My girlfriend can not drive with automatic transmission, please help me convince her she can?!

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Mr_Zombay@reddit

For that exact reason i sat on my left foot for the first few drives in an auto car

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Captkarate42@reddit

Has she ever accidentally left foot braked in any of her manual transmission vehicles? If that has not happened dozens of times, I don't see why it would start now.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

Nope, did not happen..

Brake pedal in an automatic is way larger then in a manual, this is why it happens..

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vakantiehuisopwielen@reddit

I have done it once or twice. My wife too and she still doesn’t like autos because of this.

The pedal is just wide enough to be hit when you slam your left foot down for the clutch.

In the beginning I also sometimes hit the imaginary clutch and shifter when braking.

The same happened when switching LHD to RHD and back. Grabbing in the door for a shifter.

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Familiar9709@reddit

I think it's impossible to do this really, for any person with common sense.

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JAFO-@reddit

I have never hit the pedal but have pushed for the phantom clutch and shifter. Every single time I get in an automatic.

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This is all that ever happens to me. I always press the phantom clutch pedal and my body lunges forward like I missed a step. Besides the different shape brake pedal, it’s also in a completely different position. Unless you’ve been left foot braking I don’t see why any sort of muscle memory would swing your left foot that far to the right.

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accidentalscientist_@reddit

Right? I just slam my left foot into the empty spot on the floor.

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nostradumbass7544678@reddit

I've driven manuals my entire life, always go for the phantom clutch in autos, and have never touched the brake pedal with my left foot while doing so, or even thought it a possibility.

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yogaballcactus@reddit

I suspect it depends on what you’re driving and how big your feet are. My gigantic ass clown feet got the brake pedal in an F150 one time going for the nonexistent clutch. It only happened once, though. OP should have his girlfriend drive the car in an empty parking lot until she’s used to it. It’ll only take until the first time it shifts for her instead of the other way around.

I also suspect it has something to do with how often you’re switching up what you drive. I’ve got both an automatic and a manual these days and swapping between them never causes an issue.

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skydvejam@reddit

Yep always pushing that floorboard swapping over. Hard parts keeping my hand off the shifter if it's not on the column.

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NextEpisode44@reddit

Every time! 😆

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LoudBrick609@reddit

It doesn't happen though.

It's very simple to not do... Or else you shouldn't be driving a car lol

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ucbiker@reddit

I can’t comprehend it either, like I’d actively have to shift my foot over to hit the brake pedal on an automatic car. In every automatic car I’ve ever driven, there’s a dead pedal where a clutch pedal would normally be. I find it almost inconceivable that someone’s muscle memory would have them not just stomp on the dead pedal instead of shifting over and jamming on the brake.

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PlatinumElement@reddit

It really depends on the car. I’ve done it a lot in old American cars where the brake pedal is 6” wide and goes well into clutch pedal territory.

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ucbiker@reddit

Fine lol, I’ll acquiesce that if OP’s girlfriend is driving a 1970s Buick around Amsterdam, this may become an issue.

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Boopped_Snoot@reddit

The footrest is there in the automatics and manuals. In a manual your brake pedal is much narrower on most cars And the clutch pedal goes between the footrest and brake pedal.

Automatic cars usually have a brake pedal that's way wider so It extends into the area where the clutch would normally be.

The result is you usually already have your right foot on the brake pushing it to slow down then your muscle memory kicks in and you jab your left foot on the same pedal (to keep the car from, stalling in a manual) resulting in you actually slamming the brake pedal with both feet and since you're usually not braced to lock up your brakes it usually throws you forward so you're putting your full weight I through both feet into the brake pedal.

It's an excellent test of how fast your car can possibly stop but it's also, probably as much force as you'd encounter if you got rear-ended and One heck of a jump scare.

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Boopped_Snoot@reddit

When you've driven long enough to build up muscle memory You don't actively think about what you're doing.

It becomes muscle memory to push the clutch in right before you stop or for a lot of people when you plan on stopping (I will just take it out of gear if I'm coasting a long way to stop) it'll usually only happen at low speeds but because the brake pedal in an automatic is usually two or three times wider then the one in a manual car a lot of times You will already have your right foot on the brake slowing down and then stomp it to the floor with your left. Also because in an automatic the brake pedal is often wide enough to stick out into the space where the clutch would normally be.

The quick job you would normally use to push in a heavy clutch is usually enough to completely lock up the brakes on most cars so it also kind of throws you forward against the brake so you end up standing on it and accidentally doing an emergency stop.

For most people they press the clutch in to keep it from stalling at like 5-10 mph so chances are nobody is going to rear-end you but it'll be a good scare. If you've ever been in the passenger seat with somebody who stomp the brakes to the floor for absolutely no reason except to scare you You know it can definitely work, but if you're the one supposed to be driving it's even more of a shock. The first time I did it I thought somebody rear-ended me But I looked in The mirrors but there was nobody there.

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Portland420informer@reddit

Happened to me. I had to borrow my brother’s car for a quick lunch break run. I was trying to beat the car next to me off the line at the stoplight so I could switch lanes and I absolutely smashed the brake pedal trying to stab the clutch.

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Serious_Lettuce6716@reddit

I’ve done this as well, at 65mph on the highway. Forehead meet steering wheel!

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clarkn0va@reddit

I've reflex-clutched in an auto after driving manual. Usually the left foot totally misses the brake pedal, or just glances it in a way that isn't problematic.

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Bubakcz@reddit

After driving manuals for my whole life, and having driven few automatics recently, the worst thing she will likely encounter is stomping the floor with her left leg when slowing down, or reaching with her hand for a stick that is not there. Those are not actual issues

Things that actually need some learning are how to get moving (i remember the first time our company got a rental with automatic gearbox, and no one knew how to drive it - bunch of software developers were standing on a parking lot around a car where the rental company parked it, with phones out, googling how to put it into drive. Brake pedal was the answer), possible prerequisites for changing drive modes (forward, reverse, park, and so on), and later how to change modes quickly.

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ForbesCars@reddit

I've done it before when switching from my manual cars to an auto, so it's a valid concern, but also at most it'll happen like 2x for a split second, then she'll be fine. It's not going to cause any issues if she accidentally hits the brakes harder than needed/intended a couple times.

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horribadperson@reddit

She'll get used to it after a few drives, i used to do the same thing accidentally left foot braking lol. Just try to get her to drive when theres tons of traffic, she might welcome not having to do leg day during rush hour.

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serpentman@reddit

She can take the bus, there won’t be any pedals.

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Success_With_Lettuce@reddit

Oh, I assure you it happens.. I did it a few times too when I first started driving autos after only driving manual before, and only at low speed where I would normally press the clutch to prevent a stall.

You press it like its a clutch too, so the car kinda just stops, and your passengers are like wtf.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

Yeah it's like a seatbelt check too! No blood in the car afterwards tells u everyone was wearing them 😂

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daboobiesnatcher@reddit

Lmao I had a manual bmw 335i and I got a loaner 328i which was virtually the same except auto; when I had to leave it at the dealership, I brained myself off the steering wheel coming up to the stop sign leaving the dealership because I left foot braked like I was popping my heavy clutch.

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Shot-Swimming-9098@reddit

The clutch pedal is not in the same place. You people are not safe.

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daboobiesnatcher@reddit

Auto brake pedals are wider.

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OgmoJump@reddit

Auto brake pedals are often wider

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DarkBladeSethan@reddit

I pretended my left leg was paralised and kept it all the way to the left, stuck to the centre console (RHD)

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Firedcylinder@reddit

It's even worse if you have two of the same car where one is manual and the other is automatic.

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JasonDJ@reddit

I've had the same car for like 12 years now and it's had the shifter where I have always expected it, right in the center console.

I've had a few cars with column shifters, but not for a long time.

My wife's last car was a 2019 Odyssey...with push button shifters.

Which, btw, suck if you need a jump but have to push it out of a parking space to get to it, because you need a long screwdriver under the hood to wedge the transmission into neutral.

Her current car is a 2026 Santa Fe, which has the column electric shifter. Which is also fun if you're tall and happen to bang your knee into it while you're driving and put it into Neutral on the interstate. Also probably the same issue with pushing it when dead but I haven't crossed that bridge yet.

Why do car companies have to keep messing with a good thing?

Both of these continue to trip me up every time I get into my car.

Also the absence of a back up camera. Man you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

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jepensedoucjsuis@reddit

What’s even more fun is having two of the same vehicles (in my case Honda Elements) with manual transmissions in both. Both have wildly different grab points on the clutch and that has left me looking silly at a few red lights..

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Acceptable_Delay_446@reddit

We have two 2019 Civics in my family. Every time I get in the automatic one, I try to put my foot through the floor to start it because I’m used to my Si.

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aiden_asphyxia@reddit

This happens between my Mazda and my partners Mazda. Mine is manual, his is auto. They’re pretty much identical, otherwise. Everytime I get into his car, I go for a clutch to start and then have a couple of left foot brake events before I get the hang of it.

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Photocrazy11@reddit

I have 2015 Miata 6 speed manual, I daily a Honda Fit, and my only problem there is rembering where the window switches are. But My husband drive a 2012 Mazda3 automatic. We dropped off the Miata to get the oil changed. I got into the Mazda3 and tried to push in the clutch and shift. The Mazda 3 sits low, not as low as the Miata, but it enough like it to really throw me off that one time. The Fit sits high, like small SUV so haven't tried to push in the nonexistent clutch.

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gettin-hot-in-here@reddit

i never had this but i had an SUV (automatic) and a subcompact car (manual) at the same time. Two or three times i stopped at a red light while driving the car with the clutch, did not move the shifter to neutral, and then a bit later took my foot off the clutch pedal completely. Felt the car lurch forward, stepped on the brake, and of course stopped the engine almost immediately so that it had to be started up again.

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Fearless-Poet-4669@reddit

I don't get it. The clutch is way off to the left, and the brake doesn't move?

Wouldn't you just try and press a pedal that's not there? What's your foot doing all the way over where the brake is?

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Optimal-Buddy6566@reddit

Brakes in autos are fat. Like really fat usually. You won’t usually notice it but the break is usually like 1.75-2.5x the width in an automatic transmission than it is in manual. In manual the brake pedal is usually about the same or of slightly wider width as the gas but just closer to you and to the left of it. In autos they usually have this big extension that goes all the way out to where a clutch pedal would be. Remember that on pretty much all modern manuals there is a big footrest to the left of the clutch just like in an auto and so the clutch is situated a little left of where the brake is but at a different angle (at least the most common arrangement I see right now).

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Super-Reporter-4528@reddit

The only time I drive automatic now is walking up boat ramp and backing down my dads truck when we go fishing,(he’s had several back surgeries and walking too far hurts him so I learned at 10) the first time i did this after getting a manual I started pulling the boat up the ramp and then went to stop, my left foot went down to where that clutch should have been and found the brake, I hit the truck steering wheel and my dad hit the boat steering wheel, i was only going like 5mph so it didn’t hurt too bad, but now I always tuck my left foot completely too the left or under my right leg when driving autos so I don’t repeat this.

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Optimal-Buddy6566@reddit

I was parking my Mom’s outback(auto) after having driven my own (manual) for a long time and I tried to downshift into and wound up slamming the big fat brake pedal whilst tapping the gas. If would have probably sent everyone straight ahead of them if they weren’t wearing seat belts.

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jepensedoucjsuis@reddit

Hell, I still do it from time to time.. last time was when I was driving my bosses somewhere in a company vehicle. I drive manual 90% of the time. Sometimes lizard brain takes over..

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Illustrious-Art-7465@reddit

Ive only had manual cars for 12 years since I was 16 and I also find driving a manual odd but if I was going to instinctively go to press the clutch I would press, ya know, where the clutch would be. It just doesnt make much sense. Theres been tons of times ive went to press in the clutch when there isnt one but ive never gone to press the clutch as a gut reaction and hit where the clutch isnt

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Glittering-Use9669@reddit

Yep, done that with a courtesy car right in front of a Subaru dealership when I left my manual car for a service. Full on stopped in front of oncoming traffic when I tried to quickly shift into second gear to speed up. Even the automatic shifter was shaped like a manual one and not only did I brake, but I also kinda downshifted it at the same time to ensure full deceleration power. Got lucky, no one rear-ended me. The brake pedal was more spaced to the left than in a manual.. Now I often go from manual to auto, I keep my left leg away from the pedals..

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nstrasner@reddit

I absolutely did this when I had a loaner while my manual was getting service done lmfao. I understand her concern but also if you’re being conscious about it like she is it shouldn’t happen. I did it because I wasn’t thinking about it actively

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Unique_Watch4072@reddit

Occasionally happens to me too, have one automatic and two manuals, doesn't happen often but it does happen. Always feel like a total idiot. Somehow I very rarely forget to depress the clutch on my manuals, I guess just the whole thing with messing around with the stick burns faster in the brain than the auto.

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dlsAW91@reddit

When I go from driving a manual dump truck to my automatic work van, I set the parking brake every time lol

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Excellent-Stress2596@reddit

I did that once in my parents Jeep Grand Cherokee and didn’t realize what was happening until years later.🤣

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do_IT_withme@reddit

I think the guy you replied to was asking if she accidently hits the brake instead of the clutch when driving a standard. If she is hitting the brake in a manual why would she in a standard because the brake pedal is in the same place and an auto just doesn't have that 3rd Peta to the left of the brake.

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Ill-Gas-4788@reddit

Many auto brake pedals are wide and take up the space where the clutch pedal would be in a manual. Hence you accidentally stamp the brake when you instinctively clutch.

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Ajpeterson@reddit

I did it once and scared the absolute shit out of myself. Immediate stop, the clutch in my car was quite heavy so I applied a good bit of pressure and my seatbelt locked up. Luckily I was coming up to a stop sign on an empty road so nothing bad happened.

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IndependenceIcy9626@reddit

Yes was going to say, it happened to me multiple times when I was driving an auto while I dailies a manual. Nothing super dangerous but many very abrupt stops that frazzled all the cars occupants (myself included).

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Hopeful-Put-8823@reddit

I did it as well, and i felt like a complete and total fucking idiot....because people saw it lolol.

This was when i had just started driving my manual, so i was so locked in with still learning, i had hopped in my buddies grand cherokee and basically was putting it in reverse and jamming the brake immediatly hahaha. Add in the embressment, and it took me a few times for my brain to catch up with my body lololol

I dont see this being difficult at all, if uts gonna happen it will be gettting out of a parking spot lol.

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marty-mcfryguy@reddit

Wow, really?

It's in such a different position than the brake. Would be so awkward to put your feet that close together to hit brake with you left foot.

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KillerKittenwMittens@reddit

An auto brake is so much wider that when you go to press the clutch that doesn't exist you may clip it with your left foot. Not a full centered press

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marty-mcfryguy@reddit

Gotcha, thanks, that makes sense.

OP -- that might make your girlfriend feel a bit better. Even if she does accidentally do it, it's probably going to be just a brief/light brake tap as her foot hits and slides past it, and not a full on emergency-style stomp.

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Success_With_Lettuce@reddit

The break is a bigger pedal, but more or less in the same place, the issue is for manual only drivers is the overwhelming urge to use the clutch to prevent stalling before a stop, that is muscle memory and it takes over, finding the only pedal in range - the break lol. It would only happen my first few times, or going back to a manual for an extended period then to an auto when I first started switching a lot. Nowadays my brain knows to load either the manual or auto program up (metaphorically) when I get in a car.

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marty-mcfryguy@reddit

That seems so odd to me.

My first was a stick and I don't remember it being an issue at all when I got an automatic eight years later.

That said, automatics were very common in the US even then, so I'd drive one from time to time, including some time with them when I was learning. Maybe that changes what the experience is like switching.

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Consistent-Buyer7060@reddit

Because when the reflexes kicks in you automatically press the clutch down. If you drive an automatic you will press the break instead with your left foot

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Intelligent_Row8259@reddit

No not really. Since the brake pedal is in a different location what happens when reflexes kick in is you brake with your right foot and your left foot thuds against the floor board.

In 40 years of driving over 1 million miles in vehicles with manual transmissions alone I have never hit the brake by accident thinking it was the clutch when I drove an automatic. I have kicked the floor where the clutch should be hundreds of times however.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

It's because of the size of the pedal. For some reason the brake pedal is wider in an automatic car. She drives a small hatchback, I drive a larger sedan. So yeah my brake pedal is at roughly the same leg distance apart as her clutch.

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Intelligent_Row8259@reddit

Never seen that. I have been driving for 40 years nearly 2 million miles over 1 million in manual transmission vehicles. I have driven everything from small hatchbacks all the way up through semi trucks. Vehicles both manual and automatic built from the 1950's up through 2025. I even know how and have driven a 3 on the tree.

Never seen an appreciable difference in the size of the brake pedal make a difference between a manual and an automatic yes the brake pedal is wider but not enough that if I go for a clutch that isn't there I am going to hit it.

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Leverpostei414@reddit

So you agree the brake pedal is wider?

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vakantiehuisopwielen@reddit

Apparently they do with a lot of words.

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tkecanuck341@reddit

I'm sure you could install a custom brake pedal that is smaller in size.

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Fearless-Poet-4669@reddit

Right. This thread concerns me deeply.

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Ok-Office1370@reddit

If your left foot thuds against the floorboard...

Nothing happened.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

This is exactly what happens! Couldn't have phrased it better.

Too much mind muscle. Trying to clutch to prevent the engine from stalling but brake checking someone instead!

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Consistent-Buyer7060@reddit

Ignoring the American answers. What she can do is to keep her left foot behind her right, then she have a second or two extra to stop herself from “clutch breaking.

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limited_instincts@reddit

That will never happen. The brake pedal is in the same position as in a manual car. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

It's because of the size of the pedal. For some reason the brake pedal is wider in an automatic car. She drives a small hatchback, I drive a larger sedan. So yeah my brake pedal is at roughly the same leg distance apart as her clutch.

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limited_instincts@reddit

It's a non-issue. Seriously. People jump between auto and manual all the time.

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iamr3d88@reddit

The brake on a manual car is like 3" wide, with a 3" clutch right next to it. The brake on an auto is like 8" wide. I assure you, if you reach for the clutch out of instinct, you can catch the brake with your left foot. Ive never done it in motion, but ive done it when starting the car.

If they made the brake pedal the same size, or you modified/replaced it on the auto, this would never happen.

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Disastrous-Tank-6197@reddit

Why? That's the brake pedal, not the clutch. It's not even in the same place.

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blueguyfromtron@reddit

When a car doesn’t have a clutch pedal the brake pedal is usually wider. So what I’ve done myself after driving a manual for a while is going for the clutch at a stop and catching the edge of the brake pedal with my left foot when I instinctively push down.

It’s not that unusual to happen when you drive manual 99% of the time then hop in an automatic car.

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Disastrous-Tank-6197@reddit

I drove manual cars for decades and never had any issue driving an automatic. And I've never even heard of anyone who has. This is crazy. OP's girlfriend needs mental help, this isn't a driving issue.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

I'm more concerned about the people who are hitting the brake pedal with their left foot, I've never experienced that. The worst thing that happens when I switch to an automatic is sometimes just killing the engine without putting it in park when I stop.

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Fearless-Poet-4669@reddit

Kinda scared to be sharing the road with these people tbh

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ElectromagneticRam@reddit

One time I did exactly this— the brake pedal in my mom’s minivan was quite a bit wider than the one in my car. I was slowing to a stop when something in my brain yelled “don’t stall!”

Grandma wasn’t wearing a seatbelt in the back seat, so it was quite an event.

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dogswontsniff@reddit

Because when youre looking for the clutch your foot will find the left most pedal.

I do it once everytime I take one of my parents cars out for them

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Fearless-Poet-4669@reddit

It shouldn't lol.

"I do it once everytime I take one of my parents cars out for them"

Yikes

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Fearless-Poet-4669@reddit

Yeah whose brain is going oh the pedal is missing let me just press this one way over to the right where the brake normally is?

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Boopped_Snoot@reddit

The brake pedal is usually way wider on automatics so It extends over to where the clutch should be on a lot of cars.

Can't speak for all cars but I've owned the exact same Subaru in an automatic and manual at the same time the manual had a long vertical gas pedal then Two little square braking clutch pedals and The automatic had a tall narrow gas pedal like the manual but the brake pedal was a really wide rectangle Big enough to put both feet on.

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UnGatito@reddit

Not exactly the same position, but the pedal is normally twice as big so it's still plausible to hit it. It's a well known phenomenon when going from manual to auto

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iamr3d88@reddit

Yep, when I get in one of my autos, I will instinctively push the clutch that doesnt exist to start it. Most cars I just hit the floor, but I have one where the brake is wide enough I hit it with my left foot

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StarsandMaple@reddit

Yeah, trucks are especially bad, most of the German cars with autos have a more narrow brake pedal for automatics so I just nick the brake pedal.

Old Mk2 Golfs and jettas had a tiny pedal box so after driving one for a while it's super easy to hit a wide brake pedal..

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Opposite_Canary6654@reddit

The brake pedals on automatic cars are wide.

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SVTTrinity@reddit

It happened to me too, years ago after I got a manual and drove my friend’s automatic. The brake pedal being wider or bigger makes it easier to happen. I stopped doing fairly quickly and adjusted. OP should have his gf practice in a parking lot at first or on a road where drivers don’t tailgate a lot.

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Ok_Demand_3197@reddit

A manual clutch is in the same position as an auto brake…. Go to hit the “clutch” on an auto, and you will catch the brake pedal.

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espressocycle@reddit

I'm so old that I used to hit the high beams.

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BC999R@reddit

Or the windshield washer?

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maddmax_gt@reddit

I’m not even old but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve accidentally brighted someone just moving my foot around 😂

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banananas_are_sick24@reddit

I try to shove my foot through the floorboard, but I’ve never accidentally hit the brakes, they’re not even relatively close

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Several_Ad_6576@reddit

No you won’t! That makes no sense. The brake pedal in an automatic is in the same place as it is in a manual setup.

If she is this nervous about it, we should all be glad she is not driving.

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OldGoneMild89@reddit

Sorry, no. Anyone experienced with driving a manual is not going to inadvertently jam on brakes.

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ringRunners@reddit

No you just press the floor.

Source: Im American and have both manual and automatic

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maddmax_gt@reddit

The brake is well over from where a clutch would be. Any time I reach for a clutch in an auto I hit the dead pedal and nothing happens because there’s nothing there but a foot rest.

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pjaidev@reddit

This happens a few times for the first 10 minutes and then your brain figures it out.

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Jops817@reddit

I stubbed my foot trying to "clutch in" in a rental automatic on an on-ramp once, lol it's just muscle memory and I panicked when it wasn't there.

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BEEZ128@reddit

“Accidentally left-foot braked”…?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with left foot braking. It is a proven performance driving technique used by many racing and rally drivers to reduce reaction time between braking and accelerating, and to perform manoeuvres by using weight transfer, which is much easier to do with left foot braking.

Not that weight transfer manoeuvres will necessarily be used on the road, but the longer reaction time of shifting your right foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal and vice versa is reduced greatly, which in terms of avoiding dangerous obstacles can mean you either crash or don’t crash. Works in an auto too of course.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I do not think you understood my comment in the context of the original post at all. This has nothing at all to do with performance driving, left foot braking for that purpose, heel toe shifting, or anything else remotely related to performance driving techniques.

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BEEZ128@reddit

Clearly you missed the part where I said that left foot braking gives you faster reaction time to brake or accelerate to avoid obstacles.

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reddits_in_hidden@reddit

It definitely happens, my brother and I took a road trip once, we both drive manual but his daily is a small manual sedan and mine is large auto station wagon, so for comfort we took mine, when it was his turn to drive I was quite rudely awakened from my nap by him slamming my brakes on trying to upshift to pass somebody @~@ lol

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TheTrampIt@reddit

You never drove a car with 3 pedals, I presume.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I have driven majority manual transmission vehicles for twenty five years, and swapped back and forth to autos regularly. I wear size thirteen boots, and have never once accidentally stopped on the brake with my left foot in an automatic car.

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TheTrampIt@reddit

But you never noticed that the brake pedal is wider on automatic cars.

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Complex_Solutions_20@reddit

100% it happens. I've done it plenty of times switching between my WRX (6MT) and Outback (AT).

You throw yourself and everyone forward, people go "what the hell are you doing" and feel embarrassed, then carry on. Its not really that big of a deal.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I have been driving for about twenty five years and switching back and forth between manual and auto trans vehicles, and it has never happened to me once. I am surprised by how many people here are saying they've had that experience.

Like you say, it's not a big deal even if it does happen, and I don't think it's enormously likely anyway. OP's girlfriend should not be this concerned about it.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

I don't what these people are doing to slam on the brake with their left foot. Who knows, maybe it will happen to me after 30 years, and I will be humbled.

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Captkarate42@reddit

Agreed. I'm blown away by this comment section. I drove 40k miles a year for work for like a decade, swapping between random vehicles constantly, many manuals and many autos, and it has never happened to me in my entire life. In that time I drove so many different vehicles, and none of them were set up in such a way that I accidentally hit some football field sized brake pedal. Festivas, civics, bmw's focuses, chargers, f150s, silverados, multiple body styles and generations of jeeps, a taurus, a thunderbird, a jaguar, a couple different subarus. Never been an issue in any of them.

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Complex_Solutions_20@reddit

Yeah I think its b/c the brake pedal on my automatic is about the same size as the brake+clutch pedals of my manual car.

I also find its much easier to accidentally hit the accelerator while pushing the brake on my manual transmission car which I've never had on any other vehicle. Seems like the pedals are significantly closer together so its easy to snag with the edge of my shoe.

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Cynyr36@reddit

The brake pedal in most autos is extra wide and covers about 3/4ths the space of the clutch. When on auto pilot it's pretty easy to go for a clutch and get a boot full of brake. Generally this is at lowish speed, but it sure wakes you up.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I wear size 13 boots, and have been regularly swapping between manual and automatic vehicles for twenty five years. This has never happened to me. I believe that this happens to people based on how many people are saying they have this same problem, but I never would have guessed this was a problem before this comment section. It seems very strange to me.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

No idea how they're managing this.

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mr802rex@reddit

Because the pedal is 2x as massive and she will instinctively clutch. I did that the first few days I drove an auto, its habit. Its actually stupid for auto cars to have such big pedals, if they had regular size brake pedals it wouldn't be a concern or issue.

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Optimal-Buddy6566@reddit

Automatics have big fat brake pedals compared to manuals. Just look at two of the same car but one is automatic and one is manual. You’ll see that on the auto the brake pedal goes out all the way to where the clutch is.

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Lopoetve@reddit

Oh yeah. A bunch. You learn to differentiate but it’s like switching from a car with a super heavy clutch to one with very light - I thought the light one was broken because the clutch went straight to the ground. Nope, just used to 18lbs on a firebird.

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jccaclimber@reddit

About 10 years into driving manual (and infrequently auto) transmissions I drove across the country to go on a winter trip with my wife and a friend. The friend couldn’t drive stick at all so we took his car, and automatic with a really big brake pedal. I was in winter boots and going for the clutch would just barely snag the brake pedal. Slammed the brakes so hard we were almost rear ended at a few lights on off ramps. My wife, lots more years driving autos but only a year or two driving manuals was really starting to make fun of me for it until her turn to drive came and she did the exact same thing. A couple decades later still the only vehicle I’ve ever had that problem in, but it does happen.

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RHS1959@reddit

Once upon a time I had a manual transmission car and my parents had an auto. Their car had one of those extra-wide brake pedals, and as I rolled to a stop my left foot reflexively stabbed downward and caught the corner of the pedal. I nearly put myself through windshield. Fortunately I was alone.

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xXxDickBonerz69xXx@reddit

Because automatics have giant brake pedals. I've absolutely given people whiplash rolling up to a stop sign while driving their automatic cars. Your foot just catches the corner of the double wide brake and hard.

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hyf_fox@reddit

Auto tend to have a wider brake pedal, when you go to push the clutch in to shift out of habit sometimes you’ll catch the brake pedal because it’s wider. It’s not a problem left foot braking in a manual but the fact that you can try to clutch in not thinking about being in an auto and accidentally hit the brake pedal hard

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Top_Housing6819@reddit

The brake pedal in an automatic is SO wide compared to a manual. It's like a brick laid sideways. When you slow down and your lizard brain kicks in to say, "OH GOD HIT THE CLUTCH!" you will slam your left foot down and clip the 4XL wide brake.

Done it. Lots. At least 10 times. It sucks.

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kartoffel_engr@reddit

I usually go to press the nonexistent clutch pedal and am quickly reminded it’s not there. Never have I engaged the brake with my left foot on accident.

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Captkarate42@reddit

Same lol. These other replies here seem wild to me, you'll likely get a kick out of looking through them.

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TechnicianTop2558@reddit

It absolutely does happen. Only a few times after driving manual for a while I will instinctively go to shift into second and slam the brake for a second. Same has happened to me riding a scooter. It only ever happens once on a new vehicle. I might feel silly for a second, never really too much of a danger.

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Familiar9709@reddit

Sorry, you're mixing things. In a manual you press the clutch, the danger in automatic is that you'll press the brake thinking that you need to press the clutch.

I never did it myself and I find it completely unlikely, since the brake is in a different place to the clutch and you simply forget about your left foot and leave it there.

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Captkarate42@reddit

No, I did not mix anything up. I think you misread my comment.

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No-Salt7142@reddit

The brake pedal in an automatic extends to the point where the clutch is in a manual.

When I first drove an automatic (having driven manual for years), I knew it would happen and I still only made it to the end of the driveway before I tried to depress the clutch and everyone got a seatbelt check.

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Captkarate42@reddit

Been driving both manual and automatic for 25 years, and I wear size thirteen boots. It has never happened to me once.

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Acceptable-Garage-64@reddit

The Brake Pedal is wider in an Automatic Car therefore it is quite possible to do so.

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NotoriousREV@reddit

(Almost) Everyone who’s only ever driven a manual will do it ONCE when they switch to an auto. Usually when coming to a stop, muscle memory makes you got for the clutch, and you catch the edge of the much wider brake pedal than your used to. The first auto I drove was my boss’s Jeep Wrangler back in 2000. I was collecting it from the dealership for him. I screeched across the forecourt and everyone turned to look. For reasons that I hope are obvious, you rarely do it a second time.

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S2kKyle@reddit

I didn't drive an automatic until I was 25 and it happens lol.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I have been driving both manual and automatic transmission vehicles for twenty five years, and I wear size thirteen boots. It has never happened to me once lol.

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Darth_Queso_@reddit

I'm constantly reaching for the clutch when I get in an automatic. Muscle memory is a thing,especially if she's been driving strictly standards

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crunch816@reddit

These comments are absurd.

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AnotherIronicPenguin@reddit

Yeah, a lot of justification for "I suck at driving" here.

Manual and automatics are different the same way a microwave and an oven are different. They're both going to heat up your food but it's going to take a different set of buttons to make it work. Learn both.

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Captkarate42@reddit

You are not kidding. I am 6'5 and I wear size 13 work boots every single day. No amount of big feet or larger brake pedals have ever caused me to accidentally left foot brake, and I swap back and forth between manual and automatic vehicles constantly.

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Mizar97@reddit

Some autos have a parking brake in the same place as a clutch pedal. Mostly trucks

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debuggingworlds@reddit

Mercedes in the mid 2000s did this. Including on the manuals, so you could end up with as many as 4 pedals

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Captkarate42@reddit

I have been in plenty of vehicles with foot pedal parking brakes and it has never been in the same place as a clutch. It is usually left of where the clutch would be by a lot, and much further forward. Maybe that is a thing in other countries? I would be curious to see that if you have model examples that I could look up.

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Mizar97@reddit

That's true, I have a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 but it's smaller and farther over than the clutch on my 2020 Subaru WRX.

I've hit it by mistake 1 time, thankfully at low speed in a parking lot lol

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AppropriateDeal1034@reddit

Because the brake pedal in an auto is twice as wide as in a manual. First time I drove auto after many years and many miles of driving manual, I did exactly this...went to use the clutch to change gear without thinking about it and did a partial emergency stop. Didn't donit again mind you!

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New_Sun6390@reddit

It absolutely happens. I drove manuals for years. When I got my first automatic since high school, I left-foot-braked a few times. No harm, no foul, and the habit died pretty quickly.

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Poosay_Slayer@reddit

It’s more the left foot memory muscles and ends up slamming the brake down as though it’s the clutch

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3579@reddit

The brake pedal in an auto is like 3x the width of a manual

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Captkarate42@reddit

Read the other comment replies here.

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Auqakid07@reddit

What he is talking about is autos tend to have a 3rd pedal for the Parking brake.

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

If I drive my stick truck for a while and the hop in my automatic I left foot try to change gears and realize there is no clutch, lol. Honestly, it takes about 10 minutes before I remember. My foot has years and years of muscle memory and it doesnt listen to me 😄

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Efficient-Ball4360@reddit

The brake is wider in automatics and long time stick drivers will instinctively attempt to clutch and can possibly grab some brake instead.

Imo though The clutch is typically wider out than where the brake is, even the wider brake of an automatic, I've only ever just clutched the empty air and have never had the issue of accidentally stomping the brake. I think it's an unfounded fear.

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Captkarate42@reddit

I have driven primarily manual vehicles my entire life, and I learned how to drive in an old manual transmission Jeep on family property when I was like ten, and have never accidentally left foot braked in an automatic. I know that the brake pedal in autos is wider, but like you say, it's not wider by a large enough amount that I've ever accidentally stepped on it. It seems strange to me that so many others in these comments have had that experience.

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PurineEvil@reddit

I've done it a few times driving an unfamiliar car with a wide brake pedal. It's not that I pushed directly on it, but my feet are wide enough that the left can catch the edge of the pedal as I try to hit the non-existent clutch, and give the brake more force than intended.

It's never been a real problem because it only happens when I'm already braking, and only until i remember to keep my left foot planted on the floor. The real damage is just to my ego if anyone else is riding with me, and then I claim the brakes must be sticky and that it definitely wasn't my doing.

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Captkarate42@reddit

Lol fair enough. I am a large man and I wear size 13 work boots every single day, and it has still never happened to me. I've tapped the floor certainly, but have never accidentally braked when looking for the clutch.

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KillerKittenwMittens@reddit

I feel like everyone has done it at least once. Swap between manual and autos constantly and occasionally I'll go for the phantom clutch. Probably 95% of the time I just stomp the carpet when I turn the car on. Maybe 2 times ever I accidentally clipped the left edge of the brake pedal while moving, and I was pulling into my driveway both times I remember.

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Quirky-Flight-9812@reddit

I switched between auto and manual often. The only thing I noticed was in emergency breaking, my left foot would slam the floor pushing down an imaginary clutch. That goes away after awhile.

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Captkarate42@reddit

Same. I've never once accidentally left foot braked in an automatic and have been driving mostly manual vehicles (approx 60/40 split) for about twenty five years.

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Ok_Demand_3197@reddit

I left foot braked a few times when learning how to drive auto. It’s easy to do out of habit.

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UncleBensRacistRice@reddit

That time I drove manual for the first time with my construction boots on. Hit the clutch and brake at the same time and nearly threw myself through the windshield lmao

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Snoo-6266@reddit

She'll learn really fast just to use her right foot only

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Particular-Ad7150@reddit

I used to stomp the floor on occasion going for a clutch when slowing lol, you realize pretty quick what has happened. I never hit the brake with my left foot but if I had, it wouldn't have been a problem as I was slowing anyway. She just needs to do it, she will be fine

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Clear-Discipline9601@reddit

Nono dont waste ur energy trying to convince her. She sounds like my ex. She will refuse like a little kid until her brain thinks lets try it. I dont know what the trigger is but dont waste ur energy. Its like a donkey you will try to get it to move with all ur might and it just not moving. And the moment you give up it moves. Also a relationship with her type is headaches. Should end it asap. Unless you are in too deep. Then you should suck it up and live with the headache

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DrPC007@reddit

My wife was the same, always manual. With a new automatic transmission car, she was anxious, but only exercising together made her feel comfortable with automatic transmission. After a few months it completely switched to automatic car only.

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Snurgisdr@reddit

I have just discovered a business opportunity selling fake clutch pedals to the Dutch.

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VW-MB-AMC@reddit

Will there be a version compatible with the old Daf? You have not reallylived before you have gone over 100km/h in reverse.

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Ok-Housing-6114@reddit

dutch clutch

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Diederiksft@reddit

But remember to double dutch clutch when down shifting

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kartoffel_engr@reddit

They already sell fake 5/6 speed shifters. They’re comically small.

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RepliesToNarcissists@reddit

Gotta pair it with narrower brake pedals.

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DifferentBiscotti463@reddit

It will not made them learn new technique that is called “automatic “, it will made them stuck on Manuel transmission forever

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

oh yeah sounds very solid! Take my money!!

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Butimthedudeman@reddit

39 and still haven't mastered a stickshift. Mostly because no access to one to practice. I guess it would feel equally strange if the two are reversed

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Illustrious_Site_466@reddit

Tape her left leg to the leg of the car seat

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Diederiksft@reddit

She needs to learn at some point. Even here in the Netherlands manuals will become less and less available. Maybe not in the next 5 years but at some point.

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SeriousPlankton2000@reddit

My solution to not clutch is to use the left foot on the brake pedal. But beware to not brake by using the clutch in your / her other car.

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deathray-toaster@reddit

Cars nowadays have such good brakes so I doubt you would be able to cause an accident cause you forgot about the clutch. She’s gonna tap the brake and all it’ll do is jerk the car before she realizes it’s a brake, and not the clutch. I really don’t think she’ll have that much trouble.

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cans-of-swine@reddit

She'll just be pressing an imaginary clutch pedal, she wont accidentally hit the brake.

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gargoyle30@reddit

The brake pedal in autos is usually a lot wider than in manuals, it can definitely happen

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havnar-@reddit

You will.

Source: I did it twice in my life after driving manual for a long time going back into an auto.

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Rerewhakaaitu@reddit

Not everyone does.

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cans-of-swine@reddit

I push the ghost clutch but never hit the brake.

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Illustrious-Art-7465@reddit

Exactly, this situation doesnt make sense. How can you instinctively press the clutch but not put your foot where the clutch would be

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apeceep@reddit

Easy, some autos have brake where the clutch would be on manual.

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Illustrious-Art-7465@reddit

No they dont, autos are meant to be driven with right foot only

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apeceep@reddit

Two completely different things, where the pedals are and how many feet you use. Some autos have extra wide break pedal extending all the way where clutch pedal would be. Getting more uncommon these days but older cars it's somewhat common.

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lehilaukli@reddit

Ya I’ve done it a couple times the brake pedal is wider in an automatic and you can catch the edge of it. Its only happened at slow speed for me when going through a parking lot but not fun

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havnar-@reddit

Happened to me in a VAG car both times. Maybe they have wider pedals 🤷

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autech91@reddit

I remember when stood my mum's van on its nose doing it in the driveway once. Big brake pedal things

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

problem is that the brake pedal in an automatic is like 2 times bigger then in a manual hatchback.. She does press the brake yes

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Disastrous-Tank-6197@reddit

It sounds to me like she probably shouldn't be driving any car at all.

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IndependenceIcy9626@reddit

How is this upvoted? It’s such a wild overreaction to something that happens to like half of people that switch from manual to auto.

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Leverpostei414@reddit

It is such a problem for her she won't drive an automatic. That doesn't indicate good skills honestly

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BEEZ128@reddit

Right, it’s a ridiculous comment

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BEEZ128@reddit

Or OP should just swap his auto car for a real one with a manual? Sounds like a simple solution.

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AnotherIronicPenguin@reddit

Skill issue. Tell her to git gud.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

That's funny because she drives more then the average person LOL

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No-Setting9690@reddit

You being from Netherlands, and Im from America, what do you think what an average person drives? I'd bet we're are nowhere clsoe to thinking the same thing.

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Business_Compote2197@reddit

Sounds like she shouldn’t.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

Still, she does!

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darnfruitloops@reddit

But shouldn't

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G-pissy@reddit

I did this a few times leaving the parking lot during a test drive!

It was funny, nothing bad happened, then I didn't do it again. She'll probably break the habit on her way out of the driveway.

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agingcausescancer@reddit

She has driven and she is “pushing in a clutch” when there is no gear shift to move?

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Cynyr36@reddit

IME it's not an all the time thing. It'll happen when the mental load goes up looking for other traffic or your turn or whatnot. Your muscle memory will go for a clutch press and you snag the extra wide brake. You don't always immediately shift while braking.

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agingcausescancer@reddit

Yeah I get that it can happen rarely, but OP makes it sound like either she does it all the time or she is just too scared to drive it because it could happen. She just needs to drive it more often and get used to it I would think. Otherwise does she go through life never driving an auto because she is afraid she might hit the brake?

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

Yeah believe me she's a keeper! Just have to learn her the easier things in life 😂

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jules083@reddit

She'll hit the brake with her left foot a few times. I still do it.

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feline_riches@reddit

Can't you modify your pedals?

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Simp4Toyotathon@reddit

Yeah the pedals bigger but its not all the way on the right side big. I’ve driven stick for a lot of my life and have gone for that imaginary clutch pedal when i drive automatics. Other than being a little embarrassed nothing ever happens

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MortemInferri@reddit

Is it so hard to like.... semi-more-conscious while driving for like a few minutes to get used to something...?

Like, sure, I get it, but if its a new car and shes not comfortable maybe she shouldnt be driving in a way where she needs to quickly break as often

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stevtom27@reddit

No its not

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mikeysd123@reddit

Depends how big that brake pedal is. I speak from experience…

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No-Salt7142@reddit

It depends on the car. Some brake pedals are easily the width of two manual pedal positions.

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Toowoombaloompa@reddit

Happened to me once in a Hyundai Santa Fe.

For some reason the geniuses has decided to put the parking brake on the floor exactly where a clutch would be.

I can drive autos just fine, but I found out the hard way that using the clutch is a subconscious effort, and when there's a pedal there...

What made it worse was that in this stupid car you have to push it all the way to the floor to release the brake. So if you accidentally dab the foot pedal a little, you needed to come to a complete stop to release the brake.

Anyhow, rant over.

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SeeingEyeDug@reddit

The brake pedal is way wider in most automatic shift cars. I have, though rarely, accidentally pressed it expecting to do the usual clutch press, but it's an instinct that is quickly forgotten IMO.

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Beautiful-Fold-3234@reddit

Has absolutely happened to me and many others, but you'll quickly learn from it and its not a big deal

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UncleJoesLandscaping@reddit

I think I did 3-4 clutch-brakes when I switched to automatic. Fortunately all at low speed. Unpleasant jerk in the car, but nothing dangerous happened.

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baddieslovebadideas@reddit

yup, you just press on the floorboard harder as your right foot hits the brake and then you have a little laugh with yourself about it

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Euler007@reddit

One and done. I exclusively drove manual cars from 16 to 31 years old. When I had a rental or company car my left foot was antsy but the right foot always went by muscle memory properly.

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Exotic-Condition-193@reddit

Yes happened to me when driving manual, spaced out and didn’t engage clutch when slowing down YIKES Now I always wiggle stalk before I start the car to remind myself AT or MT

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Little-Ad-7521@reddit

Just make her try it at the parking or something. It's all in her head

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haikusbot@reddit

Just make her try it

At the parking or something.

It's all in her head

- Little-Ad-7521

^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^Learn more about me.

^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")

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Exotic-Condition-193@reddit

You need to tie that left foot down. Maybe tape a heavy brick to it.Maybe that will remind her not to move left foot Never,ever let her get into the habit of left foot brake , right foot gas —> BIG BIG PROBLEMS COMING Good luck. the inverse problem 2 pedals to 3 pedals is almost insurmountable

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Personal_Chicken_598@reddit

Theres nothing to push where the clutch pedal is. She’ll just kick the firewall and feel stupid

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PositiveImpressions@reddit

no no. your foot searches for the "clutch pedal" find it in the form of a brake pedal (and considering most brake pedal a alot wider in automatics than they are manuals) and just bare down on it in like first gear.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

Still haven't had that happen after 30 years of driving, but maybe someday

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TotalMisanthropy@reddit

Yea no lol! I drive stick on a daily basis. When I drive my auto (not often is collector) I might try and clutch but that’s wayyyyy left of the brake man lol

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Human_Grass@reddit

Yea the first time I drove an automatic I tried to feather the clutch when manoeuvring to park smoothly. Needless to say, stomping the brake pedal had the opposite effect. Only happened once, though. Sometimes my left foot wants to press the dead pedal when coming to a stop but that’s not dangerous.

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Hot_Plastic_@reddit

Gas and break are in the same spot as a manual so it shouldn’t matter?

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R2-Scotia@reddit

Brake pedal in auto is much bigger

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serpentman@reddit

And,

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R2-Scotia@reddit

So they aren't in the sane spot

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serpentman@reddit

Well, it is… and it’s bigger. So it’s easier to use.

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R2-Scotia@reddit

It extends further left and is easy to whap by mistake

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Accomplished-Fly4683@reddit

It can happen. It happened to me a couple ofntimes in the beginning. Just tie her left leg to the seat! 😅 jokes aside, for me helped tondrive with the left leg pushed back. The far the foot is from that pedal the better

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MrPayne508@reddit

Just get another car with a manual. Please don't corrupt her

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Realistic-Proposal16@reddit

SHES REDICULOUS and neurotic— simply have her go for a long drive with you and INSTRUCT HER TELL HER to watch and absorb————its much simpler and easier to drive AUTOMATIC hence the phrase name automatic transmission. Is your post real?

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GoodGoodGoody@reddit

If your partner won’t listen for something simple like this you’re going to have a lot of other problems.

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Frolock@reddit

She’ll figure it out, and yeah, she might hit the brake pedal a couple times. It’s annoying, but rarely disastrous.

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DryFoundation2323@reddit

This is an irrational fear. The clutch pedal is in a different position than the brake pedal. If muscle memory led her to try to clutch it would take her to a spot on the floorboard that had no peddle.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

Not according to people on this thread. Brakes in automatic cars are as wide as a barn door, and you WILL slam your left foot into it repeatedly and throw passengers through the windshield.

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No_Wear295@reddit

Can't speak to anyone else, but I only seem to try the imaginary clutch in an automatic when starting the motor. Once moving I can't think of any time where it's happened in over 25 years of driving.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

Same, I'm never inclined to hit the imaginary clutch once I get going.

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Jakaple@reddit

Rage bait

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Shwmeyerbubs@reddit

The people who are saying it doesn’t happen probably don’t drive manual transmission cars exclusively. It happens because the brake pedal is huge and right where the clutch pedal should be. I’ve done it myself.

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MediocreTalk7@reddit

Manual is all I drive now, but I frequently have to switch to automatics and never had it happen. I'll have to look more closely at the brake next time. Maybe my foot is small?

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PunchyPete@reddit

I don’t get how your left foot hits the brake when you’re clutching. I’ve never done it, even when wearing boots and the pedals feel closer together. I have big feet.

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realWulfLives@reddit

Um, just tell her that she just needs to worry about her right foot and she can forget about the left. Far less to Think about.

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jonathaz@reddit

EVs and other cars with safety features will already slam on the brakes in your driveway, parking lot, or the highway for no reason whatsoever, not really a big difference if the driver does it on accident. I switch between manual and auto all the time, I can’t think of a time I ever did that though. My friend back in High School did though, it definitely happens. Some cars back then had wider brake pedals.

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BonezOz@reddit

Honestly, she just needs to get in, drive and get used to it. Eventually muscle memory will be programmed in for that car. It's like we have 4 different cars at home, 2 are automatic, one is manual, and one is a sequential gear box (shift, but no clutch). One of the two auto's is European, so the turn signal and windscreen wipers are on the opposite side of the steering column. My wife and I can hop into any of the 4 cars and muscle memory takes over so we're not clutching when there is none, or turning the signal on when it's backwards from all the others.

It's all about practice.

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indykou@reddit

I drive both, and that never happens to me. you just reach for a clutch that's not there.

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billp97@reddit

Ill accidentally kick the floorboard of friends and family members cars when i go to start them because i have to hold my clutch in to start the car but ive never gone so far over ive kicked the brakes nor can i see how you could

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schlaminator@reddit

My dad taught me to jam my left foot between the seat and the side for the first ten minutes when switching from manual to automatic.

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ole_benny82@reddit

I have a similar issue, I can't walk with 2 stepping. It's awful. If only I could figure something else out ..

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Viking2151@reddit

I like manual personally in heavy duty trucks or sports cars, other than that I like automatic for the comfort, I can hold my drink while it shifts through the gears, don't have to ride the clutch in slow stop n go traffic, I don't have to 2 foot it in certain situations, when I was younger manual everything and I did love it, but now im older I just prefer in my a to b car to have an auto.

Tell her its less work to drive an automatic, not always the case but automatic transmission will usually last the life of the car where a manual well you got to change out the clutch eventually at least once or twice in its life. Can tell her she can find a radio station she wants while its shifting on its own, idk.

Manual cars here are usually cheaper as no one knows how to drive one and they normally don't get stolen lol

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GingerMaus@reddit

Ok so apparently people in the comments are doing it, but my experience is i have never left foot braked by accident.

I regularly switch between manual and auto (and to add to the fun, some of them have park brakes to the far left, instead of a handbrake). I still want to do the clutch and ill press my foot even, but there's no pedal there (usually). The brake and clutch are generally pretty far apart because you use both pedals at the same time. She will be fine. If anything the thing she'll hate is not having the control the clutch offers.

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marmau@reddit

Babe. Reddit said you're good. You have nothing to worry about.

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pbnjonny@reddit

I've drove only machan cars for 16 years before I had my first automatic. Even 10 years with those I still have the instinct to clutch in emergency stop situations. Your left foot just goes to the dead pedal or empty space and your right foot goes to the brake like normal. Even in trucks with a parking brake pedal, it's not in the same place as the clutch and I've never come close to hitting it

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n2o_spark@reddit

Her left foot will sit on a nice foot rest, it's a real pain/unnatural thing to move it all the over to the brake.

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RicoculusPrime@reddit

I was given an automatic loaner from a car dealer, while my car was in for service. Pulling out of the lot I tried to push the clutch, out of habit. I ended up slamming on the brakes while still in the dealer lot. Embarrassing, but I only did it once

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ckosacranoid@reddit

Kinda of funny this comes up. My last subby I bought came from a wife that was from Germany. She would drive stick and her and a freind come to the states before moving here and had to call her husband to have him explain how to drive auto....

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Expensive_Plant_9530@reddit

Is this really a concern?

Her instincts would in theory smash the empty space where the clutch sits, no?

Anyway she’s just gonna need to practice.

Take her through some mall parking lots or empty side roads until she gets the hang of it.

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Col1nator@reddit

One foot driving, that is what is taught in the US for automatics. Get her some practice doing that maybe?

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Impressive_Slip_8957@reddit

Tie a string from her left ankle to the seat frame.

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Far-Orange-3859@reddit

So... Get a manual?

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Vlish36@reddit

Tell her that if she doesn't drive the car like she normal would a manual car, she increases her chances of invoking the ire of the white women.

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giggidygiggidyg00@reddit

Just do what I do which is keep my left foot crammed on the floor when I drive my automatic.

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Ok_Watercress_7801@reddit

Whenever I’m driving an auto with an automatic transmission, I find it helpful to tuck my left ( or clutch side ) foot tucked into my seat. That way I’m only using one foot for the brake and the accelerator.

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JosephPapparelli@reddit

If someone truly has that much difficulty switching from one to the other, I’d question their ability to safely operate a car. These comments are wild…

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Prestigious-Cry-5190@reddit

Everyone does it at the very begining (I call it the Auto Baptism) but after that you get used to it.

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RareAbrocoma2286@reddit

You drive once with a automatic you never wanna go back to manual

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stillcleaningmyroom@reddit

Time to turn it in for a manual, no other choice.

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Commercial-Slice-992@reddit

You cannot, let someone else do it.

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DiddyEpsteinSixSeven@reddit

No. Give her a manual

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Born2beDad@reddit

Tell her to drive with both hands on the wheel, I'd be more worried about attempting a gear shift by accident lol

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Electrical-Reason-97@reddit

I can’t drive an automatic well either. It sucks

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Amp_Man_89@reddit

Take her to a parking lot and let her drive around for a while to train her brain real quick and she’ll be fine. Tbh if she tries to clutch she’ll likely just step on air.

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SuperShus@reddit

This is just mogging on dumbass Americans, right? Right??

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Piney_Dude@reddit

She needs to get over it .

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Independent_Self2015@reddit

I used to drive with my right hand holding my seatbelt so I wouldn't try to shift. My foot followed suit with not looking for the clutch too often as long as my hand didn't reach for the shifter. Got scolded many times during my test drive for going for the shifter...

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CrayZ_Squirrel@reddit

I have mashed an imaginary clutch pedal a thousand times driving an automatic. I definitely reflexively put my hand on the shifter when slowing down. I have never accidentally hit the brakes. It doesn't happen.

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4Yk9gop@reddit

Duck tape her left foot to the floor.

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SVTContour@reddit

When I switched to an automatic transmission I’d foot the missing clutch pedal on the regular.

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jp1372@reddit

I drove a clutch from my first car until my mid 40s when I bought an EV, but we owned other automatic vehicles. The muscle memory is real. I slammed in the brakes in our wide-brake minivan way too many times, catching the edge of the brake pedal when I went for the nonexistent clutch.

That said, you do adapt. And slamming on the brakes is much less dangerous than most driving mistakes, especially since you generally do it when you’re stopping, anyway. She’ll be fine, even if she makes a minor driving error.

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NothingToSeeHere-SJ@reddit

Can confirm slamming on the breaks thinking it’s a clutch, putting the car in park when shifting into first at stop lights/signs, and panic when slowing down afraid of bogging out and stalling because there is no clutch.
I can’t explain why my brain panics when I know an automatic is less work. But teaching myself to drive on a manual transmission at 15 and driven manual for 27 years, driving an automatic puts my nerves on edge.

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Outlier70@reddit

She probably will do that. I did that a number of times after only driving manual for a long time. Never caused any issues though

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tr4nsporter@reddit

I bought an automatic after selling my manual. I pressed the brake once thinking it was the clutch. Never did it again after that. She’ll be fine.

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Prophage7@reddit

You just have to get her to try it out in a parking lot honestly. Unless she was left foot braking in manual and made a habit out of it I cannot see how she would accidentally stomp on the brake. The brake is in the same spot as a manual car, it's not like it's moved to where the clutch would be.

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CaptainSloth269@reddit

What a dilemma. I wish I had this problem, mines quite the opposite. Driving a manual is the key to driving everything else, at least in my world.

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Solid_Olive9014@reddit

What I was told was to tuck the left foot under the seat, so it is nowhere near the pedals. This worked very well. She is right, it is a big concern, many people had accidents this way, even tho the comments in this thread disregard those concerns.

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Unable_Beat_3194@reddit

This is not a problem that needs fixing. Just let her driver her manual cars!

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stuck_inmissouri@reddit

I haven’t owned a stick/manual/standard transmission car in almost 20 years (and I miss driving them all the time). I have never left foot braked.

I have, and still do occasionally, press my left foot to the floor and grabbed for a shifter during a panic stop.

She will be fine. Just keep your clutch foot well to the left of the pedals.

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Fabulous-Meal-5694@reddit

The sudden sensation of slowing should grant the realization you infact did not push the clutch.

Also the muscle memory accociated with clutch pedal location actually causes you to miss the brake entirely and stab your foot in the void. Or at least that has been my experience when going from manual to auto and my brain going on autopilot.

But really maybe she just doesn't want to drive a lame ass automatic transmission and is giving you BS excuses.

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3dirtyy5@reddit

I think you are the girlfriend in this relationship 😂

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STERFRY333@reddit

The worst I’ve done was slam my foot down accidentally when going to start the car.

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drifterdanny@reddit

The throttle and brake pedal are always closer together on most automatic cars. If her clutch foot were to accidentally try to clutch kick on the usual clutch pedal position, she would not find any pedals and would not left foot brake by accident.

If her gear shifting hand wants to be busy, find her a car that has a manual mode on the gear shifter. But shifting this way is only an up or down motion.

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Ill-Gas-4788@reddit

I've recently switched from lifelong manual to an auto and have def nearly put my face through the windscreen a few times autopilot left foot clutching and mashing the (wide) brake pedal.

She's not wrong and it does happen, usually when it's something on instinct you are reacting to.

Trick is to tuck your left foot under your seat sideways while you are getting used to only driving with your right. 👍

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ExaminationDry8341@reddit

I drive lots of vehicles with clutches, and lots without. When I need to do an emergency stop in one without a clutch I will often try to push the clutch in with my left foot, since there is no peddle there, my foot doesnt hit anything and I feel stupid for a few seconds. I have never accidentally hit the brakes when reaching for the phantom clutch.

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Matzel_27@reddit

She doesn't need convincing. Instead, she needs to be taught how to drive stick. 😝

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quast_64@reddit

Take some tape and stick her left foot to the floor, that should do it...

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bob_le_mush@reddit

She here dont want to drive a manual car , if you want we can Exchange, a girl who drive stick is sexy lol

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BEEZ128@reddit

Why on earth would you buy an auto when there’s heaps of manuals around over there? Take your new lease car back and get a manual. I don’t blame her for not wanting to drive it lol

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Holeshot483@reddit

It definitely happens. I took my sisters crosstrek out for something or another and slammed the brakes. Life goes on. I can got 2 to 3 no issues but going 3-2 takes a minute to break muscle memory

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StuntID@reddit

She can do it. She just needs to keep her left foot securely on the foot rest for it.

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fatquads@reddit

She won’t accidentally slam the brakes all the way to a stop. We’ve all seen confused drivers but I feel like most people would immediately realize they hit a brake pedal and NOT a clutch pedal. If the concern is in executing an emergency stop it’s also not a problem, manual or auto ur right foot is gonna go to the brake pedal

The worst case scenario is she accidentally taps the brakes trying to change gear, and will learn pretty quickly that’s not a thing u can do in this car. The shoe off idea would work on me 100% in this situation

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mrcoy@reddit

She’s playing it up. Tell her to stop acting.

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Interesting-Swim-162@reddit

The brake isn’t in the same spot as the clutch so I don’t understand how this would happen

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-mmmusic-@reddit

when i switched from manual to auto for the first time, my left foot just pressed the invisible clutch. the gap is big enough that she won't accidentally press the brake, it has to be purposeful, it's quite far over!

you could try taking her to a quieter area like an industrial estate or something and be in the passenger seat guiding her while she practices accelerating and braking

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ebaysj@reddit

Humans are learning animals. It is what we are best at. Let her gain some confidence in a big parking lot or isolated neighborhood. She’ll do fine.

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Wade1217@reddit

I have always owned cars with manual transmissions and I swear I just can't drive an automatic. It drives my wife crazy when I give her car too much throttle and it downshifts and revs, causing me to let off the throttle reflexively because it startles me. I passionately hate not being in full control of gear changes when and how I want. Even in "manual" paddle shift mode, her car still downshifts when I try to accelerate at anything more than half throttle. And no, I don't ever lug any engine or drive in a way that could cause LSPI / ringland failure. But I regularly floor it when above 3500 rpm and don't need or want it to downshift and make a bunch of noise or redline the motor.

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Optimal-Cress-9718@reddit

Your girlfriend deserves to drive a real car in this case :)

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OldDog03@reddit

It takes some adjustment time to get used to not haveing to use the clutch.

She can do it.

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Jamestown123456789@reddit

In gear what’s the difference?

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Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit

Tie her foot to the door go for a drive.

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CDL112281@reddit

I feel her pain bc I’ve done that too when going from stick to automatic

And it’s, honestly, you do it twice and you’re done with it

Take her to an empty parking lot and have her drive slowly. She’ll pick it up quickly

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Justanotherbrick2022@reddit

All she has to do is stop using her left foot. Maybe she could slip her shoe off if she's really worried. The brake is pretty far from the clutch, imo, but potato, potahto.

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idek246@reddit

My personal car is manual, but my parents and girlfriend have autos. After my first time stomping on the break, thinking it was the clutch, I tuck my left leg back close to the seat. Just keeping my left foot away from its normal position is enough for me to realize I don’t need it. Before that I would instinctively reach around for a clutch when coming to a stop, and definitely slammed the breaks once or twice. I started the Leg tucked back thing, and it hasn’t happened since.

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lpg975@reddit

Hmm..this is a first lol. Usually it's the other way around. I'm a manual transmission fan in the US (a dying breed, unfortunately). I have one manual car that is more my car (2016 Camaro) and one automatic car that is more of my wife's car (2022 Compass). But I switched cars all the time, and usually drive her car after ~6pm, since our toddler will be in bed trying to sleep and my Camaro is loud. So I drive the Compass as to not wake our son. Switching back and forth between the two is super easy and, other than trying to press in a non-existent clutch pedal when I go to start the Compass, I don't really have any issues generally. Just have her drive it every so often. She'll get used to it.

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Disastrous-Pack-1414@reddit

This is a troll, right?

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Rich4477@reddit

It won't take long to get used to. I found switching to an automatic with one pedal driving kinda weird at first now I love it.

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HRDBMW@reddit

Having been in a car when a manual driver tried to drive an automatic, and slammed on the brakes at a very bad time, let her skip driving if she isn't comfortable.

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sour-garlic@reddit

Tell her to grow a pair

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Hot_Strength_4912@reddit

Tell her slamming the brake isn’t the end of the world. She will get the hang of it in no time. I think most people do that once or twice with their first automatic. I drove a stick for 5 years before I got an automatic and I did it a couple times. I survived and so did the car.

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Plus_Touch_8746@reddit

Stupidest post this year.

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FewRecognition1788@reddit

Isn't there anywhere she can go practice?

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RobertForTheWin@reddit

This is a very common fear for manual drivers, and we actually call it the ghost clutch. Most of us have done it at least once when switching—hitting that wide brake pedal with the left foot thinking it is the clutch. It is a shock, but it is rarely a disaster if you are practicing in the right place.

The best trick to build her confidence is the left foot tuck. Tell her to take her left shoe off if it helps her feel the difference, and literally tuck her left foot as far back under the front of the seat as possible. If the foot is physically tucked away, the brain stops trying to use it. After about 30 minutes of driving like that, the muscle memory starts to shift.

Take her to a large, empty parking lot on a Sunday. Let her drive in circles and intentionally try to make a mistake where it is safe. Once she realizes that she can control the car with just her right big toe, the nerves will disappear.

Another tip is to have her say right foot only out loud a few times before she puts the car in Drive. It sounds silly, but it primes the brain to ignore the left leg. Once she realizes how much easier it is to drive in Dutch traffic jams without constant shifting, she probably won't want to go back to a manual!

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MaximumStock7@reddit

When I switched I accidentally mashed the brake going for the clutch a few times. It’s not a big deal. Just startling for anyone in the car

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AlternativeCraft8905@reddit

She has a valid fear. Most times when I reach for a ghost clutch my foot just hits the floor. Ask if she wants to just drive it at a slow speed in an empty car park.

She will probably reach for a clutch, hit the floor, and realize that she won’t hit the brake pedal. It’s something she’ll have to ease into at her own pace.

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Bad-Briar@reddit

This is like anything else, practice makes perfect. Have her drive slowly, stopping at every light pole, in a parking lot. Have her then drive slowly thru side streets. She can get use to it at her own pace.

If she can learn manual, she can definitely learn auto. Good luck to you both.

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Alert-Potato@reddit

I learned to drive in a manual, my first car was a manual, and I had zero issues when I transitioned to driving automatic. It's not that deep.

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B-E-N_27@reddit

When I drove an auto for the first time, having exclusively driven manual, I stamped on the floor next to the brake a few times, but after a week I was used to it. It will be no issues.

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Fantastic_Exit_467@reddit

Cable tie her left foot to the seat jobs a good one.

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S2kKyle@reddit

I didn't drive an automatic until I was 25 and yeah, it happens. After a few minutes you get the hang of not using your left foot though.

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tord_ferguson@reddit

The first time I drove an automatic as my daily driver I got distracted looking at the dash and hit a semi truck. Yaay

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teleskier97@reddit

My husband insists on driving auto, I’ve always had stick. I’ve caught myself once or twice but just make a conscious effort to keep your left foot on the footrest and you’ll be fine.

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Longjumping_Dark3827@reddit

It genuinely sounds like a mental hurdle and she doesnt even want to try.

I had to regularly switch between a manual and auto focus and I would have brain parts every now and then but you learn and get used to it with repetition and practice super easily

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skjeflo@reddit

Have driven manuals for decades, as well as automatics. If I was only driving a msnual for weeks and then jump in one of the automatic, I will invariably brake check the car behind me at some point as a reminder to keep my left foot on the floor. Generally at low speeds.

It happens.to many (most?) people who swap between both transmissions.

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ArnoldFarquar@reddit

I recently got an automatic car after 35 years of driving manual. It felt really weird at first and definitely took some time to adjust - I still drive with one hand on the shifter, lol. Take her to a giant parking lot or a super quiet residential area or a dead end and she’ll be fine after practising for a while, she’ll get used to it and adjust

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kellyj6@reddit

That's interesting that you keep your hand on the stick. The user manual of my 6 speed specifically says not to do that.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

We tried, and it worked very well!

However, convidence is a strange thing and I don't want to drive 1500km on a parking lot to get her confident 😃

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Jops817@reddit

The first time I drove an automatic after years of manual only I got really confused how I could back out of the parking spot without stalling, it was only like a second or two but then I was like "oh, duh, it won't."

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ArnoldFarquar@reddit

The first time I got into my new automatic, I had to think for a couple of minutes about how to start it!

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wardamneagle@reddit

Holy shit I had to check the sub. Thought for sure I was in r/carscirclejerk

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Hersbird@reddit

If she that nervous about a non-thing about driving 100 million people never have an issue with, maybe she shouldn't be driving at all.

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Rexaroooo@reddit

This is insane, I have a manual golf and a truck. I’ve had a manual car + auto car for as long as I can remember and I don’t think I’ve ever, ever even come close to doing this. Her muscle memory should prevent her from doing this unless whatever car you got has the brake pedal way too far to the left

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DeiaMatias@reddit

I learned to drive in a stick (uncommon in the US), and I've only owned sticks.

Trust me when I say you only hit the brake thinking it's the clutch ONE TIME. Scared the crap out of me. In 30 years of driving, I haven't done it again. My husband has owned automatic for maybe the last 15 years or so, and we switch cars fairly frequently. Haven't done it again.

Maybe have her test it in a parking lot for a bit until she gets used to it.

When your post said, "scared to drive an automatic," i assumed the second part of that was "in the mountains."

To this day, I DESPISE driving an automatic through elevation. Makes me so nervous.

But.... Netherlands...

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jlelectech@reddit

The clutch foot should not be resting on the clutch pedal or even hovering over it when just cruising, that could lead to this habit. A lot of cars have a "dead pedal" to rest your left foot on and helps brace your driving position also. I suggest starting a habit of fully resting the left foot on the floor/firewall or a dead pedal and keeping it there always to build the habit. Consider things like highway driving where you want to get comfortable, the left foot doesn't have a job anymore. Only support in spirited driving or when repositioning yourself in the seat maybe.

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CaliforniaNavyDude@reddit

Take her to an empty parking lot and drive around a bit to get used to it a little, show her how quick you adapt without any worry of risk.

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TheStig827@reddit

Put her in the car she's comfortable in, parked, with the engine not running.
Have her close her eyes, and work the gears and "accelerate" normally like she's driving.

while she's doing this, still with eyes closed.. ask her to try and use the brake pedal with her left foot, while still being on the gas with her right. Point out how straight unnatural it feels.. how much further over the brake pedal is from the clutch.

then, again, have her try fake driving with just her right foot, no clutching, like an auto. demonstrate how not that different it is, and that she can push down on the left foot rest as much as she wants and nothing will happen.

these basics should help her get comfortable, and understand how her muscle memory won't get in the way.

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Zestyclose_Sound_168@reddit

You guys are overthinking it. Just keep your left foot on left side and be careful, attentive, and drive defensively. Don’t rush, slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

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Formal-Tradition6792@reddit

My first cars were manual. Back in the day, drivers Ed trained me to use the right foot for brake and gas only. The left foot was strictly for clutch. So never had an issue with using my left foot for brake and never had any problems. These days I see so many people 2 foot driving. I have not had a manual tranny in many decades. Still drive with one foot. Drivers Ed was circa 1967.

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CampDogDingo@reddit

Every time I drive an auto I end up slamming the brakes on, as a habit for putting the clutch in.

I've driven a manual throughout London, Sydney and even Paris with absolutely no problems at all. Automatics are shit to drive- Get a manual.

Australian

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TommyGun69420@reddit

There’s no clutch to accidentally press so she’ll be fine

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Slappathebassmon@reddit

My uncle used to have the same issue. And what he did was he'd fold his left leg under his right for the first several weeks.

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Educational-Ad2063@reddit

Parking brake pedal is no where near a clutch pedal.

One would have to really try to mess that up.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

I'm talking about the regular brake pedal

Not that the parking brake pedal is an easy one though, but that's another story hahaha

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serpentman@reddit

Fictional issue.

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darnfruitloops@reddit

I also believe this issue is fictional: bigger in her head than it actually will be. Go somewhere without traffic and have her go at it. In a few minutes she will realise there's nothing to be alarmed about. Minutes, literally.

Like someone else suggested, she can do something slightly unusual with her domant leg as a mental reminder.

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serpentman@reddit

100%

Making and responding to this post has taken move time and effort from OP than fixing the “problem”.

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obiworm@reddit

Not parking brake, regular brake. Your foot tends to find the first pedal on the left in the main cluster

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TIM_TRAVELS@reddit

American here, but only owned manuals since 2005. Even when I get a rental and forget I don't have a clutch its not a big deal, there just isn't a clutch even it i wanted to push it in. If she slams on the brake its no different than slamming on the brake in a manual. Its not like shes going to suddenly try and hit the brake with her left foot and gas with the right foot.

Go to a big empty parking lot or open street and let her try. Its really a non issue.

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Choice-Newspaper3603@reddit

Wtf

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CrucialFusion@reddit

I’m… confused.

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larytriplesix@reddit

Just let her drive a manual.

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Complete-Emergency99@reddit

Tell her to ”fold” her left leg in under the right. Maybe tuck it under the seat. She will be locking out the left leg, and is ”forced” to only use the right leg.

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OpinionUnusual1945@reddit

I’ve been driving manual as my daily for my entire driving career. Going on 27 years now.

When I was new to driving (which in the first couple of years) I would sometimes left foot press to the left of the brake pedal. Typically realizing what was happening during the motion.

It’s less to think about than manual - tell her she can stomp the dead pedal with her left foot as much as she wants too!

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khauser24@reddit

As anyone that has moved from manual to automatic knows, that just means you're going to 'thump' the floor real hard when you go to brake. Your left foot (clutch) isn't going to find the brake in an automatic just like it doesn't in a manual.

Now, if this car happens to have its emergency brake as a pedal, then maybe, but those are usually higher and don't get pressed by mistake that easily.

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kenyasanchez@reddit

I’ve been driving since 1983. Have only ever owned manual cars. In 2025 the car I wanted only came as an automatic. Never had a problem.

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Flyboy3969@reddit

My truck is a stick and my wife’s car is automatic. I’m constantly reaching for the clutch when I drive her car, and I hit the floor, not the brake pedal.

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No-Setting9690@reddit

Well there's no clutch or shifter, so . . .

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GingaNinja906@reddit

When I switched to automatic I put my left foot all the way to the side of my chair and as close to my body as possible. After a few days it became normal and I have never had a problem. I did brake check myself once before tucking the foot away though, had to make sure everyone in the car was awake

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makeherbeg4it@reddit

WTF, the brake is nowhere near where the clutch is located in any manual car I have ever driven. Just tell her that she's not allowed to use her left foot or have her sit on it.

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muphasta@reddit

When I was stationed in Germany in the mid-90s, I was very used to manual transmissions. One day I had to drive one of the government vehicles with an auto transmission. Luckily I was alone in the truck and no one was moving behind me as I went to engage the clutch to shift into 2nd, only to remember there was no clutch, only brake as I nearly looked straight down at the pavement. (only a slight exaggeration).

From then on, I purposely and deliberately placed my left foot behind my right leg, tucked nearly under the seat. It worked for the most part, I don't think I had another braking incident.

I daily a manual, but we have 3 other auto-trans vehicles at home, and since I'm used to driving those, I don't have the desire to press a clutch in when I'm behind the wheel of any of them.

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Independent-Pilot-35@reddit

Just to be sure... she knows that you use only one foot for brake and accelerator right? (I'm asking for a reason XD)

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PlatinumElement@reddit

It’s muscle memory. If you’re used to pushing in a clutch with your left foot when stopping, you do it automatically, while braking with your right. On some automatic cars, the brake pedal takes up the space of both clutch and brake in a manual, and while gently braking with your right foot, as you come to a stop, you’ll reflexively push in the clutch, and grab brake with your left foot.

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Independent-Pilot-35@reddit

I know, I have auto and manual cars. I asked because I had the exact thing happening with a girl. As soon as she realised that you have to park the left foot, she was suddenly able to drive an auto transmission flawlessly.

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Chainsawsas70@reddit

Most people will "Stomp the floor" because the space where the clutch is located is Vacant with an automatic transmission. Just take her to a place with no traffic like a large parking lot and let her drive around 😁 Also tell her to put her left foot Back and Behind her right leg making any "clutch movement" Much more deliberate and giving her time to correct the action before she actually does anything.

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notalottoseehere@reddit

Everyone paws the phantom clutch a few times, then they get over it.

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VW-MB-AMC@reddit

What I usually do when I drive an automatic is to take off the shoe on my left foot. Somehow that makes it easier to remember.

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LonsdaleHCNL@reddit (OP)

This is a very helpfull one! We're going to try this for sure!

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ArnoldFarquar@reddit

most automatic cars have a dead pedal or a foot rest way over on the left. Keeping your foot there really helps at first https://www.dacemotorgroup.co.uk/blog/the-hidden-purpose-of-the-dead-pedal-in-cars

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kungpaowow@reddit

Every automatic car I've been in has the dead pedal zone. I used to just keep my foot rested on there when driving my automatic vs my manual because I had accidentally tried to clutch the brake before. It's definitely helpful.

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BouncingSphinx@reddit

Most manual cars also have a dead pedal. The brake pedal is physically smaller than in an automatic.

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davidrools@reddit

Just don't leave your shoe in the footwell or it might make its way under a pedal and create a dangerous situation!

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superluig164@reddit

If I do this or something like this i shove the shoe under the driver's seat so it's stuck there.

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jango-lionheart@reddit

Shoe off is a good idea. I sort of tuck my left foot behind my right foot.

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Strange_Produce5601@reddit

Oh I had two identical cars once. One was a manual, the other was a auto. I would always go for the clutch in the auto. It happened lots. Never did I hit the brake as a result of that. The brake pedal is still in the middle of the floor pan so it is hard to hit when you are going for a clutch pedal that was not installed.

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notalottoseehere@reddit

Take her to an empty car park / industrial estate / basically any deserted area and get her to practice starts/ stops, 3 point turns, parking.

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musicpeoplehate@reddit

I was in the opposite position with a manual pickup. In retrospect I should have kept the truck and ditched the girlfriend.

Honestly my approach to this would be "this is what I have, the next time you need to borrow a car, figure it out or bother someone else".

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Calm-Suspect-4660@reddit

That fear is real. Driving Step(not evil)mother's van her in front pass seat went for the clutch in an automatic her seatbelt nearly killed her, we were on the way back from extended (her)hospital stay. Bad, bad, step-son.

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bothunter@reddit

It happens. Just go drive around an empty parking lot for a few minutes until your brain adjusts to the difference.

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Background-Job-3629@reddit

If she’s happy with the stick you should let her have one.

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Individual_Step2242@reddit

I have an automatic and a manual. Sometimes after driving the manual for a while, when I get into the auto my left foot slams to the floor where the clutch should be when starting it. But I’ve never accidentally hit the brake when thinking I should be shifting.

Once you get going it’s pretty hard to think you’re in a manual. Get her to practice in an empty parking lot or some other safe place.

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SleestackMcGee@reddit

No.

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nobb-edd@reddit

I've honestly never ever had an issue with accidentally pressing the brake when trying to press the clutch on an automatic car. Driving an automatic is so much easier than a manual. I'd imagine the other way would be more troublesome. But just plant the left foot on the floor or on the firewall of the footwell.

I have however tried to press the clutch by stomping my foot where it would've been when I sat down to start an automatic once. And I have forgotten to downshift after getting off the highway and into a roundabout, stalling the vehicle (a manual) after months and months of driving a automatic.

I also almost ripped off my windshield wiper stalk on my Mazda after two weeks road tripping in the USA with a Suburban. Luckily I did not break it, but I did feel really silly.

Now I own and drive a manual privately, but my work van is an electric (thus an automatic), so I now swap between them very easily.

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davidrools@reddit

I used to do this all the time when I'd drive my gf's car. I'd end up pressing the floorboard as I was coming to a stop. Tap it a few times and say "hummmf you're missing a pedal." But she's right to be concerned that accidentally mashing the brake is a thing and quite dangerous. Maybe just let her practice on short/local trips until she gets comfortable.

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KatarnsBeard@reddit

The only cue I used when I learned was to glue my left foot to the floor

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Professional_Tonight@reddit

Had the same issue as OPs gf, that I tried to brake with my left foot. That cue helped me a lot (although the guy who told me said "left foot stays bolted to the floor", not glued).

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Fresh_Internal_6085@reddit

I tried that but the glue kept failing.

I keep a pneumatic nail gun in the car these days.

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One_Evil_Monkey@reddit

You got bored and nailed your foot to the floorboard of a Ford? Haha

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aarkeinDevAedddd@reddit

With driving automatic only use one leg for gas and brakes. Just tuck the left leg up and out of the way

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Old_Assist_5461@reddit

Not many people talk about this. I was worried about this after having only manual transmissions all my life (and severely injured my left foot). It almost happened where my foot started for the brake and my brain stopped it. Only 1 time. Tell her to put a scrunchie (hair tie) above her knee. That will remind her leg not to move.

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Kawasaki@reddit

I often have to place my left foot as close to the seat and under my right leg as possible to remind myself. It's still a struggle. Most rentals here are automatic so when I travel is the only time I drive auto.

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Minerva_TheB17@reddit

She'll transition just fine. Never in my 21 years of driving have I accidentally thought my brake was my clutch in an automatic. Your feet are positioned more intuitively than that.

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Rotary_Zeuhl@reddit

I'm on her side lol. Your girlfriend is a badass and my vote is stick or bust 😂🤣😂🤣

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DillTicklePickle@reddit

Will she's going to do it but it's usually in a parking lot doing slow moving managers that muscle memory take over for you. She will also panic when stopping and not using a clutch a few times but you get used to it fast.

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Cow_Man32@reddit

This is warranted, I've only driven and auto maybe 20 times and 3 of those times I've tried to clutch in and accidentally slammed on the brakes instead. Also driving auto does scare me even as an American because it always shifts at slightly the wrong time and I can't control exam power with the clutch.

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letmeinjeez@reddit

There’s a dead pedal/foot rest there for a reason …

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thisismecoming@reddit

It's a real risk, happened with me. Tell her to fold her left leg and drive

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GSMA3164@reddit

Logic doesn’t always fix fear. Ask her to go to let you take her to a large empty parking lot. She can just try it out for fun. She can drive slow, and just give it a try in the parking lot where it is safe.

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GMAN7007@reddit

If someone is unable to drive an automatic they really shouldn't be driving at all. The learning curve is next to 0 if you can already drive a manual. She just needs to get comfortable driving in an open and safe area.

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baconstreet@reddit

It'll happen a few times. I always drove stick, and switching to automatic I had to learn, in the beginning, to keep my left foot no where near the pedals.

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Time-Negotiation-808@reddit

Marry her

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Certain-Sock-7680@reddit

It’s a pretty easy transition. Just train the left side of your body to do nothing.

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SaoirseMayes@reddit

The brake pedal is in the same exact place as it is on an automatic, if her brain goes on auto pilot and tries to engage the clutch she'll just hit her foot on the dead pedal.

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United-Programmer-19@reddit

I drive around 150k miles a year in a manual and I dont know that ive ever done this whwn driving my personal vehicle. Now I did drive an automatic semi for about 3 weeks and whwn I went back to the manual I forgot about the clutch a few times that forst few hours

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Majestic-Mess3912@reddit

I would say try driving with mo left shoe

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sndorsmd@reddit

After driving my manual as a daily for a year, I jumped back into a rental auto and I would try to find the imaginary clutch pedal when moving off for the first time.

However once you remember to keep your left foot still it hasn’t been an issue.

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eeldude_88@reddit

Humans are amazing creatures who can adapt to change. She can do it! Tell her she will get so used to it and won’t want to go back to a manual! 😂

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2ndharrybhole@reddit

Just take like, 30 minutes to get used to it?

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JCDU@reddit

Many autos have a foot rest for your left foot, tell her to park her left foot on that so it feels like it's on a clutch pedal.

I find switching between manual & auto is easy now, initially it took a little while for the "muscle memory" to adapt but now it's no problem either way.

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CaptainGreyBeard72@reddit

Tell her that it may happen 1 or 2 times, but that is unlikely and it should not be a big deal.

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erold_HS@reddit

How would she perform perform an emergency stop? The accelerator and brake pedals are in the same spot as in a manual? If she accidentally tries to use the "clutch" she will just push into the footrest?

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ingodwetryst@reddit

the brake pedal in an automatic is much larger and your left foot just searches for the closest pedal.

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Careless-Platypus967@reddit

Can confirm, hard stopped in my mom’s automatic once. No one was behind me on a 25mph road so it was just scary more than anything

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erold_HS@reddit

Interesting. As someone who also learnt to drive manual and later owned both manual and automatic cars ar the same timr I can't recall that ever happening. Your left foot would still have to move to a spot it should never be in and would feel way out of place. Unless you're someone who rides the brake with your left foot.

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ingodwetryst@reddit

"owned automatic and manual cars at the same time" is the operative there.

OPs gf is exclusively a manual driver.

The first time I drove an automatic, I did exactly that when I went to slow down for a right turn. It was one of those 1970s cavaliers where the brake pedal was half the floorboard.

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Highergenius@reddit

I drove stick for 10+ years before I switched to auto. Maybe once in the very beginning did I reach for the brake but doesn't take very long to get used to. Most cars have left side foot rests, plant your foot there and after awhile it becomes normal.

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NoSteak3322@reddit

There are still driving schools. Get her a couple of lessons with a professional driving instructor and she’ll soon get the confidence she needs. If she drives a manual, the automatic will be a breeze.

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tigers692@reddit

Look, I started driving on a manual, as automatic became the norm I drive them. It’s easier, you just keep your left foot over the invisible clutch, and hit it hard when you brake. Also, if you have a girl that drives stick, let her drive it, that’s a keeper.

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MourningWood1942@reddit

Just mount a fake clutch pedal where it’s supposed to go

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Sparky62075@reddit

Take her to an empty parking lot and let her do whatever her feet will do. The only way to get used to it is to do it.

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revocer@reddit

I have clutched on an automatic. Thank goodness it was a hand e brake and not a foot e brake.

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Big_Fat_Pig@reddit

My girlfriend is a truck driver and doesn't know how to drive a car, please help me convince her she can...

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SyntheticOne@reddit

"Oefening baart kunst".

For most mortals, "practice makes perfect" is often the answer to discomforts. Find a large empty parking lot on a weekend and practice driving, reversing, parking. Then graduate to a low traffic neighborhood or industrial park, stop for coffee or tea, then do it again. Then go out to celebrate over a nice dinner.

Veel succes!

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Spyderbeast@reddit

I have an SUV that's automatic, and a coupe that's a manual. I don't drive the SUV a lot, because it's mainly for big dogs, cargo, and bad weather. I have adapted to going back and forth. Yes, I have hit the brake in error, but it's been a while. She can adapt (I also have a Can-Am Spyder and it's semi-auto, just to make life more interesting)

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Visible-Freedom-7822@reddit

Oh boy. Yes, that is a real fear. I did it once, about 30 years ago in a rental car. I was doing about 50 mph, and someone cut me off. Without thinking I slammed on the brakes and threw it into park! Thankfully the transmission was still attached to the car after that. Lessons learned: keep the left foot back and don't buy a former rental car.

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gotcha640@reddit

I think just getting her some practice should help her decide.

As long as she doesn’t have the same car in a manual, in my experience, my brain sees them as different things and within the first 20 feet has worked it out.

I have a 69 Beetle, a 2019 GTI, and a 2003 F150 with manuals, a Suburban, an Audi A4 and a work truck with automatics, and I might drive a forklift or a tractor or a backhoe at work. Sometimes all in a day. They all feel different, so my feet know what to do.

No one reaches for a clutch lever on a bicycle or tries to back pedal to brake on a motorcycle.

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Shpooplecrumbo@reddit

Tell someone here in the US that haha. I thought I misread that. She probably will accidentally left foot brake but only once or twice. Have her get used to the car doing all the shifting for her on slow empty roads and she’ll get used to it safely

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RingOk664@reddit

Take her to a remote location like a parking lot to practice. She can drive around without hitting anything. It will take time to unlearn old driving habits. Take little steps.

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import2001@reddit

I made the transition when I moved to the states. Yes it is weird for a while, i more had the tendency to have my hand on the shifter all the time. But it’s really not a big deal. Take her to a large open lot for some practice and she will adjust.

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Lusabro@reddit

Sometimes when I switch to my automatic car I put my food down on air before starting the car thinking I have to clutch in to start it, but end up just sitting there thinking I’m an idiot. But as soon as you start moving the car shifts itself and you simply forget about having to clutch in or change gear at all.

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FreeWorldMusicGroup@reddit

In my country this case is usually the opposite

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Dangerous-Pie_007@reddit

We have both manual and automatic vehicles. Every few years I will come to a stoplight and push the "clutch" and the brake in the one with an automatic and lurch to a stop. It's a little embarrassing, but after laughing it off I'm good for another 10 years or so before doing it again. No harm, no foul.

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krazul88@reddit

Just take her out to practice somewhere with open space and no other traffic. You drive her there and speak your actions step by step:

"My left foot is on the footrest and that's where it will stay.

My right foot will do all the work.

I hold the brake pedal while starting the car. I continue to hold the brake while I shift into Drive. I will not need to touch the shift lever again until I have parked or want to go in Reverse.

Steering will be the same as before, however now I have both hands available full time.

I release the brake and you'll notice that the car moves forward slowly on its own.

To drive forward, I simply press the gas pedal. While in motion, I can release the gas pedal and the car will coast.

As we come to this stop, I only depress the brake.

Now gas... now coasting... gas again... brakes..." Etc.

Speak each step verbally, to help her "reprogram" and then when it's her turn, you speak each step to her as she drives.

It should be a calm and easy transition. Good luck.

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newoldschool@reddit

let her try on a driving game in an arcade

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KostyaFedot@reddit

I forgot, brake and clutch is by the left leg?

If so, have left nee bent while driving.

But it will still have stick. With manual is is another reflex to move stick as well.

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ashishvp@reddit

LMAO this could be a first for me 🤣

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Jaded_Show_3259@reddit

she wont have a stick to shift - i understand her concern, but its most likely that her subconscious has connected the two actions together - if the hands don't move the feet won't either.

If all else fails - treat it like driving school - start with short drives on familiar roads - work her way up to freeway. Eventually she will be comfortable that she hasn't performed that action and she'll laugh that she ever thought she would.

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VivienM7@reddit

I taught my mom how to drive an automatic transmission (the real torque converter kind). She had driven (carbureted) manuals extensively in her youth in Europe, but stopped driving after moving to Canada.

Then she found herself needing a car after two decades of not driving. For some reason wanted her son rather than my dad to help her with the automatic transmission aspect.

The thing that confused her the most - how you always, always need to hold the brake down on a torque converter automatic car when it is in gear otherwise it will creep forward. I am not sure some of the newer European dual clutch etc things are in that regard…

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nopester24@reddit

Unbelievable

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Infamous_Tonight4271@reddit

Superglue her left foot to the footrest

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ObviousAlias7@reddit

I have a manual and auto car. Any given day I switch between the two. Maybe once I've reached for a clutch in an automatic car, but the worst that happened is I just pressed air. I've never left-foot braked my auto because the brake pedal in manual and auto cars is still roughly in the same location so I'm not reaching for the brake with my left.

Of course 2-foot driving on a track is a thing, but I don't think that's going to apply to the OP's g/f here.

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Technotitclan@reddit

I drive manual 95% of the time. In 20 years I've double foot'd the brake in an auto about 5 times. You just brake kinda hard is all. No tire screeching, not even abs intervention. It's just about the same quickly slowing down from unexpected traffic jam

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Serious_Lettuce6716@reddit

How do so many “car guys” not seem to realize how wide an automatic brake pedal is?? It absolutely occupies the same space that a clutch pedal would in a manual.

As a manual driver, I have instinctually brake-checked myself in random automatics multiple times, once even at highway speed when my exit was coming up. And worse, once while driving my company’s customer courtesy shuttle van I threw a customer out of her seat! And all I could say was “Sorry, I’m used to driving manual…also maybe you should use your seatbelt”.

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ThatOneSnakeGuy@reddit

I switch almost daily because my daily is a manual and my work vehicle is an auto. I've never made a mistake that was detrimental to the car. Maybe went for a button that wasn't there but that's it lol

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danDotDev@reddit

As someone who frequently switches back and forth from autos to manuals she will not accidentally brake. Most those times in those situations, her clutch foot will just hit the floor and her brake foot will be where it needs to be.

Her feet will go to where they are trained through muscle memory, they're not going to reach for a peddle where they're not used them being.

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Tasty_Cod_7354@reddit

Can not be serious lmao

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FutureHendrixBetter@reddit

Trade it in for a manual

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bigfancydelta@reddit

Never have I been in automatic vehicle and smashed the brake with my left foot. Now I've flet like I tired to kick the floorboard hard when I got into an auto car after driving a manual all day, haha! I was taught to drive both auto and manual vehicles when I was around 10yrs old. One of the biggest rules I was taught, left foot is for clutch only, right foot is for accelerator and brake only, NEVER LEFT FOOT BRAKE AND RIGHT FOOT ACCELERATOR AT THE SAME TIME! Im not trying to down shift and rev match to hit the perfect apex and max exit speed, so.left foot braking wouldn't need to be a thing. So many people today seem to be terrified of driving, its so odd! I couldn't wait to drive and have that feeling of freedom!

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havnar-@reddit

Getting into an auto after driving a manual, you’ll do the clutch-brake thing. You’ll do it once, maybe twice. But it’s violent enough to automatically teach you not to do it again.

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FLOHTX@reddit

Have her drive with her left leg out of the window

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Spiritual-Age-2096@reddit

As a regular driver of a manual, anytime I'm stuck with an automatic, I turn into a bit of a space cadet. I try to use the invisible clutch, try to grab gears, and tend to get side tracked more. Where a manual keeps me mentally engaged. So, I completely understand her point.

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N_ModeVN@reddit

I’ve driven a 2006 GTO 6M, 2016 A5 6M, 2022 Veloster N 6M, now a 2025 ND3 6M.

I have a mental block preventing me from buying an automatic car. I just can’t do it. However driving an automatic, that’s a new one.

I’d just remind her of her skill level and assure her she can do it.

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BryceKatz@reddit

I learned to drive on a manual transmission. I drove stick exclusively for almost a decade. I had no issues accidentally using the brake as the clutch.

Did I occasionally try to press the clutch? Yes. But there was simply no pedal to press. Do I still drive with my right hand on the shift lever despite not having owned a car with a manual transmission for 20 years? Also yes.

She will do just fine.

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DevelopmentExpert827@reddit

People can’t handle driving automatics now ? If it’s that hard to adjust to something soooo small, she shouldn’t be behind the wheel of a vehicle.

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SVTTrinity@reddit

Is she worried it will happen, or worried because it has happened. This happened to me when I drove a friend’s car after getting a manual. I learned not to hit the brake quickly and we joke about it now. Your girlfriend just needs practice on your car.

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lrbikeworks@reddit

I still do left foot brake time to time in my wife’s car. Especially if I’m rushed or flustered. It’s definitely a thing.

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therin_88@reddit

God, I wish we had this problem in the US.

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AbbreviationsOdd1385@reddit

I've tried to press the clutch accidentally in an automatic and all I did was press my left foot rather forcibly into the floor. I didn't hit the brakes. Feels strange but absolutely nothing bad happens, obviously.

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tigress666@reddit

I have done the press clutch cause I forgot I’m driving an automatic. In my experience you don’t hit the brake (it is in the wrong place for muscle memory), you just press where there is no pedal (cause that is where muscle memory says a clutch should be).

Maybe telling her that will ease her?

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liLdieuson@reddit

Since the right foot is for the brake and gas, and the left foot is for the clutch, I don’t see why driving an automatic changes much. There’s just nothing for her left foot to press. Her right foot will still have the muscle memory for the brake and gas.

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Rorschach_1@reddit

I wish we had that problem in the US. It is near impossible to find anything manual shift. We have both and switch regularly. Auto is not by choice. I use left foot for braking with auto. Have her start out right foot braking only and keep the left foot planted. Yes I have brake checked from time to time.

Have her remove left shoe starting out as a reminder.

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One_Evil_Monkey@reddit

Here's an interesting thought....

Maybe don't try to "convince" your GF to drive WTF ever car you leased.

If she doesn't WANT to drive it, don't make her.

It's literally that simple.

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anodraeus@reddit

I'm adamant about not using any vehicle equipped with an auto trans, I don't like dealing with any of the maintenance, issues they like to have, and how they drive. just ain't for me and I don't blame your girlfriend; perhaps she's trying to tell you something? I wouldn't force her to drive an automatic unless there wasn't any other option. I don't know the whole story, but if it keeps her safe by not having a car that gives you less control of the car(automatics in general), then maybe there's another option out there entirely you haven't looked at?

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Cheepshooter@reddit

Zip tie her left foot to the seat.

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Smooth_Discussion367@reddit

Too bad cars are no longer made with 3rd "dead" pedal when it's an automatic. But the automatic brake pedal is wider as most car maker use the same underwood pedal support bracket and the wider brake pedal fits in bothe slots. My 66 mustang is a prime example

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feline_riches@reddit

The muscle memory of going for the clutch is exactly that. Her foot will go to the same position. The brake pedal is not there.

I haven't driven a stick in 15 years and I still sometimes go for the clutch, especially when I'm slowing down to a stop on the freeway.

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Foreign_Incident5083@reddit

Take her somewhere about twenty miles from your home. Have someone pick you up. Give her the keys and say, I’ll see you at home, and leave. When I was learning to drive, that’s how we “forced” reluctant drivers to learn how to use a manual .

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VeggiesArentSoBad@reddit

One of my friends said he didn’t know how to drive an automatic. I told him that he did, he simply doesn’t need to use his left leg and the car will shift the gears. In the US, we have large parking lots. We went to an abandoned one and let him drive another friends car. It was pretty hilarious. He did keep hitting the brake and lurched forward and suddenly stopped. He did, eventually, get the hang of it. Your girlfriend will too. It just takes a little practice. I switch between manual and auto. It has never been an issue.

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DmitriVanderbilt@reddit

I won't lie, I had a manual car from 2018-2020 and still to this day, my left foot will kick out once in a while in search of the clutch but it doesn't happen that often and it never causes any issues, because my right foot can still brake just fine.

Your girl will be fine OP, just make her drive in a parking lot or empty backroad for 15 mins before she gets on the actual streets.

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GuairdeanBeatha@reddit

Let her know it might happen and to just be aware of it. If it happens, it’ll probably only happen once. Trust me on this, I’ve been there.

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Old-guy64@reddit

Back when brake pedals were 6-8” wide in cars with automatic transmission, I admit that I’ve 2 footed the brake when switching from manual to automatic.

But only once. Stand that car on its nose once and then plant your clutch foot on the dead pedal.

Usually that one time was on our little street. Then I wouldn’t do it again.

Now that brake pedals are appreciably smaller, even if I go to put both feet on the brake, I will miss the pedal with clutch foot.

Your GF may try it a couple of times, and then get over it.

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maldoricfcatr@reddit

Ties her left shoelaces to the seat frame?

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Icy-Fortune1910@reddit

I started on manual when I was 10. When I turned 16 I got an automatic van. I was stomping on the floor for the clutch sometimes. Bugged my dad but it was habit. Didn’t hurt my driving, just a bit of stomping at the air until I got out of the habit.

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lothar965@reddit

She will do it...a few times. Once she does it once or twice she will remeber....trust me lol

Go out in a rual place and have her drive with no one behind her to inconvenience.

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MEINSHNAKE@reddit

Tell her she can emergency clutch all she wants, the break pedal doesn’t move over when there is no clutch, it’s still in the right spot for your right foot to use.

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racinjason44@reddit

My family has a first gen manual Tacoma that I used to drive. Then they got an automatic version of the same truck and I accidentally tried to find an imaginary clutch pedal and found nothing but air.

If she is used to using her right foot to do throttle and brake like she should then this should not be an issue.

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Cpt_seal_clubber@reddit

Only advice I would say is to have her not wear a shoe on her left foot the first couple attempts.

This will make her more conscious of her left foot and also make her feet narrower so that she doesn't accidentally hit the brake pedal. When she starts the car she will most likely clutch in out of reflex, don't let this panic her.

Maybe drive with her. When she comes to light just say something like "you are already in Neutral" so she can relate her manual muscle memory to automatics.

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RickS50@reddit

I've definitely gone for that imaginary clutch pedal and clipped the brake pedal in the past when I've driven a manual car for a while and then got into an automatic.

It's easier when the other car is an EV because the go pedal also does the slowing down.

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lellololes@reddit

I've done this a couple of times - specifically when parking. It never happened on the road.

My trick was simple. Press down on the dead pedal when braking when using an automatic. It deals with the muscle memory of clutching and then you won't reflexively smack the brakes with your left foot.

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ActuaryReasonable690@reddit

Been there, done that. Yes, it can be a problem. In theory, there is nothing to hit when you go to reach the non-existent clutch, but I have accidently slammed on the break with my left foot once or twice, and it wasn't fun. (My car is a manual, but my wife has an automatic)

That said, it is not hard to train your brain to know what car you are driving, and to stop reaching for the clutch when it isn't there. I am a slow learner, but it doesn't take that long to retrain your brain.

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AdSecure2267@reddit

Take her to an empty parking lot for 5 minutes and be done with this idiotic thing. Sorry, if she can’t adjust that quick because she’s distracted, she shouldn’t be on the road at all.

Saying my piece, she worried about nothing and will be fine. If anything, she’ll have more freedom to be distracted now.

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av_dss@reddit

Just tight her left foot to the seat post -:) Kidding aside, just take her to the empty parking lot and have her drive for few hours. Similarly to folks to learn how to 1-paddle driving with a Tesla. Odd at first, but will get use to it quickly.

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MaxAdolphus@reddit

Tell her to put her foot on the dead pedal, and if she needs to panic, she can press on that dead pedal spot on the floor as hard as she wants, and the car will not react.

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MaxZedd@reddit

As a North American this is so funny

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serpentman@reddit

She can drive the car and get used to it in about an hour? What’s the other option? Get another car so she doesn’t have to try doing something super simple and easy?

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Chomblop@reddit

There’s usually a spot to rest your left leg to keep it out if the way. What she’s describing sounds almost impossible to do by accident

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ethanh333@reddit

Not much to say other than... well don't do that. It's simple. Don't be afraid of going for the clutch, just dont do it.

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ingodwetryst@reddit

I guess I don't yet why she needs to drive your car?

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ShopChick@reddit

There is no clutch if it’s an automatic? It automatically shifts for you.

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Nearby_Knowledge8014@reddit

Does she accidentally try to roll down windows when there is no crank anymore?

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Lort_Voldelort@reddit

Ive done that before. It usually is just a quick jab of the brakes followed by immediately releasing, wondering whats wrong and then realizing im driving auto.

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healslutxoxo@reddit

Well I did this exact thing yesterday luckily it was while I was pulling into a parking spot.

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Classic-Secretary-11@reddit

Just get her a stick?

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Evening-Tomatillo-47@reddit

To whack her leg with every time she tries to press the clutch? 😄

/s for the stupid ban bot

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