When Should You Brake On A Go Kart?

You should brake a few seconds ( like 5 ) in anticipation of your stop. Especially as you near that last stop, and have just about wrapped up your last circuit run, you ought to think of starting to apply the foot on that brake. The problem for many on that note is that they do not know how to best brake and have not practiced doing so on a go kart ; it all starts with practice, after all, am I right? The same way that you practiced learning how to drive a real car, the same way you must practice your braking… but on a go kart, this time around, he heh.

Left – foot braking is a true skill that many go karters seem to not take the time to learn, and it is, as a matter of fact, truly a sad shame when you think about it. You know that you can only brake by left foot, right? At least, this is the case, nine times out of ten…. with go karts. This saves you time when braking, instead of switching over your foot from the pedal to the brake. Think about it. It makes for a faster brake done in less time.

What you can do, to get you mind used to doing this more often, is to practice driving and braking ( when in a real car ) with your left foot. Do so carefully and in environments that allow you to do so properly ( like in parking lots, and not in crowded intersections or highways, for instance ) . Over time, it ought to become muscle memory, and muscle memory is your friend in an emergency…. you never know when you might need it to kick in, right? …

Press the brake down smoothly, in order words, in a non – frantic motion. And however long in time that takes for you to do, without rushing yourself, is how far in advance you should plan on braking. In other words, don’t brake all of a sudden. But like I said, take those 5 seconds ( or 3 – 4, etc, based on your reaction time ) to really bring the kart to a full and gradual halt. It’s better on your neck and back, at the end of the day ( as opposed to a sudden halt, which causes that annoying little “whip lash” effect and is proven to be detrimental to one’s health over time ) . I sure hope that this has got you thinking!