Braking
Braking action involves
perception time
and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push
on
the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time.
Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average
reaction time
is about
3/4
of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part.
So
do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even
in
3/4
of a second, a vehicle
moving at
60
mph
(100
kdh) travels
66
feet
(20
m).
That could be a lot
of
distance in an emergency,
so
keeping enough space between your vehicle and others
is important.
And,
of
course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of
the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition
of
your brakes; the weight
of
the
vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
--
heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
--
rather than keeping pace with traffic. This
is
a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you
do a lot of heavy braking.
If
you
keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate
a
lot
of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If
your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops,
you
will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist
is
used up,
it
may take longer
to
stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
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