7 essential things to remember when your car suddenly loses its brakes

1. Keep calm

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in such a dangerous situation, the first thing to remember is to always try to... stay calm. This is the main factor that determines whether you are lucky enough to survive or not.

Panic and confusion will prevent us from handling things properly and make things worse.

2. Do not turn off the machine

During the process, be careful not to turn off the engine, because turning off the engine means turning off the power steering, making it impossible to control the vehicle. At the same time, at high speeds, if the engine suddenly turns off, it will lead to loss of control due to the engine stopping suddenly, with great inertia.

3.Turn on the warning signal

Turn signals, hazard lights, horns, and even flashing headlights are all ways to signal that a vehicle is having trouble so other vehicles can avoid it in time.

In case there is someone sitting in the passenger seat or in the back, you should signal with your mouth, wave a towel, etc. to help people around pay attention to safety.

4. Try the emergency brake

If your car is equipped with an emergency brake system, use it. It is usually used to stop the car, although it takes longer because it only applies pressure to the rear wheels.

When operating, be careful to pull gently, slowly but with enough force. If you pull too hard or too fast, it can lock the wheel, causing slipping and loss of control.

5. Brake repeatedly

If you step on the brake pedal and the pedal is stiff, you cannot press it all the way or press it deeply, it is very possible that something like a water bottle or a box accidentally fell into the pedal or got stuck on the floor mat, preventing you from braking. The simple thing is to use your foot to kick the obstacle out and the car will return to normal.

Depress the brake pedal several times to feel the pressure because if the hose is clogged, depressing the brake pedal several times will help the brakes recover or the vehicle has an ABS (anti-lock braking system) which can help activate the ABS.

6. Watch for gaps and steer to either side.

Look to both sides of your car, if there is space, move your car to the safe side. Steering increases friction and distance, helping the car slow down naturally. However, it is important to note that you should not change lanes while driving at high speed, it is easy to lose control of the car.

7. Use speed reducers

If the above methods still fail to stop the car when the brakes fail, the driver can try his luck by moving the car close to obstacles on the side of the road. The friction created can help the car stop, but this is only a last resort. The driver can move close to the guardrail to stop the car, or drive the car into areas that can create a lot of friction such as gravel, sand, small bushes or crash into the back of another car in traffic. If possible, try to stay as far away from houses as possible.

Therefore, to minimize the risk of falling into the above situation, you must always maintain and check periodically and practice the habit of driving at a moderate speed that you can control.