Automobiles are large and dangerous machines. We often feel safe and protected while inside our cars but our cars may fail us. If you are faced with a situation when you need to stop a car with no brakes, follow these steps and you should be able to stop safely.
- Know whether your brakes are ABS (anti-lock braking system) or standard. Many cars are now available with ABS. Check your manual or ask your mechanic to verify whether you have ABS brakes or not. ABS reacts differently; to test them, you should slam on the brakes and hold them down. For standard brakes, it is better to pump the brakes so that they don’t lock. You cannot test your brakes correctly until you know which type you have.
- Be sure the brakes aren’t working. Tap lightly on the brake to see if they engage. If there is no response, press the brake as hard as you can. You should feel the pressure under your foot. If you do not, it is a safe bet that the brakes are gone.
- Take your foot off the accelerator. If you want to stop, you have to slow down first. Stop giving the car the gas it needs to accelerate and run.
- Focus on where you want to go. Your body tends to react to where you are looking. If you swing your head around in panic, you will tend to swerve. It is easy to lose control when trying to stop and swerve at the same time so by focusing on where you want to go, you will be more likely to maintain control.
- Pull off the road. If possible, pull over to the shoulder of the road or off onto grass. The change in surface should help slow your vehicle down.
- Try the emergency brake. The emergency brake may just save you if your car is out of control and you have no other option to stop it. Pull the brake hard. The vehicle may jerk or shudder but it will not stop automatically just by engaging the emergency brake. However, you should start to slow down and then eventually stop.
- As a last resort, look for something to hit. If you need to stop quickly to avoid crashing into another vehicle or a pedestrian, consider finding another target. Be sure you are secured in your vehicle with a seat belt then look for the least dangerous alternative. Sometimes this means steering toward a guardrail or median. Other times you may aim for a tree or parked vehicle. Crashing the car to stop it is only a last resort as it may cause injury. If you have no other choice, try to choose an object that is as far from other people as possible.
Trying to stop a car when the brakes have failed can be overwhelming. Don’t wait until your brakes fail. Maintain your vehicle and practice stopping in an empty parking lot until you have trained yourself to react in a safe manner.
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Comments
This article suggests hitting something and doesn't mention downshifting? What?
If you have some space, you can shift into lower gears. This will slow you down via the engine and will make the E-brake option much more effective. While this is easiest if you have a manual transmission, most automatics also have one or two 'low gear' options. It may be possible to shift into one of these if you're not going way too fast (too fast and you simply will be unable to put it in gear). Be advised that going into a low gear in such a situation is likely to do major damage to your car's transmission, which may require replacement. It is, however, better than 'hitting something' and is moderately effective going downhill.
