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Although no one expects it to happen, brake failure does happen. Being prepared to stop your vehicle if and when it does happen means you’ll be able to safely come to a stop and get the help you need.
The first thing to remember is the driver is the one in control of the vehicle. Paying attention to the driving environment is important to get the big picture in case you need to slow down. Looking well ahead of the traffic to anticipate the traffic slowdowns and begin to respond early with smooth braking.
Early and smooth braking will give the driver time to respond differently if the regular brakes do not stop the vehicle. Following another vehicle too closely magnifies the problem because the shortened following distance would not give the driver enough time to safely respond to the problem.
If your brakes have failed, you would typically know that because you attempted to use them to slow down. Now you’re late with slowing so you need to act fast. Immediately begin pumping your brake pedal as this may help build some brake pressure within your brake lines. Doing this may be enough to help you stop in time. At the very least, pumping your brakes will warn the driver behind since it puts the brake lights on.
If pumping the brakes doesn’t work, apply your parking brake. If it’s a handle with a button on the end, depress the button and pull it up firmly. If the button is depressed, you can easily lower the handle to release some pressure if you’ve pulled the handle up too hard and the back wheels have locked. This hand brake is a backup system to your regular braking system, so ensure that you maintain the quality of this system.
Many newer vehicles have a button instead of a handle to apply the parking brake. If your vehicle has this type of emergency brake, pull the button up and hold it up to ensure the vehicle can come to a stop.
If the parking brake does not stop you, quickly shift the gear selector to the lowest gear and then aim for a soft place to put your vehicle. This can be done in an automatic or manual transmission vehicle. Practice this in an automatic transmission vehicle so you know what to do if it comes to that.
A soft place to aim for may include bushes, a garden, or even an assortment of garbage bags. Hitting something that can be easily replaced is better than hitting a pedestrian, a concrete wall, or moving vehicle.