How To Stop A Car With No Brakes ! Might be helpful

[elevenmil 0]

Driving with no brakes...does this mean no emergency brakes?...Without any brakes to speak of whatsoever, I would make sure my car was the only damaged piece of property.Making sure I crash on the passenger side, to atlease preserve my life, I would try to angle my car to the side of forward motion, causing friction on the tires and thus slowing it down as much as humanly possible. It's something that rarely happens, and surely no one would want to be put in the situation. My initial thoughts are put together with a lack of thought - thinking, though, is what you can't do if you were surprisingly put into this situation.Good luck to those who are unfortunate regarding this topic.

[Fractured.Logic 0]

I was actually in a very similar situation to this, when I was a new driver. I had been given an older vehicle, an 80's model Mazda 323. To this day, I will never know what happened to the brakes (no one could find an air bubble, or anything else wrong in the brake line). I was coming down a hill that merged with the local highway. I went to depress the brake, and there was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.I was 18 years old, and I had waited to get my license because I had been terrified of driving. I knew nothing about the emergency brake back then, didn't even know it existed. The car I was driving was automatic, to boot. So there I was, careening down the (fairly steep) hill at an excess of 50 mph and increasing. As I approached the highway, I saw a freight truck. My heart leapt in my throat and I cranked the driver's wheel (which was rack & pinion) as hard to the right as I could. I barely missed the freighter and, instead, took a chunk out of the front right section of another car before directing mine into the hillside.Ironically, that car I hit was a rental belonging to my uncle's car lot :PI probably could have reacted better, and I often wonder what I could have done differently when I reflect upon it.Hope some of you found this (very true) story entertaining.

[csp4.0 1]

Well, first of, NEVER turn off your engine, most cars nowadays have power steering, and turning off the engine would make it near-impossible to steer (Cars also lock their steering if you try to steer too much with the engine off :s).From what I can remember from a Worst Case Scenario episode I watched several years ago.#1 Leave your engine: ON#2 Keep Calm! Think about your decisions before making them!#3 Try the handbrake!#4 If change to neutral#5 If traffic allows, swerve from left to right#6 Try to find an uphillBut in the worst case scenario Make sure you try to think slowly - quick decisions are bad decisions - And make sure you're making the right decision i.e. Crashing through safety barriers and driving the wrong way is NOT a good idea on a busy freeway... At rush hour!The most important thing is to KEEP CALM!

[k_nitin_r 8]

1) Switch off the engine and try to find a road with a steep incline? But make sure it stopped before the down slope begins.
2) Drive near a pavement so that the wheels with rub against the curb and create fiction to slow and eventually stopped the vehicle?

3) Shifting to lower gears to engage the engine brake?

4) Find a wide enough road and do an sudden swerve of the car (and pray that it wont go turtle).

5) Pray and hope that the brake will miraculously work again.

I agree with all but the first. You shouldn't switch off the engine because most cars (okay, so I'm not including the Maruti Suzuki 800 here) have power steering and power brakes.

I would like to add that the parking brake, also known as the emergency brake, can be used. If you see a puddle of water, going through it will slow you down a bit due to the water resistance. Make sure you have your seatbelt on because if you do have a collision, the seatbelt will keep you from hitting the dashboard or the windshield.
Edited May 16, 2009 by k_nitin_r (see edit history)

[ASHISHRANJAN 0]

HI........................WHEN EVER YOU DRIVE A CAR OR ANY OTER VECHICLESTHEN CHEK YOUR BREAK FIRST, AND IF YOU HAD NOT CHECKED YOUR BREK AND BECOME FAIL DURING DRIVING THN DO ONE THING THAT SWITCTH OF YOUR CAR

[livepcportal 0]

I think the best way to stop a car without applying the brakes is by decreasing the speed of car as much as possible, you can do so by releasing the acceleration pedal slowly and lowering the gear. I don't know if this will work or not as I haven't tried this because I prefer stopping a car by applying brakes only because its the best way of doing this. The only thing which I can say with surety is that "stay calm" if you face such an emergency and make full use of your brain. Don't turn off the engine of your car in any circumstance.?I think the best way to stop a car without applying the brakes is by decreasing the speed of car as much as possible, you can do so by releasing the acceleration pedal slowly and lowering the gear. I don't know if this will work or not as I haven't tried this because I prefer stopping a car by applying brakes only, because its the best way of doing this. The only thing which I can say with surety is that "stay calm" if you face such an emergency and make full use of your brain. Don't turn off the engine of your car in any circumstance.?

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!I've had the ill-fortune to have the brakes quit working twice!The first time, it was when the engine died and it so happens that the power brakes only work once while the engine goes off, so the second time the brakes didn't work. Shifting to a lower gear while holding the brake pedal down as hard as possible helps bring the vehicle to a stop, depending on the kind of fault you have with the brake.The second time was after I drove out of a deep puddle, the water probably kept the brakes from working so all I had was the emergency brake and the lower gear.While in normal driving conditions, going to a lower gear can slow you down too quickly for drivers behind you to react, especially since the brake lights do not turn on. The same is the case for the hand brake... when you pull it gently, you would feel you aren't pulling it hard enough, but when you do pull it harder, it would slow you down before the drivers behind you can stop to avoid hitting you.

[Strikee 1]

This topic title is probabily one of my worst nightmares , it's the kind of thing that I would't wish not even to my enemies. I've had my drivers license for over two years and thank god I've never been in this kind of situation.I've heard about people on a local forum oriented to Astra G vehicles that some people had the missfortune to have their steering wheel block during driving , that's another one of the horrible things , I can't imagine how would I react in that kind of situation.In the case of No breaks , the Hand Break and Engine Break (shifting in lower gear) are always a good way , and why not , if the road you're driving is wide enough , doing some side to side driving also is very usefull in decreasing the speed of your vehicle.A problem that maybe alot of drivers had , the ones that drive vehicles with Assisted Breaking is that during driving sometimes the engine CAN stop because of a malfunction and that means that both assisted breaking and assisted steering stop working. That's a very dangerous thing that can take anyone by surprise. This unfortunetely happened to me becase of a small engine problem but luckily the car just got harded to steer and A LOT harder to break , but it was stil controlable.The main ideea is to try to stay calm and think about your options in that moment. Have to take every decision corectly and think about the order to proceed. For example , try everything BUT the handbreak , keep that as an extreme measure , start by decreasing your speed by shifting in a lower gear and if any other car is in front of you , signal it by horn or headlights , either way , make sure other drivers understand that there's a problem with you beeing around ).Stay Safe!! and Don't drink and drive! Just Smoke and Fly..

[eInfiniti 0]

Thanks for the information. I will try to avoid a situation like that. Cars do need brakes. But then it is helpful to know how to deal with it in case my car loses its brakes.Years ago, I replaced brake pads on my car and must have failed to follow the replacement procedure exactly. When I first drove the car on the street and attempted to slow it down, the brake paddle fell several inches toward the floor when I hit it. I was scared big time at the moment. But it did come back when I hit it again. Thank God!Thanks again. Let us all drive safely.

[Bikerman 2]

Happened to me once in an old Mini I had. I put my foot on the brake and it went straight to the floor (like the clutch) with no braking effort at all.At the time I was on twisty country roads doing about 45mph. Fortunately as a youth my dad wouldn't let me use the family car when i passed my test at 17. He made me do a police driving course with one of his mates for 12 weeks before I got a sniff of the keys to the family car (a horrible Simca 1500) - he was a wise old bird - I learned more from that Police instructor in one lesson than I had from 4 weeks of lessons from my dad before the test.My instincts, partly as a result of those lessons 20 years before, were good ones. The first instinct was to reach for the handbrake (don't do that whilst cornering or you might pull an accidental handbrake turn which could be bad). Second instinct was to change down the gears - in this case into 2nd gear (the extra revs apply engine braking and quickly reduce your speed). First gear was not going to be possible since the car had a 'crash' first gear rather than a snycromesh My third and last instinct was to look for a potential ditching spot. Ideally you will pull the speed right down with the first two, and maybe not even need to ditch, but if you have time to plan then it is a good idea. In my case I selected a low hedge on the other side of the road. I managed to get the speed down to about 15-20mph, but I was approaching a T-junction, so rather than risk coasting across it blind I aimed across the road to go into the hedge at an angle of about 45 degrees. That was enough to prevent a complete front-end impact and, instead, a more gradual stop as the car hit the hedge-stems and came to a fairly quick halt. Total damage - bent front bumper, paint scraping on front bonnet and driver-side door, dents in the front grill, and the driver-side front wheel rim dented where I kerbed-it on route to the hedge. I got the car repaired on the insurance and sold it straight away - I could never trust it again.

Edited October 19, 2010 by Bikerman (see edit history)

[anwiii 17]

I got the car repaired on the insurance and sold it straight away - I could never trust it again.

oh good for you. you couldn't trust the car you almost died in so you sold it to let someone else die in it. what character! i guess you got lucky. unfortunately for everyone else who has ever met you....they got UNlucky....

i thought this was a how to stop a car thread.....not how to stop a moron who doesn't know how to drive....

[rob86 2]

The fastest way to stop a car with no breaks is aim for the nearest tree.

[anwiii 17]

The fastest way to stop a car with no breaks is aim for the nearest tree.

that's funny because in my original post, i was gonna say aim for bikerman but thought that would be too cruel to say....errr.....ummmm....as a joke ofcourse. it WOULD slow the car down though

in all seriousness, i have heard a lot of good suggestions like using the emergency brake and down shifting and leaving the engine on. i have also heard some horrible suggestions like swerving left to right. i think it all depends on your situation and where you are. but the best advice i heard so far that would include ANY situation is to "stay calm".

when i was younger, i started to play a game with myself. wherever i was, i would imagine something bad happening and i would ask myself what i would do to get out of that situation. i still do it to this day. it's sorta a sick game, but it can save your life one day if you are aware and prepared in any given situation. if you do play this game, it's also important not to start getting paranoid that the worst will happen. this will cause unrest and you WONT be calm if something DOES happen.

the person who lost his life on the freeway in california a couple years ago because his accelerator was stuck was a police officer. someone who was trained in how to maneuver a vehicle and survival insticts. now in that situation, if the emergency brake and down shifting isn't slowing the car down enough, there is a concrete divider on almost 100% of california's freeways(not including highways). some people wouldn't think of slowing thier car down by merging in to the divider because it would ruin their car, but that's one of the first things i would have done if the accelerator was stuck knowing downshifting or the emergency brake wouldn't slow the car down enough for a safe "accident" to completely stop the car.

so everything just depends on the circumstances. there is no right answer to this question because the circumstances for one person could be different for another. but again, staying calm is the best advice under ANY circumstance so your thoughts stay clear and untainted by fear and emotion where you can make the best decisions under your specific circumstance.

[mandla 0]

Do a handbrake turn and spinTurn the engine of and put in the lower gears to make it stop. It is safer not to go into a car that has dodgy brakes in the first place

[rvalkass 5]

Do a handbrake turn and spin

If you initiate a spin then you have lost control of the vehicle. That is the last thing you want to do.

Turn the engine of and put in the lower gears to make it stop. It is safer not to go into a car that has dodgy brakes in the first place

Turning the engine off, in most cars, will mean you lose any braking you did have, ABS and power steering. You will also lose any traction control systems, stability management or other driver aids just when you need them - in an emergency!