Brisk ankle jerk on accelerator side: no longer used

It was initially assumed that the practice of accelerating rapidly between sets of traffic lights must represent an underlying pathology in the peripheral nervous system, since it serves no functional purpose but consumes an excess of carbon-based fuels. 

However, investigators have been unable to demonstrate an association between “dysfunctional acceleration” and abnormal ankle reflexes on the accelerator side.  Surprisingly, the dysfunctional ankle movements appear to fall under voluntary control of the motor cortex.