Stop Your Car in an Emergency
Stop! Do you know how to use the brakes in an emergency? Many accidents occurs since drivers hesitate or brake in a wrong manner, which can be seen through the tire marks leading to the crash.
Contents
Steps
- Immediately take your foot off of the accelerator.
- Quickly have your foot hovering over the brakes.
- Apply the clutch, this is to prevent the engine from stalling.
- Apply the brake immediately after applying the clutch. With the foot hovering in the air, the heel not leaning on the floor of the car, immediately apply the foot brake as hard as possible as quickly as possible. For most drivers, not having extensive training in methods like "threshold" braking or "regressive" braking, this will be the most efficient method of stopping your car quickly and controllably, regardless of road conditions or if the car has ABS or not.
- In cars with ABS, especially in slippery conditions, intervals of howling, screeching or squashing tires can be heard, alongside with pulsation in the pedal, jerks to the steering and chassis, as well as loud noises. This is normal and is indicating that the system is doing its job, slowing you down efficiently, under control, allowing better handling and less wear on the tires.
- In cars without ABS, a strong and constant squeal or splash sound will be emitted from the tires. The wheel will tighten up, jerk and suddenly feel lighter. There might also be a bit of smoke. The wear of the tires will not be too hard, especially in the wet. The car will not swerve or spin, since the inertia is pushing it forward. In road conditions which are slippery, or in split-grip (when two wheels are on a different surface, like a gravel or grassy shoulder), the front of the car might pull slightly sideways, but the car as a whole will keep on sliding dead ahead to a quick stop.
- Brake. If there is indeed a need to make an evasive maneuver, always begin with braking. This will slow you down, to enable this procedure to be done more efficiently and controllably, or to absorb the impact should it occur. While steering around objects is technically quicker than stopping before them, steering is not always possible, due to road conditions, speed and other cars. In the meanwhile, the car is still progressing. It is hard, though, to evade an object when braking. The tendency is to stare at it and pray to stop before it. To look away, you need to shake your head, forcing the eyes to follow it, and than focus on a visual target in a direction of possible escape. In a none-ABS car, looking away will also help to get over the urge to stay on the brakes, which disables steering.
- If there is a need to brake while turning: take out a bit of the steering input while braking.
- With ABS, brake as hard as possible, and turn as normal while braking.
- Without ABS, brake moderately hard (about 70%) and release the brake to turn. If youre already in a turn, don't brake too hard or you'll lock up the wheels and be unable to steer.
Tips
- Full force braking is not the natural response of the driver. Due to the habit of going easy on the brakes in normal driving, and out of fear of the manner of the car's reaction to hard braking, drivers will begin with moderate braking to see whether it helps. Once they see it's no good, they will progressively increase pressure by pressing on the pedal, coming to a far stop, or losing control. This most be exercised in empty car lots.
- In a none-ABS car, it is wrong to try to pull the front back straight when it's beginning to point a bit sideways. Steering when wheels are locked is in-efficient, and will only increase the braking distance and decrease control. As said, the car will usually not point too much to the side, and will always keep up to it's original direction of travel, regardless of the direction in which the front is pointing.
- It's a mistake not to use the brakes while skidding. If the car is reluctant to turn, you are skidding over your front tires and are "understeering". In this case, the best solution is to ease off of the pedals, and -- if necessary -- apply the brakes lightly. If the car seems to turn too much too quickly, you are skidding over the rear tires, and are "oversteering". This situation is very hard for an average driver to recover from. A good solution is to immediately apply maximal braking pressure, and take off a bit of steering. This might pull the car back straight, or at least slow it down quickly, to enable a later recovery or to stop it while it's still in the lane of intended travel.
Warnings
- Pumping, squeezing or releasing the pedal will increase braking distance and will not necessarily allow for better control.
- If skidding, don't countersteer and apply the throttle.
