How to avoid stepping on the gas pedal by mistake?

Keep your nerves alert and get into the habit of not keeping your foot on the gas pedal for too long so you don't get startled when you need to brake suddenly.

Accidentally stepping on the gas pedal is a topic that is discussed a lot in the car user community not only in Vietnam but all over the world. The reason that many people think is due to inexperience, lack of experience or when the nerves are not alert due to sleepiness, using beer, alcohol, stimulants.

Stepping on the wrong gas pedal is the cause of many tragic accidents.

However, many old drivers and safety driving experts of many car companies only half agree with this opinion. Drivers are at high risk of mistakenly stepping on the gas pedal when they are not alert or using stimulants, but old drivers are still as likely to mistakenly step on the gas pedal as young drivers. That means, having a lot of experience does not mean you will not mistakenly step on the gas pedal.

Actual statistics show that, inIn Japan in 2009, 6,700 accidents, 37 deaths, and more than 9,500 injuries were attributed to drivers pressing the accelerator instead of the brake. The number in the US is even higher, about 16,000 each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the Timescolonist.

So what are the situations that most easily lead to mistakenly pressing the gas pedal?

That is when the driver gets into an unexpected situation in a narrow space.Steve Wallace, mA former driving instructor turned auto writer in the US said he had seen thousands of such incidents. The moment the driver suddenly felt out of control of the pedals, the narrow space further increased the nervous tension, leading to panic.

For example, when the driver is trying to accelerate quickly to pass another vehicle, but the space is limited by oncoming vehicles, the median strip on the left and other vehicles on the right. Or another case when the driver is inching through a traffic jam, slowing down the car, idling to roll, backing into a parking space. These situations all have the highest risk of accidentally stepping on the accelerator.

What causes drivers to mistakenly step on the gas pedal?

For drivers who are speeding and want to accelerate quickly to overtake, medical experts say that is when the right foot falls into a state of numbness. Normally, when the road does not require much braking, the driver will be lazy and just leave his foot on the gas, not changing to let the foot feel, that is when the foot becomes numb. When surprised, the simplest reaction at this time is to continue to press without being able to lift or turn the foot to the brake pedal.

On the contrary, for drivers who are driving slowly or idling, it is due to a type of neurological misconception. Because the foot is on the brake, if the car suddenly rolls faster, the nerves tend to understand that "switching to another pedal will help the car stop". This inference is formed from the conditioned habit that when the car is running, switching from the accelerator to the brake will stop the car, without clearly identifying which foot is the brake and which foot is the accelerator.

The above reflexes and causes are more likely to occur for new drivers because they are not used to driving and can easily panic. However, that does not mean that this does not happen to experienced drivers. In fact, many experienced drivers still encounter this risk, LATimes said.

How to avoid accidentally stepping on the gas pedal?

Safety driving experts of companies as well as cExperienced drivers shared with VnExpress that there are two decisive conditions: keeping the nerves always alert and practicing the habit of "never resting the right foot".

Need to flexibly change the position of the right foot between the gas and brake to avoid numbness.

Every time you sit behind the wheel, the driver must be in the best health condition, not sick, tired or have pain in parts such as legs, arms, shoulders or back. At the same time, absolutely do not use alcohol, beer, stimulants that cause over-excitement and lack of precision.

Once you are in good health, the next step is to practice flexible foot mechanics. That is, do not leave your foot on the brake pedal or accelerator for too long. Changing the position of your foot so that it does not become numb will help your brain make more accurate decisions. It is as simple as driving for a long time on the highway, instead of keeping your foot on the accelerator, sometimes the driver should take his foot off and rotate his heel back and forth to get the feeling of his foot.

Regarding foot placement skills when driving, Porsche experts say that V-positioning your feet will provide the most comfortable and safe driving. However, you need to be careful in cases of sudden braking. Some drivers have the habit of turning their heels to brake, but this gesture can be dangerous in cases where the brake and accelerator pedals are parallel and close together. At that time, the foot is mostly on the brake but still has a small part of the accelerator, causing the brake to lose its effect.

To overcome this problem in cars with brake and accelerator pedals parallel and close together, you need to get into the habit of lifting your foot and pressing it straight when braking suddenly. The geometric arrangement between the driver's seat and the accelerator pedal helps the driver always press the brake pedal if the right foot is pressed straight and hard.

Finally, an important point is to always drive within the allowed speed limit. In fact, most drivers believe that the car can go faster than the maximum allowed speed and still "feel safe". However, according to experts, the maximum speed on a certain road section is calculated based on many factors to ensure enough space and terrain to help the driver react quickly and accurately when an incident occurs. Feelings cannot be accurate because they also depend on driving experience, vehicle safety and many other factors on the road.

According to VNE