(essay) by sam512 Fri Dec 06 2002 at 13:03:06
  • DON'T PANIC!
  • If you realise that the brakes have failed but you are not critically in danger:
    • Get the car off the roadway and to a safe place to avoid stopping traffic or being involved in a rear-end collision.
    • You need to get out of traffic quickly. Move to the inside lane, or towards an exit from the road, or the hard shoulder if there is one.
    • USE YOUR INDICATORS to signal your intentions to other drivers.
    • If it is necessary to change lanes, do so smoothly and carefully, watching your mirrors and the traffic around you very closely. There's no way that other drivers will know that something's wrong, so you need to be very careful.
    • Once you're in the safest position possible, activate your hazard flashers so people know there's something wrong with your vehicle.
    • Let the car slow down gradually by taking your foot off the accelerator. Simply steer as your vehicle slows.
    • Shift into a lower gear. This allows the gearbox to bleed off some of your speed. In an automatic you'll want to choose PARK.
    • Once off the travelled roadway, gradually apply the parking brake until the vehicle stops.
    • If the parking brake has also failed, direct the car onto a soft shoulder or rub the wheel against a curb which will help you to slow down.
    • Steering rapidly left and right will also slow you down, iff it is safe to do so.
    • When safely off the road and stationary, put out flares, warning flags or reflective triangles beside and behind your vehicle to alert other drivers to the fact that you've stopped there. Keep your hazard flashers going.
    • If possible, send for professional assistance - if you're on a motorway you can use one of the phone boxes placed regularly along it, or use your mobile phone. First and foremost, call the ambulance if someone has been injured. Then you're best advised to call a motorway recovery service like the AA or the RAC.
    • Don't stand behind or next to your vehicle; if possible, stay away from the vehicle and wait for help to arrive. After all, you may well have just dumped it in the middle of a street.
  • IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO HIT SOMETHING AT HIGH SPEED
    • Take your foot off the accelerator so you don't hit it unnecessarily fast.
    • Steer towards the thing that looks the least dangerous. Wooden fencing is softer than a brick wall - a lake is preferable to a tree. If you don't really have a choice, something which is further away is preferable to something nearby. Just try to prolong the collision as much as possible. The longer you spend drifting without power, the slower you become, thanks to friction in the wheels. If there's something that could cushion your impact, like a pile of boxes, steer through it as it will slow you down slightly before the big crunch. DO NOT steer towards solid things like trees, or lamp-posts - these will not give way when you hit them.
    • Pull the handbrake and any other brakes your vehicle may have. Keep a tight hold on the wheel to keep control of your vehicle as you will stop VERY quickly.
    • If you have the stopping space and/or the handbrake is broken too, downshift to your lowest gear. This lets the gearbox take even more of your speed. This is actually an extremely effective braking method and much more controllable than handbraking, but the stopping distance is longer.
    • Nudge the curb with your wheel to slow yourself down.
    • If you have time, PUT YOUR SEATBELT ON.
  • If it becomes apparent that despite all of this, you are definitely going to hit something at high speed:
    • If there are passengers in your car, tell them what's going to happen as succintly as possible ("We're gonna crash!" is likely to inspire panic, but gets the message across), and if there's time, give them the rest of this advice:
    • If you haven't already done so, put your seatbelt on. An airbag is not a substitute for a seatbelt.
    • If you have time, secure all loose items on the back shelf or elsewhere - a tissue box moving at fifty miles per hour can put a hole in your head. Put them under your feet.
    • Duck.
    • Pray.
I like it! 2 C!s