Driving while handicapped / Left foot work

I am nearing (I hope) the end of a 7 week stint with my right foot in first a hard cast (OUCH!) and then a Herman Munster size rigid boot. NO weight allowed on my right foot. Period.   And have some new perspective and a little learning. Although a GRM and DIY type guy, I am apparently not as nimble as I was and having a ladder kick out can be a -really- quite painful experience. Not catastrophic but damn near.    Which then takes me to driving. You know I wasn't going to lay on the damn couch forever.    All of our manual transmission vehicles are 100% out. Simply not workable with my current setup.       And our auto vehicles have been quite challenging as well. At first I was sitting sort of sideways and doing everything left footed. This was very not good as modern vehicles have small foot wells and the damn boot is VERY in the way.  Then eventually taking the boot off while in the vehicle and using only my right big toe ( the only part that I could sort of move) on the gas. Problem with this is that I have to prop up that foot with my other shoe to do so. Not real comfortable. At all.     Now I am starting to have slightly more flexibility on the right foot so it doesn't hurt as bad. And am some what of a big toe expert gas pedal operator now.      But the biggest thing is that I am now all the time always braking left footed. And as I have become more accustomed to that I swear that I am braking more effectively than I ever have before. This again obviously in an auto trans vehicle. No idea how this is going to translate when i can get back in a manual ehicle?  May not work for you but I am a believer now.                     

I brake with left foot in automatic cars and right foot in manual trans cars.

I'm glad you're getting close to the end of this phase of recovery. It must have been a significant injury. I hope you have a full recovery.

Your post really caught my attention, I'm scheduled for surgery on my left foot a month from today. No ladder involved, probably a much less extensive surgery and recovery.

To your question, I brake with my right foot 99% of the time, and always when doing track or autocross.

In the 80s when my cars were all so crappy that I had to left foot brake so that I could work the throttle to keep them running, I was pretty competent at it. I broke my right leg ~2000 and had to buy an automatic beater so that I could drive. It was a Chevy Lumina with plenty of room to comfortably drive 100% left footed. 

I've started left foot braking my manual RallyCross car. I'm getting better, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. This past Sunday I launched into a run and then stabbed the brake when I meant to stab the clutch for the shift to second. What a maroon. 

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Kindness very much appreciated!     In my particular case, it was the right foot and I am wearing this monstrosity of a boot with zero flexibility of motion. And a hard cast before that.      My company cars are usually newer and those things seem to have much smaller foot wells than our old trucks... So it took a long moment to try and work out how to put all of that into the available space. And then how to actually manipulate the pedals...  I hope that you don't experience much of that, with it being your left foot.     Will say that absolutely positively we take for granted our mobility. And that life changes a lot without it. I am crawling upstairs now but slept on the couch for a while. Also our home is NOT HC accessible in any way and that includes the bathrooms. Its quite an upper body workout just existing. Not crying about any of this but I think God has issued a (not easy) order for me to slow down ...

In reply to Motojunky :

I would be really interested to hear Randy Pobst on this.To watch him drive is right humbling... Left foot braking - may- just be one of his super double secrets. 

So in single seat cars once I leave the pit lane I never touch the clutch. I left foot brake as it's faster and smoother.

In the Datsun I left foot brake in corners where I don't have to downshift.

I routinely have the brake and the gas on at the same time. I'm sure this is a hold over from my motorcycle racing.