Brake Failure: Avoid Landing yourself in Trouble

Your car is one of your most prized possessions as it is bought after a lot of hard work and dedication. Brakes, like any other feature in your car, are the most important as they ensure the complete safety of the passengers on board. Effective braking could help save many lives as it is a standard feature every driver depends on. It needs proper maintenance to get good results while driving.

Imagine you are driving on the road like any other day and suddenly encounter a red signal. You try and apply your brakes but nothing seems to happen. You keep pressing it almost towards the floor and still, nothing happens. What would or could you do in such a scenario? It is a dangerous thought and can happen to anyone unexpectedly. Failing of brakes could be an amalgamation of multiple things like losing brake fluid or having brake pads that have worn out. All this could contribute to the brake malfunctioning. In case, you land up in such a situation, there are a few steps that you could follow to ensure safe handling of the situation.

• The situation could be managed and hence you should avoid panicking. At first, shift your car onto a lower gear. Carry out this step very smoothly to avoid complicating the situation further. This step applies to both automatic as well as manual cars. This would help slow the speed of the car down and would allow you to pull your car over towards safety.

Remember to avoid the following: a. Switching to a lower gear very quickly as your car could skid.

b. The effect of braking would be reduced if the car is put into neutral mode.

c. Do not shut the car off as that would prevent power steering your vehicle towards a safe destination. For the best brakes pad try Break pad replacement Barnet

In case the brakes are the regular ones and not the anti-lock ones, try pressing the brakes a little faster which would enable to increase the pressure of the brake fluid. Move to the next step if it doesn’t work even after pressing it for three to four times.

Application of the emergency brakes

Try applying the emergency brakes. They are installed in a car for such tough times only. However, you cannot totally rely on them to bring your car to a standstill, but it could slow your car down. You must know where the brakes are located though as some vehicles have a lever that is activated by the hand. Few others have a pedal onto the left side of the gas along with pedals for braking. It is a fair idea to give these brakes a chance while driving at lower speeds to check for its power (maybe in a parking lot that is empty or a place with no cars around).

Simply try pulling over

Switch on the hazard lights and keep moving towards the right hand of the main road trying to pull over. Be cautious while changing lanes by checking the mirrors and the traffic all around you. Signal the rest of the people to inform of you moving towards the side.

Get your vehicle towed

Even if the brakes start functioning again after failure, pull your car over and get a truck to tow it before you actually land yourself into great trouble. The car should be immediately taken to a nearby repair facility for further inspection. Driving should be stopped immediately and not be continued to assure the safety of everyone around.

It is imperative to get routine maintenance done of your brakes to avoid any unwanted situation. Take utmost care of your car; Visual inspection and regular car maintenance should always be on the top of your priority list.

Why Should You Not Use Summer Tyres In Winters

Do you feel a chill in the air, or is it just us? If you do, yes, the winter is around the corner. Winter is a month full of fun and relaxation. But, it is also the month when we witness an increase in the number of accidents happening on the road. It is seen that in winters, vehicles lose their control on ice-laden asphalt and skid uncontrollably on the road. The reasons for their loss of control lies in their contact area with the road. You heard it right it might not be your brakes that are failing, it is your tyres that need attention in winters.

We, as drivers, neglect the fact that summer tyres are not made to cope up with the traction requirements of the roads in winters. So don’t invest in winter tyres and face the obvious, yet avoidable, consequences.

So, What is It That is Wrong With Summer Tyres That They are Not Suggested to be Used in Cold Conditions:

The features that make summer tyres best in warm conditions are the same that hampers their performance in harsh winters. Summer tyres are made from a hard and stiff rubber compound that improves their cornering and steering on dry roads. Stiffness of the rubber also reduces the rolling resistance, and thus reduces the noise transfer. Summer tyres also come with shallower tread to further increase their performance and maneuverability on the roads.

All the outstanding features that are mentioned above about summer tyres are the same things that become their disadvantage in winters. When the temperature plummets down to 7 degrees and below, the rubber in any tyre tends to stiffen up. As summer tyres are already made up of hard rubber compound, they further harden up because of the cold. The inflexibility of these tyres makes them less effective against the snow present on the roads. Summer tyres start to develop cracks and fail when subjected to freezing winters.

The tread that is used in summer tyres is not able to cope up with the gripping requirements of winters. Treads of summer tyres are shallow and can become an easy victim to aquaplaning. Aquaplaning is a disastrous phenomenon and can lead to fatal accidents. In aquaplaning, the tyres of a vehicle are unable to displace the necessary water and skid uncontrollably on the layer of water.

These were the reasons why the world sought a need for winter tyres barnet. Winter tyres are made from softer rubber compound that increases their contact area with the road. The tyres also have deeper grooves and extra smaller grooves known as sipe to displace a large amount of water. Thus, they are highly capable of preventing aquaplaning on snow-laden roads.

Another common variant of tyres that can be used for winters in the UK is all-season tyres. The tyres are a mix between winter and summer tyres. The only problem with them is that they can never compete with the performance of summer tyres and the safety provided by winter tyres.

We know how important it is for you to install your cars with Winter Tyres Barnet. Therefore, we have a vast range of high-quality winter tyres for people living in Barnet and nearby areas. The tyres that we store are capable of meeting every driving requirement of people in Barnet. If you want to know more about which tyres will fit your vehicle the best, don’t forget to give us a call, at Barnet Auto Repair Centre.