What To Do If Your Brakes Stop Working While Driving
If you have brakes on your vehicle that are not in good condition, it is possible that they will fail while you are on the road. You'll need to know how to safely stop your vehicle so that you do not get into an accident, and can then call a tow service to take your car to a local repair shop.
Don't Turn Off The Vehicle
While shutting off the engine will slow down your car, you are going to lose your power steering while doing so. Keep the engine running so that you have more control of your vehicle on the road.
Put Hazards On
Immediately put your hazards on to let all of the drivers around you know that you are experiencing a problem. The drivers around you are likely to give you more space around you, let you change lanes if necessary, and try to avoid hitting you if you make a movement that is not normal on the road.
Shift To A Lower Gear
If you drive a car with a manual transmission, you should immediately move the vehicle to a lower gear. This is going to slow your car down and reduce its speed, even if the brakes are not working properly. However, an automatic transmission is a little bit different since you cannot shift to a lower gear the same way. An automatic transmission is going to have some lower gears that may be indicated by D1 or D2 on the gear shift, which cause the tires to rotate more slowly. This will slow you down as well.
Pump The Brakes
Pumping the brakes is not guaranteed to slow your vehicle down, but it is worth trying to see what it will do. This may be what your vehicle needs to jump-start and get going again or slow you down slightly. There is no harm in pumping your brakes since all it can do is keep you going the same speed or slow you down a little bit more.
Use The Emergency Brake
If you are not slowing down fast enough, you can use the emergency brake to bring you to a stop. However, there is a correct way to use the emergency brake to come to a complete stop. You'll want to hold down the button on the emergency brake and slowly raise the handle of the emergency brakes. When you feel the car coming close to stopping, you can pull back on the handle all the way and pull it all the way back. When the vehicle has completely stopped, engage the emergency brake fully so that the vehicle will not move.
For more information, contact a brake service.