Quote Originally Posted by mimitabby
So when you're waiting at a red light, for example (which could be forever)
you have one foot on a pedal, the other on the ground, and your hands stretched all the way out to the brakes, with at least one compressed to keep you from rolling forward. There's where those levers would be particularly handy!
I was having trouble figuring out how your hands are stretched for the brakes when stopped at a red light. You must be sitting on the saddle while stopped? That would be an awkward position. If you get off the saddle and stand with one foot flat on the ground, one foot on the pedal, straddling the top tube with the bike at a lean, you'll be a lot more comfortable. Then you'll be stable and won't need to keep the brake squeezed, and it's a very short reach to the handlebars.

BTW, do train yourself to always brake from the drops in a hard stop because that way you are bracing your body from moving forward. For slow speed stops, using the hoods or a top lever is fine.