One of the biggest and most important safety features found in your vehicle are your brakes. The brakes are what keep you safe as you drive around in your car. When you experience problems with your brakes and aren’t ready to handle it properly, it can result in a major accident and even death. When your brakes suddenly fail, it’s important that you know what to do next in order to keep you, and anyone else in the vehicle, safe. Citywide Towing Service is here to walk you through brake failure and the steps that you should take as the driver to keep you safe.
What to Do if Brakes Fail
When you are prepared for the worst, you handle the situation much better than if you haven’t learned what to do in that situation. Brake failure is one of the most difficult and dangerous problems that you can experience when driving your car. Here are some tips to help you stay safe in the case that your brakes fail.
– Stay Calm: When you experience an emergency in your vehicle, it can be more than your nerves can handle. Nothing will get your heart pumping like a close call in the car. However, when you experience a problem with your brakes, it is important that you remain calm. You will be able to think on your feet and make the last second decisions that you need to that will keep you safe.
– Leave the Car On: It may be a first instinct to turn off your vehicle to help it slow down, but you certainly don’t want to kill the engine. This can lead to a locked steering wheel that will keep you from keeping control of the vehicle. You need to leave the engine running until the vehicle has come to a complete stop. With your vehicle on, you will have a better chance at getting your vehicle safely to the side of the road.
– Turn On Hazard Lights: You need to let the other vehicles on the road know that there is a problem with your car so they can be aware and react accordingly. You can also use your horn to let other drivers know there’s a problem.
– Shift Down: Getting your vehicle to downshift will help it naturally slow down. If you are driving a manual vehicle, you can slowly start to downshift. If you are driving an automatic transmission, taking your foot off the brake will help it naturally start shifting down.
– Emergency Brake: You have to engage the emergency brake slowly or you will more than likely lose control of your vehicle. You need to know that applying the emergency brake will take more time to slow down the vehicle.
Towing Service, Roadside Assistance & More in Addison, Balch Springs, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cockrell Hill, Combine, Coppell, DeSoto, Farmers Branch, Ferris, Garland, Glenn Heights, Grapevine, Highland Park, Hutchins, Lancaster, Lewisville, Ovilla, Richardson, Rowlett, Sachse, Seagoville, Sunnyvale, University Park, Wilmer, Wylie, Duncanville, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Mesquite & Greater Dallas, Texas
If you are on the side of the road with brakes that aren’t working, you can call on Citywide Towing Service to come and give you the tow you need to get to the nearest mechanic. Call us today!
