The most frightening moment of my life . . .

[S-Des]

I picked up my daughter today on the way to a gig about an hour north of her mom's house. It was an outdoor event that would have a lot of kids, so I knew she'd have fun. There were supposed to be carnival rides, but when we arrived, we found none, so I took her bowling while we waited for showtime.

My brakes had been acting a little funny all day, but nothing alarming, so I was in a good mood when we headed back the short distance (1 block) to the show. She had bowled a 112 game, which was her highest ever. We left the parking lot and headed down the short drive to the main road (which had heavy traffic, moving 45 - 55 mph). I got about 20 feet from the stop sign and hit my brakes (I was only moving about 10 mph) . . . and nothing happened. I felt the pedal reach the floor and the momentum of the van remain unchainged. In a panick, I moved the gear shift to neutral, then even put it in reverse, being less concerened with dropping the transmission than helplessly rolling out into what could be . . . *shudder*.

At the last possible moment, I got just enough brake traction to stop it, about 1 - 2 feet into the first lane of traffic. Nobody even honked as I moved the gearshift into reverse and backed to the stop sign. I barely remember traffic clearing and me taking it onto the road, then coasting into the parking lot of the gig. The bass player in the band is a car guy and figured out the problem, a temporary solution, and drove in front of me most of the way home, so if it happened again, he could take the impact and stop me safely (hopefully). I white-knuckled it most of the way, then finally relaxed when it was obvious I had the best performance from my brakes I've had in a long time. I'll be taking it to the mechanics tomorrow and leaving it for a week so they can go over EVERYTHING on it before I'll drive it again.

All I can still think is . . . *shudder*

 

[English Lady]

*hugs* gorgeous, that must have been terrifying -your gaurdian angel was on his toes, that's for sure.

 

[MrsDeathlynx]

That must have been scarey. *hugs* good to know that you and your little one are alright.

 

[rgraham666]

Glad you and your little one are safe, Des.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Aah! Arrgh! That sudden sense of helplessness, when three tons of steel stops doing what you tell it...

And with the baby in the car too. You done good.

Don't forget your emergency brakes, people. If you can slow down enough, you can pull it up and not destroy your drivechain. In fact you can "feather" it to slow yourself down.

I hate it that I know this...

 

[S-Des]

Aah! Arrgh! That sudden sense of helplessness, when three tons of steel stops doing what you tell it...

And with the baby in the car too. You done good.

Don't forget your emergency brakes, people. If you can slow down enough, you can pull it up and not destroy your drivechain. In fact you can "feather" it to slow yourself down.

I hate it that I know this...

That actually happened to me about 20 years ago in a car. I had to use my emergency brake, which was located between the seats and operated by hand. Kiten asked me why I didn't do that and I told her, the entire incident took maybe 2 or 3 seconds. The EB in the van is against the door, located very high for a foot operated brake. It would have been difficult to hit if I knew what was coming . . .

 

[Stella_Omega]

That actually happened to me about 20 years ago in a car. I had to use my emergency brake, which was located between the seats and operated by hand. Kiten asked me why I didn't do that and I told her, the entire incident took maybe 2 or 3 seconds. The EB in the van is against the door, located very high for a foot operated brake. It would have been difficult to hit if I knew what was coming . . .

Damn, that's so often true. Fucking engineers, forget what the thing is for...

 

[Liar]

Yikes! Glad it all ended well.


Reminds me of what happened a few years ago. I was getting a ride home from work in a friend's car on an ordinary Sunday afternoon (we worked weird hours). Nothing was out of the ordinary, until we came up to a red light and some people on the crosswalk. So naturally, she steps on the brake pedal.

We both hear a distinctive *clunk* from below the car. And it just keeps on rolling. Fast enough to kill anything in front of it. And downhill, so we're not slowing down much.

Steering away left or right to avoid the crossing is out of the question, the option is sidewalks with just as many pedestrians on. So she throws herself on the horn, force transmission into first gear to buy at least some time, and try to grind the car to a halt with a hand brake that apparently had only two modes - No Friction At All or Lock The Wheels.

The result, two black tire marks painted across the crosswalk and half way into the intersection, one shopping cart and it's content hit and spread all over the street, five people who managed to throw themselves out of the way, and one terrified driver who haven't gotten behind the wheel since that day.

 

[TE999]

Having experienced brake failure in one of my previous cars I know the feeling all too well. The handbrake and first gear saved my ass--plus a guardrail.

You handled yourself admirably in a panic situation. You are to be commended.

It's twice as scary with little ones in the car.

Sounds like the Master Cylinder crapped out.

 

[Adi87]

Good to know you're alright...

 

[S-Des]

Having experienced brake failure in one of my previous cars I know the feeling all too well. The handbrake and first gear saved my ass--plus a guardrail.

You handled yourself admirably in a panic situation. You are to be commended.

It's twice as scary with little ones in the car.

Sounds like the Master Cylinder crapped out.

That was my thought, but evidently it was leaking fluid all day long. The leak was at the caliper (don't ask me, I don't know anything about brakes). By the time I had my incident, it was all air in the lines. We refilled the resevoirs, and did some trial driving to make sure it wasn't a fast leak, then I took a way home that was almost all highway (I had to stop a grand total of 5 or 6 times in a 90 minute trip). By the time I reached the house, my brakes were still better than they had been in weeks (I know I should have had them checked, but they seemed all right and there had been no decline in performance). I'm obviously not taking any chances, so it's going right to the mechanic until he swears to me that everything is fixed!

 

[Chantilyvamp]

*hugs* damn hon that would be enough to frighten me for a lifetime. By myself is one thing with kid in the car I'm afraid I'd have had heart faliure afterwards.

 

[S-Des]

*hugs* damn hon that would be enough to frighten me for a lifetime. By myself is one thing with kid in the car I'm afraid I'd have had heart faliure afterwards.

I couldn't tell you if I was shaking, pale as a ghost, or short of breath . . . I honestly don't remember. I'm off to bed (gee, wonder why I feel out of it ). Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. It was an insane day.

 

[S-Des]

The result, two black tire marks painted across the crosswalk and half way into the intersection, one shopping cart and it's content hit and spread all over the street, five people who managed to throw themselves out of the way, and one terrified driver who haven't gotten behind the wheel since that day.

I sympathize with that emotion, although with 25 years of driving experience, I shook it off pretty quickly (sort of). If I hadn't stopped? I honestly couldn't say.

 

[oggbashan]

Many years ago I had a large heavy car with the cast aluminium master cylinder sited beneath the driver's seat. A flying stone smashed the casting just as I started down a steepish hill in Devon that is single track with passing places every 400 metres or so.

I crashed through the manual gears into second (first had no synchomesh and wouldn't engage), bounced the car off the banks on either side of the road, and finally came to a halt on the handbrake at the bottom of the hill, blocking the road at a T-junction but still within the narrow road.

I was alone in the car and there had been no cars coming the other way.

Using the handbrake I drove at five miles an hour or less in first gear from there to the nearest garage. The master cylinder had a one-inch square piece missing and of course no brake fluid at all.

Then there was the car whose back wheel came off and passed me...

Og

 

[angela146]

First of all, congratulations, S, on whatever combination of luck, quick thinking and divine favor may have been at work. I'm very glad you got nothing more than a scare out of it.

OK, now I'm going to ask a ditsy "girl" question, not just for myself but for all of the people who might be too embarrassed to ask:

How can the emergency brake still work if the fluid lines are empty? Is there a second set of brakes that is triggered by the handle or what?

I had always assumed that a brake-fluid problem would also disable the emergency brake and that it was only there for something more basic like a failure in a cable or if the pedal itself broke.

Sure, I figure if the brakes failed, I would try the handle (assuming I might remember) but I figured it would only have a marginal chance of being effective.

Also, what about anti-lock brakes?

 

[Guest]

<whew>
Glad you're both safe.

 

[sutherngent985]

First of all, congratulations, S, on whatever combination of luck, quick thinking and divine favor may have been at work. I'm very glad you got nothing more than a scare out of it.

OK, now I'm going to ask a ditsy "girl" question, not just for myself but for all of the people who might be too embarrassed to ask:

How can the emergency brake still work if the fluid lines are empty? Is there a second set of brakes that is triggered by the handle or what?

I had always assumed that a brake-fluid problem would also disable the emergency brake and that it was only there for something more basic like a failure in a cable or if the pedal itself broke.

Sure, I figure if the brakes failed, I would try the handle (assuming I might remember) but I figured it would only have a marginal chance of being effective.

Also, what about anti-lock brakes?

`
Im not a mechanic and dont play one on TV but I believe emergency brakes are cable operated and dont go through the hydraulic system.

As far as antilock brakes go I have no idea but the antilock portion is controlled by the computer...it pulses the brakes like you were going on and off the pedal but much more controlled and rapidly than a human can do. I would think the emergency brakes are the same AB or not.

2 years ago we had just bought a used car from a dealer in NJ (Im in NY) and were driving home. As we came up to the toll plaza for the bridge crossing, unlike des, I tried to slow down and the brake pedal would not move...at all, like something was under it. This is with my then wife and 7 yr old son in the car. As you can imagine, the toll plaza was full of cars. I didnt think of the Ebrake either but kept pumping the pedal and finally got it to work enough to stop. I went over the bridge, making sure I kept my distance from anyone while periodically cking the brakes. Needless to say the second I walked through the door at home, guess who got called? Heres the thing...one of the selling points they pushed? They just did a brake job on it...WTF?????????

Des glad you are both safe and nothing bad happened.

 

[Guest]

glad youre both safe

 

[S-Des]

Then there was the car whose back wheel came off and passed me...

Og

That happened to my brother. He had his tires rotated and they forgot to tighten the lug nuts on a back wheel. He described the shock at seeing his tire bounce past him on a 55 mph road.

 

[Lisa Denton]

That was my thought, but evidently it was leaking fluid all day long. The leak was at the caliper (don't ask me, I don't know anything about brakes). By the time I had my incident, it was all air in the lines. We refilled the resevoirs, and did some trial driving to make sure it wasn't a fast leak, then I took a way home that was almost all highway (I had to stop a grand total of 5 or 6 times in a 90 minute trip). By the time I reached the house, my brakes were still better than they had been in weeks (I know I should have had them checked, but they seemed all right and there had been no decline in performance). I'm obviously not taking any chances, so it's going right to the mechanic until he swears to me that everything is fixed!

Scary. I had a mechanic tell me once that a leak is the most dangerous thing with brakes, when you noticed something you think you need to have your brakes checked, within the next few weeks, not knowing that you may only have a few hours.

I am glad you got it stopped, and nobody got hurt.

To make you feel better, sometimes depending on where it was leaking, it doesn't cost much money to fix, mine was like 60 bucks or so, not that money is important after your experience.

You didn't do anything wrong, had a close call, and nobody got hurt and no major damage to your vehicle, have a good reason for extra father/daughter hugs for a while, happy ending.

See ya, Lisa.

 

[Guest]

Glad that you're both safe.

And good for your friend who helped you get home.

 

[Lisa Denton]

First of all, congratulations, S, on whatever combination of luck, quick thinking and divine favor may have been at work. I'm very glad you got nothing more than a scare out of it.

OK, now I'm going to ask a ditsy "girl" question, not just for myself but for all of the people who might be too embarrassed to ask:

How can the emergency brake still work if the fluid lines are empty? Is there a second set of brakes that is triggered by the handle or what?

I had always assumed that a brake-fluid problem would also disable the emergency brake and that it was only there for something more basic like a failure in a cable or if the pedal itself broke.

Sure, I figure if the brakes failed, I would try the handle (assuming I might remember) but I figured it would only have a marginal chance of being effective.

Also, what about anti-lock brakes?

The emergency brakes are a seperate system, I don't know the details but they are designed to work no matter what. If you can remember, and have time, use the pedal/handle slowly. Like someone mentioned, they can lock up the tires, but save your life, and others, in an emergency. I was a passenger in a car full of people one time and the driver knew all that. Before a busy intersection he pulled to the side and used the emergency brake. Thank goodness for seat-belts as we were all thrown forward when they locked up, and thank goodness he pulled to the side or the car behind us would have crashed into us.

It was like S-Des's situation, a bad scare but nobody got hurt.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Then there was the car whose back wheel came off and passed me...

Og

Gosh Og, um ........... how did you know it was your wheel?

 

[Guest]

Gosh Og, um ........... how did you know it was your wheel?

It had one of those poofy hats on it.