Braking
Brakmg 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
314
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
km/h) 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.
4-6
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