Responding to brake failure

[JTalley]

You hear stories all the time about people going MILES with a stuck accelerator, or bad brakes, unable to stop, and you just have to sit back and wonder why. Seems simple enough- if the brakes are out, just downshift until the vehicle is slow enough to either (A) gently steer into a pole/tree/etc or (B) jam it in reverse- that works at slow enough speeds, such as what you'd get from 1st gear. I know this, because I once stopped a truck that was in THIRD gear by inadvertently shifting into reverse (worn out transmission and clutch, just learning, and accidentally shifted into reverse instead of fourth).

Yet we have stuff like this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hFW3Pp3 ... r_embedded[/youtube]

And the cop couldn't relay any decent instructions to the guy... "Put it in park?" Really?

How does this happen?

[astroturf]

Jake you got to much time on yer hands

[Mr_Roboto]

Brakes shouldn't go 100% out based on the way they are designed. If they do then something REALLY screwy has happened. I have had the rear line on my 89 pop 2 or 3 times, moving up the line every time it did it. I guess the line finally rusted through or cycle hardened or something. Modern brake design (as in most stuff since say the 60s) have dual resiviors and even if you lose half the brakes the other half will still work. This combined with down shifting usually means you can stop.

[HPbyStan]

Brakes shouldn't go 100% out based on the way they are designed. If they do then something REALLY screwy has happened. I have had the rear line on my 89 pop 2 or 3 times, moving up the line every time it did it. I guess the line finally rusted through or cycle hardened or something. Modern brake design (as in most stuff since say the 60s) have dual resiviors and even if you lose half the brakes the other half will still work. This combined with down shifting usually means you can stop.

Clearly you haven't run a foul of the infamous Astro ABS system that when it fails won't let brake fluid get to any wheels. That's more excitement than anyone needs for sure !!! There was a thread on that here awhile back and it happened to me as well. I hit the pedal and it was like standing on a brick, didn't move and I didn't stop. At least I didn't hit anything unlike some of the pictures on that thread. IF this happens to you, don't keep trying to push the brake pedal down. I learned after my event to pump the pedal and in time (if you have it ) it will figure out what to do and work. When I finally came to a stop, just missing a stopped car in front of me, as soon as I let off the brake it worked again. Good luck explaining that to a cop if you don't get stopped in time and it looks like it is working fine to him. Hard to blame the copper too, who would believe that if they hadn't read the thread here and seen the results. Thread would, I think, have been Oct last year.

[MrJames]

Without lawsuits and insurance the ability to stop would be dramatically increased in many cases.