Vietnamese drivers' experience in avoiding mistakenly stepping on the gas pedal

Always place your foot on the brake pedal. When you want to increase the speed, just turn your ankle to the accelerator pedal. If you are proficient, you will not confuse the brake and accelerator.

Illustration photo.

Anyone who has studied and has a driver's license knows: With 14 years of continuous driving experience, I would like to share my knowledge and experience. Of that time, I drove an automatic car for a third of the time.

- Manual transmission: left foot controls the clutch, right foot controls both the accelerator and brake;
- Automatic transmission car: no clutch so the left foot does nothing and the right foot is still used like a manual transmission car.

Why is the right foot used to control both the gas and the brake whether it is a manual or automatic transmission car?

The accelerator and brake are two opposing systems and only one system is active at a time (in a normal car). Therefore, having only one foot responsible for both tasks is appropriate and prevents any damage from occurring when both systems are active.

The confusion between gas and brake. The logic of the problem is that there will be a situation where the driver will be able to confuse the gas and the brake: when the gas is needed, the brake is applied and when the brake is needed, it is dangerous to apply the gas again.

For manual transmission cars, when you need to brake but mistakenly press the accelerator, it doesn't seem very dangerous. When braking, you just need to press the clutch and the car will only run by inertia, although at first the car will run faster than inertia because there is no resistance from the engine, but basically it will slow down gradually.

For automatic cars, there is no clutch and when you make a mistake, the car will only run faster and stronger and accidents are inevitable.

To minimize gas-brake confusion and its consequences, manufacturers have technically done:

- Brake pedal on the outside (left) and accelerator pedal on the inside (right) (from the center of the driver's seat);
- The brake pedal is wide and the accelerator pedal is narrow;
- The brake pedal is higher than the accelerator pedal (when the brake pedal is almost fully depressed, the brake pedal surface is level with the accelerator pedal surface).

Along with technical skills, driver skills are always required:

- When driving, the right heel must always be placed straight on the brake pedal. When using the accelerator, turn the ankle to the right so that the foot is tilted toward the accelerator pedal, and when using the brake, turn the ankle straight so that the foot is directed toward the brake pedal;
- When not using the accelerator, you must move your foot to the brake position. This is extremely important when driving.

According to VNE