mykwaba:
Hi guys, due to the Christmas season and the frequency of long-distance journeys that would be made this season, it is necessary that we be ready for any eventualities that may occur while driving.

In order to ensure safety we did a research and found out that a good percentage of road accidents are caused by human error while others are caused by mechanical faults in the car.

One of such mechanical faults is brake failure and so we will dwell on things to do when your car brakes fail.

STAY CALM:

Your immediate reaction to a faulty brake will be to panic nut this in the actual sense is a recipe for disaster.
When your brakes fail, remembering to stay calm will help you carry out the other actions which will be explained below in order to help you stay alive after the incident.

PUT YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS ON:

After you have calmed yourself down, the next step is to turn on your hazard lights on.
Your hazard lights are turned on by pressing the button that has a triangle with an exclamation mark on it. It’s usually on the dashboard.
This action will inform the cars ahead of you, those behind you and those potentially all around you that you are experiencing some vehicular difficulty.

What this does is to make them give you some extra space so you can maneuver if need be and bring your car to a stop when your brakes fail.

SHIFT TO A LOWER GEAR:

The next thing to do is to move your car to a lower gear. If you drive a manual car, it easier to shift gears.
All you have to do is step on the clutch, shift to a lower gear and release the clutch this will help to slow your car down.

This deceleration makes the engine lose some speed thereby giving room for a safer stop.

If you are using an automatic car, there are several options available. You could either use the gear to shift down or you could use the pedal shift on the steering wheel.

Some cars have the numbers 1, 2 and L which will help you to shift to a lower gear.

Make sure that when you are shifting to a lower gear, you do not shift into a gear that is too low to avoid damaging your engine.

So it’s best to shift to a lower gear that is appropriate for your engine speed and vehicle speed. You do not want to damage your engine while trying to bring your car to a stop.

PUMP YOUR BRAKES:

In the event of brake failure and you have carried out the steps listed above, the next best thing to do is to pump your brakes.
Sometimes pumping your brakes help your car to potentially or barely start working again.

This step does not guarantee your brakes will pick up but it’s worth a try to check if your brakes can barely function in other to help you bring the car to a final stop.

USE YOUR EMERGENCY BRAKES:

When your brakes fail and you have tried to bring your car to a stop by shifting to a lower gear or pumping your brakes.

As a last resort, you should use the emergency brakes. There is a way to do this which and when done correctly it would ensure your car halts completely.

You should avoid completely lifting the hand brake as this may a death wish. So what you have to do is this:

• First of all press down the button at the end of the hand brake,
• After that gradually and slowly lift the lever of the hand. Doing this makes the hand brake work in the same manner as the normal brakes by ensuring that the car slowly comes to a smooth and nice halt.
• When the car has stopped, you can then lift the hand brake to a complete stop.
• Finally, leave the hand brake in this engaged position so that you don’t find yourself releasing the hand brakes and then struggling to stop the car again.

Remember that this has to be done gradually to prevent your car from skidding to a stop thereby making you lose control of the vehicle and this may have some unpredictable results that may not be favourable.

BONUS TIP

This tip is actually the most important. Many people are usually tempted to turn the engine off when car brakes fail.

It is potentially the worst thing to do in this situation as this could make you lose your power steering which would make it much harder to manoeuvre the car.

In a total car brake failure, you want to get as much steering control as possible. You do not want to find yourself without brakes and without a power steering.

The best thing to do is to leave the car on which means the engine is on and it will power the power steering component giving you as much control as you can get in this situation.

Lastly, try to avoid driving the car again after you have brought it to a stop. Get it towed to a mechanic’s shop where it can be fixed and don’t drive it again no matter how close you are to your home.

If you have any more tips please share to help others.

SOURCE: https://www.kwaba.ng/blog/the-7-best-fun-places-to-visit-in-lagos/

What happens if my EMERGENCY brakes are electrically powered?