A good number of car accident on our roads today result from break failure. Break failure does happen, even sometimes when you do regular tune-ups. Sharing our respective experiences on the subject, the rest of us can be better informed. Considering every possible scenarios, let's share knowledge.

1. make sure all passengers are with seat-belts in place
2. put the gear in REVERSE
3. and hit the gas pedal . .
4. pray to God for ur car not to flip . . .
5. remember to flash your hazards and keep honking your horn repeatedly

mxxpunkxx!:
1. make sure all passengers are with seat-belts in place
2. put the gear in REVERSE
3. and hit the gas pedal . .
4. pray to God for ur car not to flip . . .
5. remember to flash your hazards and keep honking your horn repeatedly

I won't advise anyone to follow steps 2 and 3 above.

The safest option is to use engine braking.

If your car is a manual, leave the car on whatever gear you are on and take off your legs from d pedals. The car would reduce speed itself automatically and very quickly(that's engine braking).

If your car is an automatic, do same. Just that the vehicle speed reduces faster with a manual car than an automatic car.

You can practice this with your car and see the effect.

If u ar on a speed gear(4,5) change to a lower gear (3 to 2 to 1) n pray ur car Slows down before u get close to a public area

blackracle:

I won't advise anyone to follow steps 2 and 3 above.

The safest option is to use engine braking.

If your car is a manual, leave the car on whatever gear you are on and take off your legs from d pedals. The car would reduce speed itself automatically and very quickly(that's engine braking).

If your car is an automatic, do same. Just that the vehicle speed reduces faster with a manual car than an automatic car.

You can practice this with your car and see the effect.

u can only use engine braking when you have considerable distance ahead of u . . .
when the next car is close by and you're doing about 40mph, u got no choice.
it's better to damage your transmission than lose your life (or worst still, the life of others)

I would rather say that a good number of accidents are caused by over speeding and driving too close to the vehicle ahead. This results to wrong judgement or assessment of TOTAL STOPPING DISTANCE( Reaction distance + braking distance). When the driver applies the brakes in a danger situation, and the vehicle fails to stop contrary to the driver's expectations, the driver may think that brake failure was the reason for the accident. Understanding these basics could be very helpful. The reaction distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver perceives a danger to when the driver's brain tells him/her what action to take. This could take a fraction of a second. The braking distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver starts applying the brakes. This also could take a fraction of a second.(the driver's concentration,level of intoxication, condition of the vehicle's brakes and tyres , and road condition may increase the time).
ALWAYS APPLY THE 2 SECONDS RULE OF THUMB. This simply means that you pick an object for example a tree ahead. Watch when the vehicle in front of you passes the tree. It should take AT LEAST 2 SECS BEFORE you drive pass the tree. That tells you that you are maintaining good distance with the vehicle ahead, and increases your chances of stopping before a danger.

At 50km/h and using the 2 secs rule, you must maintain a distance of at least 27.8m from the vehicle ahead. Equating Einstein's kinetic equation and Newton's law d = v squared. Implying that doubling the speed means you are multiplying the car's braking distance by 4.

Three things happen in a head on collision ( over 70km/h):
1. The car stops
2. You stop
3. Your heart stops( if you are unlucky).

My advice: avoid over speeding; maintain good distance from the vehicle ahead; and stay focused.
Merry Christmas

[quote author=Jucol]I would rather say that a good number of accidents are caused by over speeding and driving too close to the vehicle ahead. This results to wrong judgement or assessment of TOTAL STOPPING DISTANCE( Reaction distance + braking distance). When the driver applies the brakes in a danger situation, and the vehicle fails to stop contrary to the driver's expectations, the driver may think that brake failure was the reason for the accident. Understanding these basics could be very helpful. The reaction distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver perceives a danger to when the driver's brain tells him/her what action to take. This could take a fraction of a second. The braking distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver starts applying the brakes. This also could take a fraction of a second.(the driver's concentration,level of intoxication, condition of the vehicle's brakes and tyres , and road condition may increase the time).
ALWAYS APPLY THE 2 SECONDS RULE OF THUMB. This simply means that you pick an object for example a tree ahead. Watch when the vehicle in front of you passes the tree. It should take AT LEAST 2 SECS BEFORE you drive pass the tree. That tells you that you are maintaining good distance with the vehicle ahead, and increases your chances of stopping before a danger.

At 50km/h and using the 2 secs rule, you must maintain a distance of at least 27.8m from the vehicle ahead. Equating Einstein's kinetic equation and Newton's law d = v squared. Implying that doubling the speed means you are multiplying the car's braking distance by 4.

Three things happen in a head on collision ( over 70km/h):
1. The car stops
2. You stop
3. Your heart stops( if you are unlucky).

My advice: avoid over speeding; maintain good distance from the vehicle ahead; and stay focused.
Merry Christmas
Hmmmmm... This is a professional speaking!

@Evico:

Well, these are one of the basic theoretical lessons in a driving school before any practicals on the road. Unfortunately, our people rush into practicals without learning the basic theories and road courtesies.

Somebody talked about honking the horn repeatedly. Be advised that in some cases the loud horn may cause unnecessary panic and someone may instead jump onto the vehicle. The brains of little children are not developed enough to detect the direction of sound. You scare the hell out of them and they may run into the car. Have you thought of why some motorists get a fine for using the horn? I mean in some developed countries of course!

Jucol: I would rather say that a good number of accidents are caused by over speeding and driving too close to the vehicle ahead. This results to wrong judgement or assessment of TOTAL STOPPING DISTANCE( Reaction distance + braking distance). When the driver applies the brakes in a danger situation, and the vehicle fails to stop contrary to the driver's expectations, the driver may think that brake failure was the reason for the accident. Understanding these basics could be very helpful. The reaction distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver perceives a danger to when the driver's brain tells him/her what action to take. This could take a fraction of a second. The braking distance is the distance the car travels from when the driver starts applying the brakes. This also could take a fraction of a second.(the driver's concentration,level of intoxication, condition of the vehicle's brakes and tyres , and road condition may increase the time).
ALWAYS APPLY THE 2 SECONDS RULE OF THUMB. This simply means that you pick an object for example a tree ahead. Watch when the vehicle in front of you passes the tree. It should take AT LEAST 2 SECS BEFORE you drive pass the tree. That tells you that you are maintaining good distance with the vehicle ahead, and increases your chances of stopping before a danger.

At 50km/h and using the 2 secs rule, you must maintain a distance of at least 27.8m from the vehicle ahead. Equating Einstein's kinetic equation and Newton's law d = v squared. Implying that doubling the speed means you are multiplying the car's braking distance by 4.

Three things happen in a head on collision ( over 70km/h):
1. The car stops
2. You stop
3. Your heart stops( if you are unlucky).

My advice: avoid over speeding; maintain good distance from the vehicle ahead; and stay focused.
Merry Christmas

this is quite insightful please keep it coming