A couple wek ago, February 13 to be precise, Jon Weisman posted Those Bastards Cut My Brakes - What Now? I had left a comment on it about some instructions I had picked up in the 1970s from a Shell Oil advertising pamphlet that was included in a Reader’s Digest issue. Why I remembered what was in an oil company’s advertisement from 45 years ago is not what I’m here to discuss.
Fast forward to today, I am 57. And I got my car insurance renewal from my carrier. The premium was, shall I say, a lot. This was mostly a factor of us getting a new car, which was a factor of having the old car being destroyed by some guy who ran a red light and drove off without stopping. (No one was hurt, except our 2021 Toyota Corolla Hybrid.)
In an effort to lower my premium, I have signed up for a “Mature Driver Course.” For $20, I can knock 2% from the premium by taking an 8-hour long online course. I believe you have to be over 55 to qualify for it and it isn’t too bad even though most of the stock images show people who are much older than me.
Yesteday in the class, the topic of “what to do if your brakes fail” came up. I was a bit surprised it came up so soon, but it was in with dealing with various mechanical problems.
In the 1970s, we were advised to first pump the brakes, then pull the parking brake, then downshift, and then start sideswiping fixed objects. The guidance is a bit different now.
First of all, nearly every car has anti-lock brakes. So you cannot pump your brakes. Well, you could but either your brakes or working or they’re not. There’s not much of a gray area.
Your next step depends on your situation. You could try pulling on the parking brake. This brake is not connected to your main braking system (which has a lot of electronic components) and is usually mechanical. But it only stops your rear tires. And if you’re going at a good clip, you might not be stopping as fast as you want. This works best if you’re on dry pavement and not going very fast though. At high speeds, you will just end up skidding across the pavement with little control of the car.
The next step is to shift the car into the lowest gear possible. This will use your engine to slow you down. On some cars, the options to downshift are limited. I have a Prius and the only gear lower than Drive is the enigmatic “B” which is short for “engine braking” and is designed for a brake failure situation. It’s also designed for going down a very steep hill. If you have a manual transmission, feel free to get the car into a lower gear. Don’t go into first gear right away, but slow it down one gear at a time. If it’s an automatic transmission, don’t put the car into Park, because that won’t work.
But, let’s say that you are still plummeting down the hill with no way to stop. Your rear tires are squealing with the parking brake engaged. Your transmission is making funny sounds. But you are still going too fast. What next?
The next step was to “drive to drive off the roadway into another open area.” I am unsure how sound or practical this advice may be in an urban environment. But that’s what the stock image guy with the nonmatching voice said. An alternative was to drive side to side instead of in a straight line. This approach depends upon the kindness of your fellow motorists.
The final step seemed practical, but not easy to implement. That is, steer your car so your right side wheels hit the curb and just let the friction from that slow down your car. “This will be very difficult on your tires, but it is better than the alternative” I was instructed.
No further ideas were given because at this point, you’ve either stopped the car or you’ve plunged over a cliff or something like that. If you’re car has stopped, you should turn off the ignition. And get the car worked on. Although. you may find yourself getting another car because this car is going to need several thousand dollars in repairs.
The other interesting thing I have learned in this class is that there are new instructions about what to do if you find your car in a rear wheel skid. This topic seems to get a lot of discussion in driver’s education classes. However, as a lifelong Southern California resident, I have never been in a rear wheel skid.
What millions of drivers ed students have learned is: when in a rear wheel skid, you should turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid. I actually first heard this question when I was a fairly young kid (7 or 8) because it was one of the questions in our home version of the “Hollywood Squares.” (You didn’t have one?)
But what does it mean to “steer into the skid?” As it turned out, not everybody interpreted it in the same way. So there is new guidance: if your car is skidding, keep your eyes on where you want to go and steer toward that direction. Your brain will figure out which way to turn the wheel.
You should look at where you want to go in the world, instead of trying to fix a problem behind you.
Who would have thought a rear wheel skid would turn into a good idea for dealing with all aspects of life?
Yes, always look where you want to go while driving. I was taught to look as far down the road as possible.
I was also taught to hold the wheel in a 10&2 alignment. Have you covered hand placement in your new course?