?

Doesn't look like it is to me. I'd have to learn to right foot brake in that. Which could be a whole new thread....

 

[togthecat]

This is how I drive, top of the left foot on the rest, pivot from the heel when braking required...