Best way to brake in an Emergency situation

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old model car
old car
modern car
modern car
If you have been driving for many years now or you owned or drove a classic car (say one from the 70s), you may have taken one or two old habits to your modern car. The mid 19th century was really a fun period for the automobile industry as many technologies such as power steering, antilock brake system, locking differential and others were introduced then.

Before the use of Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) , the proper way to break in an emergency situation is to step on the breaks as hard and safe as possible, then let go a little to avoid locking the wheels, then step on it again. You do this repeatedly until you’ve totally avoided the hazard or brought the car to a stop. If you step on the breaks and stay there, the break pad grabs the break disc so hard that the wheel locks (stops spinning), putting the car into a skid. This makes the driver loose his steering ability (he could be steering left but the car will be going in the opposite direction) as the thread on the tires only function when the tire is spinning and function best when it is spinning in the right direction. 
skidding vehicle
If you are driving a car fitted with Anti-lock Brake System, you don’t need this push and release thing. The best way to break in an emergency situation in an ABS fitted car is to hit the brakes as hard as you can and stay on the brake pedal while you steer in the desired direction. It is the function of the ABS to ensure that the wheels don’t lock while it applies the optimal pressure possible.

Treating an ABS car like a non ABS car only results in loss of valuable time and possible malfunction of the system as car ABS works by sensing the speed of the wheels and applying the required amount of break force.

Switching off your Engine

As uncommon as this may be, people with manual transmission cars still do this sometimes for various reasons. Whatever your reason for doing this, the problem is not in the act its self but in the possibility that you can get lost in the moment (as it happened with me) and start over enjoying the smooth glide to remember that you have actually lost about 60% of you brake force. Modern cars use the some of the engine power to pump the brake fluid when braking. When the engine is off, all of that work is done by the driver. You will not notice how much force is required to stop a car when it is rolling down quite fast. And the irony is, you wouldn't want to find out ‘cos’ when you do is when you need the brake the most.
car accident
car accident
So next time you want that car to roll down a hill, keep it slow to avoid a possible crash.
Send us your comment or any brake or steering related incident you've had.




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