The reason why the gas pedal on a car is always designed lower than the brake pedal

According to auto engineer Duong Trung Kien - Director of Kien Phong Auto Service Workshop (Cau Giay, Hanoi), it is not natural that manufacturers have such designs. According to technical documents from car manufacturers and actual use, Mr. Kien gives 3 main reasons as follows:

The first,due to the characteristics in the structure and operating principle of the accelerator pedal compared to the brake pedal and clutch pedal (with manual transmission vehicles) are different. The accelerator pedal has the function of controlling the amount of fuel pumped into the engine, more or less, from there the car goes fast or slow.

The accelerator pedal is fine-tuned and often has a sensor attached, so it reacts very sensitively, resulting in a much shorter travel than the brake or clutch pedal. On the accelerator pedal, even a small force can be clearly felt, especially with vehicles with large engine capacity.

The brake pedal operates on a hydraulic system, with a longer oscillation range. Therefore, the brake pedal needs more space than the accelerator pedal, and placing the brake pedal higher than the accelerator pedal is the optimal solution.

The accelerator pedal is located on the right side and is usually much lower than the brake pedal. (Illustration)

Second reasonis about safety when driving. When designed low and deep, to press the accelerator requires the driver to rotate and slightly extend the right ankle. This is different from keeping the foot in a normal state on the brake pedal.

This design helps drivers easily distinguish between the accelerator and brake pedals without looking, because the feeling when placing the foot on the two pedals is different, helping to minimize the risk of mistakenly pressing the accelerator.

In case the driver panics and steps on both pedals, the higher design will "activate" the brake pedal first. (Illustration)

Andthird reasonThe reason this engineer gave was to prevent emergency situations. Because the two pedals are designed quite close to each other and are both controlled by the right foot, it is not uncommon to mistake or press both pedals at the same time.

In case the driver panics and presses both pedals, the higher design will "activate" the brake pedal first, thereby causing the car to slow down instead of speeding up.

According to engineer Duong Trung Kien, all car designs are aimed at comfort and convenience in operation and use by manufacturers. However, to ensure safety on the road, drivers must equip themselves with knowledge and skills to handle situations, especially mastering the operation of the accelerator and brake pedals to avoid confusion in emergency situations.