Mom Takes Driving Privileges After Daughter Refuses to Stop Using Two Feet

Learning to drive opens up independence, freedom, and a million conversations that start with “watch out for that turn.” But sometimes lessons go way off the usual script.

This Redditor’s 16-year-old daughter has been driving since she was 15, got her permit and license on schedule, and even earned a car as a birthday gift. All good, right?

Except there’s one major deviation from the typical training manual. She learned, and continued, to use two feet while driving an automatic: right foot on gas, left foot on brake. That’s not a beginner quirk, it’s something most driver’s ed classes explicitly discourage because it increases the chance of simultaneous or unintended braking, wears brake components prematurely, and can confuse other drivers on the road.

Her dad knew it, noticed it, and lightly suggested she switch to the standard one-foot method. She refused.

Mom, however, felt alarmed when she learned about it. She tried a calm talk. The daughter stood firm. So Mom took action: she revoked her daughter’s driving privileges and now drives her to school and everywhere else.

Her ex thinks this is controlling. The internet thinks otherwise.

Now, read the full story:

Watching a parent set a boundary about safety feels deeply human, even if teenagers see it as an inconvenience or personal attack on their freedom.

Driving is not just about the present moment. It’s about future risk, the physics of panic stops, the reality of brake wear, and the split-second decisions that can mean the difference between safety and disaster. When someone learns an unconventional habit that’s widely discouraged for safety reasons, it’s understandable for a parent to intervene, especially when a legal adult hasn’t yet reached full cognitive maturity.

This isn’t about control for the sake of power. This is about caring enough to intervene before a crash happens. That’s not micromanaging, that’s parenting.

When it comes to driving, habits matter, especially habits that impact safety, reaction time, and vehicle operation.

Most driver education programs teach that when controlling an automatic vehicle, a driver should use only the right foot for both the accelerator and brake. There are clear reasons for this:

• Reduced Risk of Simultaneous Inputs: Using one foot prevents accidentally pressing gas and brake at the same time.

• Brake Wear and Heat: Resting a foot near or lightly on the brake when not intended can cause unnecessary brake wear, increased maintenance costs, and reduced responsiveness.

• Clear Signals to Other Drivers: If the brake lights are on when not actively slowing, it confuses drivers behind you, increasing the risk of a misjudged stop.

Even driving instructors who learned on manuals agree that two-foot driving in automatics goes against the norm for good reason. While some drivers might pick it up and not have an issue right away, the risk emerges when drivers are in unexpected situations, where muscle memory matters most.

A quick online search of driving school forums and guidance from many departments of motor vehicles strongly discourages this technique, not because it’s outlawed, but because it’s widely considered unsafe and unconventional.

Neuroscience research shows that habits formed early, especially in repetitive motor tasks like driving, become deeply ingrained. Learning a new version of a skill isn’t just a matter of switching strategy, it requires relearning motor patterns and internal feedback loops.

A 2016 paper in Frontiers in Psychology explains that complex motor behaviors, like steering, pedal control, and gear changes, become automated over time. When someone has trained their brain with a certain pattern for months, changing it requires intentional repetition and time. The unlearning phase isn’t instant, but it’s absolutely achievable.

However, just because it’s ingrained doesn’t mean it’s safe. Athletes retool form to prevent long-term injury all the time. Drivers retrain unsafe habits when taught to correct drift, blind-spot neglect, or improper foot use.

Parents intervening over safety isn’t unusual. When a child starts driving, it’s one of the first times in life where risk assessment matters beyond scraped knees and bedtime curfews. A longitudinal study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that teen drivers are statistically at a higher risk of accidents compared to older drivers, especially when risk-taking behaviors are present or when standard procedures are ignored.

In this case, the concern isn’t that the daughter has been accident-free so far, it’s that being accident-free does not guarantee future safety. Many risky behaviors go unnoticed until a rare scenario forces them into the spotlight.

Also, parental involvement in teen driving has shown measurable effects on safety outcomes. Another study found that teens whose parents discussed safe driving techniques, including proper foot placement, had lower rates of risk-related driving incidents.

A striking part of this story lies in the daughter’s emotional reaction: fear of change, discomfort with new technique, and resentment toward revoking privileges. That’s a common human reaction to losing control over something we’ve mastered our way. Teenagers especially see independence as identity, and restricting driving hits that hard.

Yet responsibility doesn’t end with a license. Parents often maintain accountability until the child can demonstrate consistent, safe behavior. In many families, that means supervised driving hours well into the teen’s early 20s.

So what should a parent do?

1. Communicate clearly and calmly. Explain safety reasons without making it a personal attack.
2. Offer supervised retraining sessions. Meet with a driving instructor who can demonstrate standard technique.
3. Set conditions for earning back privileges. Define what success looks like, step by step.

This combination respects autonomy while prioritizing safety.

Check out how the community responded:

Many Redditors supported OP’s safety concerns and emphasized that two-foot driving is widely discouraged.

Others shared personal experiences of correcting unsafe driving habits.

This situation isn’t about control for its own sake, it’s about preventing a potentially dangerous driving habit from becoming a problem in real-world situations. Using two feet to control an automatic car isn’t standard practice in driver education because it introduces risk: simultaneous pedal pressure, premature brake wear, and confusing signals to other drivers behind you. Even if your daughter hasn’t had an accident yet, safety isn’t measured by lack of incidents, it’s measured by reducing risk where we can.

Revoking driving privileges until she’s willing to retrain her motor habits feels tough, but it’s also proportional to the concern. Your reaction wasn’t emotional it was responsible, grounded in widely shared safety practices and backed by research about risk in novice drivers.

So think about this: should a privilege that could put yourself and others at risk stay unrestricted while a known unsafe technique continues? And what kind of example does it send when independence outweighs safety? If you were in your daughter’s shoes, would you want someone to challenge your risky habit before it led to harm?