Car handbrake, forgetting can be dangerous

Unlike foot brakes,The handbrake operates on the principle that the car has stopped completely, with the aim of keeping the car in place, not rolling when parked. Each car has a handbrake design located between the driver's seat and the passenger seat. However, nowadays luxury cars rarely have this design, most car lines have been designed with electronic brakes, both ensuring safety and aesthetics.

Popular car models in Vietnam still use the traditional mechanical handbrake system. With basic designs, the handbrake is also designed in the form of a button, placed near the gear lever or pedal style (under the left foot).

According to Mr. Ngu (Lecturer of the Examination Center of the Ho Chi Minh City Transport School), currently the cars used for training and testing for students at the schools are all mid-range cars, so they are all designed with a handbrake. 7-seat cars such as Hilander, Isuzu, For Ranger... usually have an electronic handbrake next to the steering wheel, just pull it out to hold the handbrake, so be careful when releasing the handbrake. And each type of car has a different design.

Although the design is quite popular, not all drivers remember and use the handbrake properly, especially for new drivers. This not only has the potential to cause accidents but also damages the car.

In the case where the car user forgets to lower or does not lower the handbrake completely, and still lets the car operate. At this time, the brake shoes and brake pads will press against the drum (or brake disc). The high friction between the brake pads and the drum generates high temperatures, which can cause the brake pads to burn. For cars with warning lights on the car screen, when this happens, the warning light will turn on to remind the driver. If the driver still does not pay attention to the warning light, the car will run with a burning smell from the brake system. This is very dangerous when traveling on the highway, besides, it will damage the ABS anti-lock braking system, more dangerously, it will cause the brakes to lose their effectiveness and cause unfortunate accidents.

Due to driving habits or carelessness, some new drivers often lower the handbrake when the car has not stopped completely. Car experts analyze that the handbrake is not designed to stop the car while it is running, but its main purpose is to keep the car stationary when it has stopped. In the case of a moving car or not yet stopped completely, if the driver carelessly pulls the handbrake, the braking force on the 2 rear wheels can lead to skidding, causing danger.

A very important problem, a common mistake that drivers often make is forgetting to pull the handbrake when parking. This can cause unexpected collisions and accidents. Some new drivers often forget or subjectively think that when parking, shifting the gear lever to P will make the car stand still. However, even though the gear lever is shifted to P, the car cannot move because the gearbox holds it, but there are many cases where the car is parked in places with large slopes, the car is under heavy load or for some reason can cause an accident, the P gear loses its effect and the ratchet gear wears out quickly. At this time, if the handbrake is not engaged, the car will slide and it is very easy to collide. Therefore, to ensure safety, when using a car, drivers should get into the habit of pulling the handbrake when stopping and parking.