It's a red light.
You put your foot on the brake pedal,
but nothing happens.
You push it again.
It goes to the floor,
but the car doesn't slow down.
Oh no.
You try again, and again,
but nothing happens.
Your brakes have failed,
and nothing can stop this
two-ton machine that's on a warpath.
If you don't know what to do next,
or don't do it correctly,
you could die or kill other people.
Here's
Drivers tend to push the speed limits,
and find out what a vehicle can do
while operating at those speeds.
But we can't keep speeding forever.
At some point,
we'll need to slow down and eventually stop.
With this crucial need,
car braking technology has changed and evolved.
When the driver pushes the brake pedal down,
it creates pressure in the hydraulic brake lines.
Brake fluid is nearly incompressible.
The pressure is increased by the pedal,
booster,
and master cylinder.
The calipers then force the
brake pads against the disc brakes,
and that causes the vehicle to slow down.
While this system is both
intricate and reliable,
it isn't perfect,
and failures can occur.
In 2013, an elderly California driver's Cadillac
experienced brake failure.
His car went speeding across a lawn,
became airborne,
and landed on a roof.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
So, if you're driving and the brakes fail,
what could you do to survive?
As soon as you realize your brakes have failed,
warn the drivers and pedestrians around you.
So, switch on your hazard lights right away.
And honk the horn to
draw attention to the vehicle.
This way, people see your hazard lights
and know something is wrong.
This can encourage them
to get out of your way,
and clear a path for you.
And it can reduce the chance
of hitting other vehicles.
Friction is the brakes' best friend.
Friction on the brake disc
causes the car to slow.
And even if the brakes aren't working,
friction can still help you.
If the roads are clear,
and you're able to do this,
start zigzagging the car.
Use the friction of the tires
on the road to help reduce speed.
If that's not enough,
try driving over small plants
and shrubs on the side of the road.
In this case,
your life is more important than the vehicle.
So, another thing you can do
is carefully drive against the guardrail.
This will also help to reduce speed.
Vehicles have two braking systems.
The primary system is the foot brake,
and the secondary system is called
the handbrake,
emergency brake,
or e-brake for short.
The e-brake bypasses the hydraulic system.
Instead, it uses a metal cable
that connects to the rear brakes.
If your main brakes fail,
the e-brake should still work.
It doesn't have enough force to stop the car,
but it's a big help in slowing it down.
The e-brake works best
if you use it slowly and carefully.
If you apply it too rapidly,
the rear brakes could lock up
and force you into an uncontrolled spin.
And keep holding the release button down,
if there is one.
If the car has a manual transmission,
slowly begin going down the gears.
This is known as engine braking.
You may have heard 18-wheelers doing this.
The idea is to go to a lower gear
at higher RPMs,
or revolutions per minute.
This creates more torque
through the transmission,
and a vacuum inside the manifold,
that the pistons have to fight against.
So, the power and speed will drop.
Like using the e-brake,
don't do this too quickly.
If you go down through the gears too quickly,
the rear wheels might slow down too rapidly,
and this will make your car go into a spin.
And if you're driving an automatic car,
you might have access to a
triptronic transmission.
This allows you to override
the automatic system
and select the gear you want.
Slowly go back down the gears,
down to first gear.
If you're still trying to slow down,
look for a hill or
any upward slope that can help you.
It could be an on-ramp,
a hilly street,
or even a specially designed run off area.
Even a slight upward slope
could provide the gravitational force
you need to slow down to a complete stop.
In 2015, Traffic Safety Reports
showed that between 2005 and 2007,
0.45% of car accidents resulted
from brake failure.
While that number is small,
brake failures do happen.
So, make sure your brakes are
inspected and maintained regularly.
Maintenance and using these five steps
could save your life one day.
Congratulations.
You safely stopped a car with no brakes.
But what if you discover
the car is
hanging off a cliff?
Well, take out your cell phone,
and watch
How to Survive a Car Hanging off a Cliff,
right here
on