I miss controlling hi-beams with my foot
12-13-2005 | 01:36 PM
#1
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From: NYC
I miss controlling hi-beams with my foot
Showing my age here, but am I the only one who perferred switching hi/low beams with my left foot? It seemed a lot easier, especially on a tight, twisty road. Why was it changed? (The only advantage I can see to the current method is that it's easier to flash the headlights.)
12-13-2005 | 01:41 PM
#2
He's as bad as Can
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From: Manchester, NJ
You would show your age if you said I miss the 3-speed stick shift in the steering column. I think it's also a safty issue, one less thing to do with your foot. Also that foot switch has to be strong to hold up to heavy stomping.
12-13-2005 | 01:57 PM
#4
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From: Buddhist Monastery, High Himalaya Mtns. of Tibet
The problem with the foot switch is they would rust and need replacement. Also we would loose our dead pedal and I like that. In urban and suburban areas, you never get to use the hi-beams.
12-13-2005 | 02:25 PM
#5
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From: NYC
Originally Posted by alnielsen
Also we would loose our dead pedal and I like that.
As far as safety goes, on a seriously snaky road, I'd much rather be switching with my foot than with my hand. Hmm, maybe it was changed so disabled people who can't use their feet—people who use hand controls—could do it. I hope that's not the real reason.
12-13-2005 | 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by bulletproof21
Ive never heard of it either, lol. I am 29 and been driving for 14 years.
I agree it's nice to keep hands on the wheel and use your foot. That's why I prefer the high beams that set by pushing out the stick rather than the pull back to click and toggle. I prefer to flick that switch out with my finger-tips to engage the high beams rather than reach and pull. Subtle nuance, but that's my preference if it's on the stick.
Getting back to floor switches, on my F150 the switch sticks - either due to being rusty or filthy. If I use it I have to reach down and work it up again so I can hit it again. That's too dangerous, so I don't use the high beams at all (actually, I don't drive that F150 any more at all - need to donate it or something).
I think these switches went out of fashion because every little piece of crud you track into the car rushes over there and climbs in to gum up the switch. I'd believe they rust too, but don't have that much experience with them.
12-13-2005 | 02:50 PM
#11
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Well I'm 52 and they were just getting rid of them when I learned to drive.
For those who've never heard of such a thing, the switch was a small round button—maybe 3/4" across—that was on the floor, under about where the clutch pedal would be. You pressed it with the toe of your left foot.
If they stopped using foot switches because of rust/unreliability, I'd suggest they could've simply designed the switch better rather than throw out the whole idea. Maybe it cost a lot more than the turn-signal switch. Ideally it might be nice to have both—a foot switch and a turn-signal switch—so you could choose. Whatever. (It sounds like I'm obsessing about this; I'm really not! I think I'm just looking for any reason to avoid buying wall paint.)
For those who've never heard of such a thing, the switch was a small round button—maybe 3/4" across—that was on the floor, under about where the clutch pedal would be. You pressed it with the toe of your left foot.
If they stopped using foot switches because of rust/unreliability, I'd suggest they could've simply designed the switch better rather than throw out the whole idea. Maybe it cost a lot more than the turn-signal switch. Ideally it might be nice to have both—a foot switch and a turn-signal switch—so you could choose. Whatever. (It sounds like I'm obsessing about this; I'm really not! I think I'm just looking for any reason to avoid buying wall paint.)
12-13-2005 | 03:14 PM
#12
Many cars (and especially vans and light trucks) continued to have foot-controlled high-beams well into the early '80s.
My last foot-switcher was a '70 Dodge Challenger, but the first two Chevy Trucks my band used were '77 and '82 models and both had foot switches.
Part of the problem is the parking brake is often a pedal mounted just above it.
My last foot-switcher was a '70 Dodge Challenger, but the first two Chevy Trucks my band used were '77 and '82 models and both had foot switches.
Part of the problem is the parking brake is often a pedal mounted just above it.
12-13-2005 | 03:40 PM
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From: Livermore, CA
Originally Posted by Three37ny
Showing my age here, but am I the only one who perferred switching hi/low beams with my left foot? It seemed a lot easier, especially on a tight, twisty road. Why was it changed? (The only advantage I can see to the current method is that it's easier to flash the headlights.)
12-13-2005 | 06:43 PM
#16
Bummed, but bring on OU!
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From: Charleston, SC
I dislike the 8's high beam control sometimes. I rarely use the high beams, and when I do, I'm usually on some twisty backroad somewhere. Trying to dim the lights in the middle of a turn is a pain. The old foot switch would come in handy.
I do like the push forward for high beams, and pull back to flash though.
The only vehicle I've ever owned with the foot switch was a '55 Ford pickup.
I do like the push forward for high beams, and pull back to flash though.
The only vehicle I've ever owned with the foot switch was a '55 Ford pickup.
Imports....
12-13-2005 | 07:02 PM
#18
Senor Carnegrande
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Ha, I'm 30 but I had a '57 chevy pickup in high school. The foot switch was cool. And let's hear some love for gas tanks in the cab (behind the seat), corner vent windows, hand crank windows, and sheetmetal dashboards.
12-13-2005 | 07:55 PM
#20
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From: Orlando, FL
I think the main reason they'll never bring back the foot switch is because people now days are bred to be complete drooling idiots. There would be legions of folks driving around with their high beams stuck on, trying to figure out why people are flipping them off. Then, if they ever found out, they'd probably sue the car companies for emotional suffering. 
Not quite sure why they got rid of them though.
Not quite sure why they got rid of them though.
12-14-2005 | 08:15 PM
#21
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From: Lincoln, Nebraska
Really dumb design
Originally Posted by StealthTL
I don't miss them, or their cousin, the horrible floor level "handbrake"!!
S
The "floor level handbrake" was more like a under-dash contortion device. One look at it and you knew you should have bought an import.
12-15-2005 | 11:37 PM
#25
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Originally Posted by rotten42
I control the high beams by turning on the air conditioning full blast. 
(who is mysteriously missing her hair
)