> The thing was -- and I tried this just to see how it would work out -- I COULD NOT press the brake with my left foot in an smooth, gradual way. Try as I might, that leg just didn't have the motor controls to be able to do that. I could improve upon out-and-out slamming it, of course, but I couldn't get noticeably close to the smoothness my right foot could do without even trying. You just don't ease a clutch in, so my left foot never learned the skill.

I know exactly what you mean. I've tried it out myself. My left foot just can't exert minimal pressure on a pedal. It'a all or nothing.

As to other points made in this thread, I learnt in a manual and while I never had a problem with lane positioning, it did take me some time to learn to give it enough gas while pulling away. Hill starts were a particular problem, as I recall. I remember my brother taking me out in his car and while I was waiting to turn across oncoming traffic, someone flashed me to let me through. "Give it some serious wellie!" my brother said, "Redline it if you have to!" Helped me realise that as the clutch comes back in, it makes the revs drop and that I needed to keep them up to avoid stalling. It even helped with hill starts as long as I could release the handbrake at the right time.

I've driven in America and it was fairly easy for me to convert to left-hand drive and automatic at the same time. The only thing I've yet to try is manual left-hand drive. Changing gear with the right hand could prove as challenging as left foot braking for me.

Bea"18 years a driver, roughly 350,000 miles covered so far"sty