Why are cars not designed with the brake pedal far from the accelerator pedal?
Many traffic accidents are caused by drivers mistakenly stepping on the gas pedal, which makes many people wonder why the brake pedal and gas pedal of a car are not designed far apart?
According to researchers, the brake and accelerator pedals are designed on the same side for convenience. In principle, the right foot is always on the brake pedal, except when accelerating. If the accelerator pedal is released, the right foot immediately returns to the brake pedal position.
Automatic cars have the accelerator and brake pedals on the same side of the driver's right foot. The brake pedal's cross-section is the largest, making it easier for the driver's right foot, while the accelerator pedal is smaller and offset to the left.
In the manual version, the car has an additional clutch pedal, located to the left of the driver.
This design can be taken for granted in cars as it provides convenience while driving.
In addition, using one foot for both the gas and brake also ensures safety because no one brakes and accelerates at the same time. When wanting to brake, the driver must take his foot off the gas to help the car stop faster.
Accordingly, it takes the driver less than 1 second to switch from the accelerator to the brake pedal and vice versa, which helps ensure safety, especially in emergencies.
According to experts, if the design puts the accelerator on one side and the brake on the other (the driver's two feet will have separate tasks), it will cause the brake and accelerator to be applied at the same time, which can sometimes cause confusion for the driver.
Meanwhile, if braking is needed, the driver is forced to take his foot off the accelerator so that the car can stop faster and to do this, the accelerator and brake pedals must be on the same side.
Some basic principles to avoid mistakenly stepping on the gas pedal
Experts say the reason for mistaking the accelerator pedal is because the driver is not really familiar with the foot movement and the habit of some drivers (especially women) wearing high heels.
In addition, driving in a state of distraction, doing other things like looking at the phone while the foot is not on the brake pedal, leads to panic and accidentally pressing the gas pedal when encountering an unexpected situation.
To minimize this situation, when sitting in the car, the right foot is always placed on the brake pedal, when taking off the accelerator the driver must immediately move his foot to the brake pedal. During the process of teaching and learning to drive, the driver should be allowed to practice switching back and forth between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal on the right foot many times to get used to the position change operation.
At the same time, practice driving in rough areas where you need to use brakes and accelerators alternately for many days to get used to the movements.
Along with that, when drivers have something to do in the car, they must move the car to the parking position to ensure safety. Focus on observing and do not use the phone while driving because when encountering an unexpected situation, the driver can panic and accidentally press the accelerator pedal.
Use only your right foot to control the accelerator and brake.
Women don't wear high heels when driving because they are prone to slipping.
