This article engages in the do’s and don’ts of emergency brakes in a car. Now, you must be wondering what is new in that; everyone knows when to use the emergency brakes in a car. But is it really the case? You will find the answer and get clarity after reading this post. So, without any further ado, let us dive straight into this.
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Do’s & Don’ts of Emergency Brakes
- Well, the most obvious time to use the emergency brakes is in case of an emergency. This implies that when the brakes of the cars fail, one can try to bring the car under some control by engaging emergency brakes. It might not bring the car to a complete stop especially if you are driving at a high speed. But the emergency brakes, together with low gears, will ensure a safer experience.
- Another case where the emergency brakes become utmost important is while parking your car on a slope. When on an incline or decline, you should always park your vehicle and then engage the emergency brakes. This will take some pressure off the transmission and parking pawl (which is there to lock up the transmission).
- In case your vehicle is being towed away on a flatbed truck for whatever reason, make sure that you have applied the emergency brakes. This will ensure a smooth and secure process of transporting your car for service.
- While changing tyres, one should use emergency brakes. The reasons for this are many, including prevention of slipping of the car, the free spin of the rear wheels and a safer tyre swapping procedure.
- If you have parked your car on the side of the road where other cars are also parked one behind the other, make sure that you have emergency brakes engaged in your car. This happens often that car may hit your car, unintentionally of course, while parking in and out of the queue. If you haven’t applied emergency brakes, your car could roll away and hit the other cars down the line.
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Following are a couple of instances where you should refrain from using emergency brakes.
- During snow or rain, if you are driving and want to stop the car, don’t use emergency brakes. They will lock up the rear wheels and you will experience slippage. This will lead to the car getting out of control.
- During peak winters and sub-zero temperatures, the thermostat cable could get frozen if parked at one spot for a long duration of time. If you can’t go anywhere at least try to move the car just a little every day so that the thermostat and other components stay in great health.
- Trying for the crazy drifts using emergency brakes is the easiest way to damage your brake pads quickly. While it may look cool in movies, doing it in real life will cause you harm, physically and financially.
These were some of the do’s and don’ts of emergency braking in a car. Depending on the situation now, you will know whether engaging the emergency brakes is a great idea or a terrible one.
Also read: Things NOT To Do In An Automatic Transmission Car!
