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What to do when your brakes fail (essay)
See all of What to do when your brakes fail
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(
essay
)
by
sam512
Fri Dec 06 2002 at 13:03:06
DON'T PANIC!
If you realise that the
brakes
have
failed
but
you are not
critically
in
danger
:
Get the
car
off the
roadway
and to a
safe
place to avoid stopping
traffic
or being involved in a
rear-end collision
.
You need to get out of traffic quickly.
Move to the inside lane
, or towards an
exit
from the road, or the
hard shoulder
if there is one.
USE YOUR INDICATORS
to
signal
your intentions to other
drivers
.
If it is necessary to
change lanes
, do so
smoothly and carefully
, watching your
mirrors
and the traffic around you very closely. There's no way that other drivers will know that something's wrong, so you need to be very careful.
Once you're in the safest position possible,
activate your
hazard flashers
so people know there's something wrong with your
vehicle
.
Let the car slow down
gradually
by taking your foot off the
accelerator
. Simply
steer
as your vehicle slows.
Shift into a lower
gear
. This allows the gearbox to bleed off some of your speed. In an automatic you'll want to choose PARK.
Once off the travelled roadway, gradually apply the
parking brake
until the vehicle stops.
If the parking brake has also failed, direct the car onto a soft shoulder or
rub the
wheel
against a
curb
which will help you to slow down.
Steering rapidly
left and right
will also slow you down,
iff
it is safe to do so
.
When safely off the
road
and
stationary
, put out
flares
,
warning flags
or reflective
triangles
beside and behind your vehicle to
alert
other drivers to the fact that you've stopped there.
Keep your hazard flashers going.
If possible, send for
professional
assistance
- if you're on a
motorway
you can use one of the
phone boxes
placed regularly along it, or use your
mobile phone
. First and foremost,
call the
ambulance
if someone has been injured
. Then you're best advised to call a motorway recovery service like the
AA
or the
RAC
.
Don't stand behind or next to your vehicle; if possible,
stay away from the vehicle
and wait for help to arrive. After all, you may well have just dumped it in the middle of a street.
IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO HIT SOMETHING AT
HIGH SPEED
Take your foot off the
accelerator
so you don't hit it unnecessarily fast.
Steer towards the thing that looks the least
dangerous
.
Wooden
fencing is softer than a
brick wall
- a
lake
is preferable to a
tree
. If you don't really have a choice, something which is further away is preferable to something nearby. Just try to
prolong
the
collision
as much as possible. The longer you spend
drifting
without
power
, the slower you become, thanks to
friction
in the wheels. If there's something that could
cushion
your
impact
, like a pile of
boxes
,
steer
through it as it will slow you down slightly before the
big crunch
.
DO NOT steer towards solid things like trees, or lamp-posts - these will not give way when you hit them
.
Pull the
handbrake
and any other brakes your vehicle may have. Keep a tight hold on the wheel to keep control of your vehicle as you will stop VERY quickly.
If you have the stopping space and/or the handbrake is broken too,
downshift
to your lowest gear
. This lets the gearbox take even more of your
speed
. This is actually an extremely
effective
braking
method and much more
controllable
than handbraking, but the stopping distance is longer.
Nudge the curb
with your wheel to slow yourself down.
If you have time,
PUT YOUR
SEATBELT
ON
.
If it becomes apparent that despite all of this,
you are definitely going to
hit
something
at high speed:
If there are
passengers
in your car,
tell them what's going to happen
as succintly as possible ("We're gonna crash!" is likely to inspire panic, but gets the message across), and if there's time, give them the rest of this advice:
If you haven't already done so, put your seatbelt on.
An
airbag
is not a substitute for a seatbelt
.
If you have time,
secure all loose items
on the back shelf or elsewhere - a tissue box moving at
fifty miles per hour
can put a hole in your head. Put them under your feet.
Duck
.
Pray
.
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