This is my latest pet peeve, but it’s not enough of a rant to put this topic in BBQ Pit:
Why do cars have emergency brakes if no one uses them?
Where I’m from, (L.A.) using the emergency brake seemed to be part of the “routine”. It seemed rare to not see someone set their brake. All my family and friends did.
But it seems that not all drivers in all areas do it regularly. The new town I live in, no one seems to set the brake. Even (in many cases) if the car is parked upon a hill or steep incline. And I am curious as to why. I have asked people why they don’t set their emergency brake, they tell me that “No one does it” “You don’t really need to” or “You’ll wear out the emergency brakes if you use them” (which makes no sense - they are there to be used! The same way seatbelts and parachutes are there to be used, “just in case”!)
I also would assume that insurance companies would not smile upon people not using their emergency brakes - what if the regular brakes fail and the car rolled into another car or into a lake? (It does happen.) What if the car was “bumped” by a car in a parking lot and then rolled into another car? I just think - better safe than sorry.
So, my question is, do people in your area not use their emergency brakes regularly? If so, why? Do you set your emergency brakes regularly when parking on the street, parking lots, etc?
This is getting me curious. The people here in this new town I am in think I am being “nutty” for always setting my emergency brake.
Yes, Squee - I have heard that reason for not setting it, and it was the only one that had any credibility to me.
But the people in my town don’t set the brake all year round, and the really cold days here are not all that common. So I see no reason why they can’t set it on the milder days, (which is most of the time, at least so far.)
I grew up in a part of the country that is very flat and never used my emergency brake. I don’t even remember it being discussed in driver’s ed.
Then I moved to a rather hilly part of the country. The first winter I lived here I parked pointing down hill and came back to find my car wedged under the bumper of the car ahead of me. Now I always use it.
I worked at Bosch Braking Systems for awhile (they actually make the brakes for all the major manufactuers) and will pass on a few things I know about brakes.
They are called parking brakes,
emergency implies that you would use them while driving. While this can and has been done no in the brake industry will recommend it.
They are chiefly used to take the load off of the transmission when you park. If you don’t use the parking brake then the gears in the transmission are held under a load the whole time it is parked, constantly stressing out the gears and shortening its life.
This is no problem on relativly flat ground here in the midwest, but go to San Fransisco and you will find many people who consistantly use there parking brake no matter where they park.
Parking brakes are there because it keeps automakers from getting sued. The basic premise is if the technology exist and can be cheaply applied then the automakers are mandated by law to provide it. (thanks in no small part to Ralph Nadar)
It is basically cheaper to provide a parking brake on every car made than to get sued by the accidents that could and do occur.
Don’t use your parking brake or keep in it good repair and you shift the liability from manufacturer to yourself, which is what they want anyway.
The “emergency” brake is there so in case your regular brakes fail (read batgirl’s post, it happened to her) the emergency brakes will “catch” the car before it rolls into another car, or into a lake, or into traffic, or into a baby stroller, you get the point…
Well, yeah, San Francisco’s a given. But I always use them here in NYC because most of the parking being done is parallel street parking. If you don’t set your hand brake someone could nudge and push your car from behind with their car, to make the parking spot larger.
I don’t drive stick, but I saved someone’s car from rolling down an embankment in a parking lot. They forgot to engage the emergebcy brake, and the car started coasting down the inclined parking lot. Manual transmissions has no “PARK” position as I understand it.
Thanks jaydabee for your comprehensive answer! And thanks everyone for such fast responses.
In the town I live in now, it is gently “hilly”. There are plenty of flat areas, but enough hilly (and downright steep) areas to make the education of the use of parking brakes (thanks for the clarification) needed. And, frankly, I think the brakes should be set even if the area is flat, if you are in a public area. As others have brought up, a car can be “pushed” or nudged by another car if the brake is not set. I just think, better safe than sorry.
The thing that mostly prompted this post is something I learned just the other day: I work for the State, and there are State cars that the employees use. One of these cars is constantly parked on a very steep incline, but they never set the parking brake! I shudder to think what will happen one day - these employees are responsible for this car, but it’s a State car. The ignorance…oh dear, or dear…
I drive an automatic and my mechanic told me to put the car in neutral, set the emergency brake and then put the car into Park. He said this prevents strain on the transmission. He also said that in extreme cases (like on a hill) not setting the emergency brake could cause the weight of the car to “lock” the transmission, making it difficult to shift out of Park again.
(Apparently the “Parking Brake” is what is engaged automatically when the car is put into Park. The “Emergency Brake” is the lever.)
I’ve known people who drive manual transmission cars in mountainous areas who use the Emergency Brake routinely when stopping on a hill, since it’s easier to work the clutch and gas pedal with your feet and the brake with your hand than trying to do that manual transmission jig on the pedals when trying to start on a hill.)
“Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.”
First, it’s the only way to leave the car unattended for a brief period on an incline with the engine still running. If I have to just run back in the house to get my sunglasses with the car in the driveway, I hate to shut the engine off and turn it back on 20 seconds later. Needless wear. I set the brake even when stepping out on flat ground, because it only takes a very slight incline for the car to start rolling.
And second, I leave the car in reverse when it’s parked, which is the lowest available gear, but it’s still possible for the car to move on a steep hill. I’ve had this happen! So I both leave it in reverse and set the parking brake, which provides the maximum resistance to undesired motion.
Look at your owners manual, there is no “emergency brake”. The term has been deleted by lawyer types in recent years.
Yes I know it can and is used used in emergency situations or just for fun
(like doing donuts in a snow covered parking lot!). But, it is not designed or intended for these uses,
this is why so many parking brakes are in disrepair and why MIDAS likes to scare the hell out of you and charge you an arm and a leg EVERY damn time you go in there.
So, use your parking brake as intended, save your transmission for doing the job it was designed to do, and save your parking brake for real
“emergencies” like rolling down a hill. The life you save may be someone you love!
Let’s say you have a manual transmission and you park on a hill and leave you carn in gear, and then shut it off. IF your car beging to roll down the hill, will it bump start of its own accord?
Not without turning the key. You must get spark to the gas to ignite it. All you are doing when you bump start
is cause the pistons to crank and thus compress the gasoline into a ignitable gas. Still need spark.
No, because the ignition is off; no power to the coil means no spark, means no go. Also these days, most cars have electric fuel pumps; no fuel, no go.
Using the parking brake is a matter of habit. I’ve actually set mine when parking without realizing it. I wouldn’t want to rely on it as a true emergency brake; I experimented once. It’s in good shape, and it took me a loooonnng time to stop!
I think people generally don’t use it for the same reason they don’t use turn signals; ignorance and/or apathy.
VB
I could never eat a mouse raw…their little feet are probably real cold going down. :rolleyes:
Let’s just humor the thought that parking brakes are totally unnecessary. Which of the auto manufacturers do you think will be the first to remove from their vehicles, something that is commonly perceived to be a safety feature? Would you volunteer to be the first design engineer to suggest this bold new proposal? I think such a decision would be corporate suicide.
Isn’t this illegal? I’ve heard of people getting “unattended motor vehicle” citations for leaving their cars running in front of the 7-11.
Fools read Dear Abby, Simpletons read Anne Landers… it’s a fine line.
I also think that even if (which I don’t believe) an emergency/parking/whatever break is not too helpful, what do you think your insurance company is going to tell you if your parked car rolls into something, and you didn’t have it set? If you had it set, and it didn’t help much and your car still rolled into something - well, at least you did the right thing and set it.
