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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 314
OS
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
traffk.
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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