Emergency Road Braking - The extreme

When learning how to become a driving instructor, regular drivers are taught to get one thing straight from the start ...

If you drive within your own and the car's capabilities, and if you are constantly reading the road ahead you should never need to use emergency braking.

However, from time to time we all get sloppy (driving instructors included) and are just a little bit naughty on the road - or get caught out because we are tired or unwell (and perhaps shouldn't be driving).

The first rule of emergency braking is that if there is not enough room to stop, braking harder won't make the gap bigger!

In an emergency you have a choice – hit it or avoid it. So, while driving, you should constantly be looking for 'a way out'...

Where will you go if...

• The load falls off the truck?
• The car approaching has a blow-out?
• The kid fall off his bike?
• A dog runs out?
• The driver ahead falls asleep?

Or any one of a thousand other everyday occurrences that take people by surprise?

If you are always expecting things to happen and looking for a way out, when faced with an emergency you will instinctively steer for safety because your brain will recognise that there is a choice (the principle here is that you hit what you are looking at... In this case, the space). Note that In some situation the way out could be to drive off the road.

If there is a stationary car or van ahead and there is neither enough room to stop nor a way out, aim to hit it square in the rear. Make maximum use of the 'crumple zones' of each vehicle. If its a truck, flatten yourself across the seats and pray!

If you need to brake and steer in a car without ABS, release and reapply the brakes in quick succession, the wheels will only steer when they are rotating. In a modern car with ABS keep your foot hard down on the brake pedal until you are safe, press the clutch at the same time as you brake to allow the system to work at maximum efficiency.

Note: Anti-lock brakes can be a danger if there is not enough room to steer clear of the obstruction ahead. Remember, if you are going to hit something the more crumple zone you can put between you and it the better.

Hitting other vehicles or obstructions at a 50/50 glancing blow will not be as safe as a full blown direct impact. I hope you never have to make this decision!

Don't wait for a real emergency to find out how your anti-lock brakes work. Practise activating your anti-lock system when you get a safe opportunity to find out what it feels like (And by the way, you can relax if the brakes sound like a machine gun - they're supposed to make that noise!)

Remember, if you can stop in a straight line on a good dry surface the quickest way without ABS will probably be to press the brake and clutch, lock all of your wheels and slide (don't believe everything that your driving instructor told you!). If you need to avoid an obstacle use the same technique but release the brakes at the last moment to steer. With ABS just press the brake pedal and keep it pressed.

The best way to deal with emergency braking is to avoid emergencies. The next best way is to practise emergencies! You can do this on a skid training or limit handling course with an experienced trainer in a safe track or other off road environment.

Whether you are a professional driver, a weekend driver or someone who is thinking of taking a driving instructor training course the information on this page can make you, and those around you, much safer on the roads.

For info about limit-handling and ice driving courses visit Don Palmer's web site.

For information about how to become a driving instructor, the SmartDriving i-Course and how it can help save £££'s on driving instructor training visit www.smartdriving.org.