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Always drive like your brakes are going to fail. Driving with this in mind should give you time to react if your brake pedal goes to the floor. Waiting until the last minute to brake will not allow you time to react to brake failure. If you have never experienced driving without brakes, you are probably not prepared for how long it takes for a car to stop with no brakes. You have options when this happens, but you need to have your head on to make them work.

Start by pumping your brake pedal.

When your brakes fail pump the pedal two or three times rapidly. Sometimes brakes fail because of air in the line. Pumping the pedal causes this bubble to shift, and the brakes will usually come back to full pedal. Often when this occurs, the brake pedal will not stay solid, but will still ease toward the floor. Your car will stop. Unless you have no options, park the car and call for assistance.

Use your emergency brake sparingly to slow the car until you can stop it.

If you pump the brakes 2 or 3 times rapidly without results, keep your foot off of the accelerator. If you are traveling at less than 20 mph and have your seat belt on, put the emergency brake on a little and see if it will slow you enough to ease off the road and stop. As soon as you are safely off the road, put the emergency brake on full if you are going under 10 mph. If you don't have your seat belt on, coast as far as you think you can safely. When below 10 mph, stop with the emergency brake.

Try to warn other drivers if you anticipate a collision with their vehicle.

If you are about to rear end a car at high speed, honk the horn and flash your lights to give as much warning to the other driver as possible. If the other car can begin moving before impact, it will make the crash a little easier to live through. While honking the horn, look for exit routes to the right or left. It might actually be better to side swipe a slower car to the side than to hit a stopped car full force. Sometimes, there will be enough of an opening to allow you miss the car without an accident.

If an impact looks inevitable, do everything possible to slow the car and to hit the other car at an angle.

Before impact if it is inevitable, down shift the car as much as possible. Holding the steering wheel tightly, apply the emergency brake fully and brace for impact and air bag deployment. If possible, steer to the side to create a softer impact. You may scream at will. In whatever way you come to a stop, if it is possible, call for immediate help.

If possible use a hill to slow the car down or to stop it.

If you discover that your brakes have failed on a downhill slope or on a curve that you were trying just slow down on to keep control, down shift one gear. When your car is stable, if your speed is still too high, down shift another gear. This should take you to a controllable speed. If there is a ramp available that is long enough to stop you, navigate onto it. If there is no ramp, keep your head and continue your progress until you begin to ascend again. Let the car coast to a stop at a safe place and call for help.

There is no safe way to drive without brakes.

Never continue to drive your car even for a short distance after your brakes have failed. Call for help and wait. There is really no safe way to drive without brakes.

Learn more about this author, Allen Teal.
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