There are few more worrying incidents to occur when you’re behind the wheel of a car than having your brakes fail.
The sudden loss of control can be terrifying and you’re instantly thrust into a situation in which you need to find a way to bring your vehicle to a stop safely and in a safe position on the road.
While having your brakes fail may seem a catastrophic failure, there are other ways in which you can slow the car down and safely stop it, depending on the circumstances.
Whether you need to stop suddenly, for example in traffic, or you need to bring your vehicle to a gradual and controlled stop on a quiet road, there are different methods in which to do it.
At all times, you need to remain calm and keep the safety of yourselves and other road users at the front of your mind.
While a brake failure would certainly be mitigating circumstances in any accident caused by a brake failure, the steps and actions you took would also be reviewed.
If your actions were deemed dangerous then you may end up in trouble.
Therefore, you should take the time to learn and familiarise yourself with what the best practice would be in the event of suffering a brake failure.
This guide has been put together to educate you on the best steps to take if you suffer a brake failure when driving your car.
Our step-by-step guide will give you a list of different methods you can use to bring your car to a stop in the event of losing the ability to brake conventionally.
To make sure we stay consistent with our other guides, we have split this up in to the following sections:
If you suffer a brake failure when driving then remain as calm as possible and follow these steps:
There is no doubt that a brake failure when driving can be incredibly stressful and scary.
Your aim is to safely stop your vehicle as soon as possible.
If nothing is working to slow your car down then using an object to help slow the car down is the next course of action.
A kerb or crash barrier is useful for helping to slow the car down.
To do this, you need to drive alongside it and ease the car against it gradually and at a very slight angle.
Hitting it too directly can cause significant damage as well as a further accident.
Obviously larger items such as crash barriers will cause damage to the car and have an increased chance of causing injury to yourself and any passengers, so always look for smaller structures that will minimise risks to all involved.
Also, you should never hit an object head-on when you’re looking to slow the car down.
Gradually pull alongside, as we’ve described above.
Even hitting a straw bale head-on, for example, could cause injury, trigger airbags and other such events.
Once you have managed to stop your car safely, your mind will probably still be racing and the adrenaline pumping.
You’re not finished yet, however.
With your car successfully pulled over at the side of the road, you should now put into action steps for dealing with a breakdown.
We have written a guide all about it, so familiarise yourself with this now so that you know what to do should you ever break down while out driving your car.
Reading up about how to deal with situations such as brake failures is really useful when it comes to dealing with them when they arise for real.
While practising for a brake failure is not practical, preparing by reading articles like this and watching video demonstrations is helpful.