About the recent car wrecks in NYC?

Question

I just read that 3 wrecks happened in the city, 1 being very recent, about a truck driver who ran into a woman after he said his brakes failed. I just have one question...Would taking the key out of the ignition really stop a car from moving/make it come to a stop if your brakes aren't working? Just curious.

Answer 1

just simply taking out the key will do nothing if it is even possible in some cars. turning the key off is about same as lift your foot from the gas pedal, the car will not stop but it will not accelerate and the friction of the ground will stop the car eventually.

In the case of brakes not working, lowering the gears will significantly reduce the current speed, though not completely stopping, and when the car is slow enough, use hand brakes and it should help you alot to stop the car. (only when brakes arent working, cuz normally you wouldnt want to use hand brake that way.)

Answer 2

brakes work off the engine..shutting it off also locks wheel [no steering]   don't do it...pump pedal and steer,,,grab emergency/parking brake.

Answer 3

Taking the key out / shutting off the car is the worst thing you can do.

If your brakes fail pump them as fast as you can a couple times. Pumping them fast can build pressure sometimes. If this does not work you need to use your emergency brake. It is called this for a reason. It uses a cable that will not fail along with the rest of the system.

Driving is a serious thing. If you loose your brakes you need to keep control of the vehicle and steer the car where you want it to go to limit damage to the highest priority item at the time.

Taking the key out will shut the car down and you will loose all chance of steering or braking.

If someone gets into an accident because their brakes failed is unfortunate and every situation is different but this is something that every driver needs to expect every time they step on the brake pedal.

Take some advanced driving classes at your nearest race track. Most tracks around the country offer classes for every day drivers. They teach you the limit of vehicles. Once you learn the limit every day driving is even easier.