- #3211 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [imidazol97]
by steve_ HOST
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:11 pm)
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Nov 08, 2009 4:57 pm)
Most people call it the parking brake now. I'm not sure how effective the "emergency" brake really is at stopping a moving vehicle going at highway speeds.
My owner's manual talks about setting the parking brake when starting the van or putting it in park. There's a whole chapter called "In Case of Emergency" and it just talks about overheating, flashers, the fuel inertia switch and flats. Nothing about the brakes.
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- #3212 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [steve_]
by imidazol97
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:16 pm)
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 08, 2009 5:11 pm)
I have used the parking brake nee "emergency brake" from speed just to see if they will work. Both do on drum brake rears and on the disc brake rears of my cars.
I find that distinction an interesting one. Overly vigorous application could cause both rears to lock up on my cars which would lead to a twist sideways or spin if the brakes weren't released to maintain some traction. But I found it easy to make a stop.
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- #3213 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [imidazol97]
by steve_ HOST
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:18 pm)
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Nov 08, 2009 5:16 pm)
With everyone in here testing shifting in neutral and jamming on the "e-brake" on the highway, we may wind up with our own batch of carnage. Y'all be careful out there. 
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- #3214 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [steve_]
by imidazol97
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:28 pm)
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 08, 2009 5:18 pm)
Good point. Don't try this at home! 
I have done such testing for brake drag and testing rear rotors/drums for runout. And always with no cars around, well there was mine...  
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- #3215 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [imidazol97]
by 210delray
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:45 pm)
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Nov 08, 2009 5:16 pm)
I have also practiced using just the parking brakes on just about all of the cars I've ever owned, and I can report that they don't have anywhere near the stopping power of the service brakes. First, parking brakes are cable-actuated and activate only the rear brakes of most cars, just like those of a Ford Model A back in the day. Second, the front brakes do most of the work in a hard stop because of forward weight transfer. Third, in most cars with rear disk brakes, the disks are NOT activated by the parking brake, but rather small drum brakes built into the hubs of the rotors (so-called "top hat" design). Fourth, with the new wave of electric parking brakes, it will be hard to modulate them; it will either be all or nothing.
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- #3216 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [imidazol97]
by 210delray
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Nov 08, 2009 (5:53 pm)
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Nov 08, 2009 4:57 pm)
The officer's ride was not completely downslope; it was a downslope at the end if I recall correctly.
Definitely downhill on the exit ramp at the end, but it's hard to tell from Google Street View how much the road sloped uphill or downhill in the mile or two preceding the ramp. Perhaps Gary can enlighten us.
I still don't understand why the officer:
1. Did not put the car in neutral.
2. Didn't use the guardrails along the median to try to scrub off speed.
3. Took the exit ramp instead of staying on the freeway, despite the sharp left coming up ahead. Even if traffic were backed up there in the through lanes, couldn't he have used the shoulder?
At that point, with 4 peoples' lives in danger and the car not even your own, who cares about damaging the car?
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- #3217 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [210delray]
by berri
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Nov 08, 2009 (6:12 pm)
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Replying to: 210delray (Nov 08, 2009 5:53 pm)
I know this sounds terrible, but do you think something else might have been at work like a suicide or something?
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- #3218 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [berri]
by steve_ HOST
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Nov 08, 2009 (6:15 pm)
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Replying to: berri (Nov 08, 2009 6:12 pm)
If the driver was acting irrationally, the brother-in-law on the cell phone in the back seat probably would have said something along those lines. I haven't seen the transcript but I haven't heard anything on the news that would indicate the driver wasn't trying everything in his power to stop the car, or that he was under some kind of stress at work or home. (yeah, I've thought about this angle a bit too).
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- #3219 of 7512
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Re: I wonder... [berri]
by kdhspyder
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Nov 08, 2009 (6:42 pm)
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Replying to: berri (Nov 08, 2009 6:12 pm)
Yes I don't think so either. When I explained the situation to my wife who had heard nothing about this event she opined that there probably was a typical male reaction present : 'Hey something's wrong here but I can get it under control'. Whether that was ever voiced or not we'll never know.
She said that she would have jammed the gearshifter into Park if she were driving and suddenly realized that the brakes weren't working and that she was going faster and faster.
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- #3220 of 7512
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Re: Kill switch [andre1969]
by lemko
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Nov 08, 2009 (7:00 pm)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 08, 2009 4:21 pm)
Funny. With all this talk of u/a, I tried the same thing with my Mercury Grand Marquis LS, only at about 70 mph. It has a column shift, and Neutral is one click to the left of Drive on the dashboard. The car slowed and the revs dropped. The car has no tach, but I could hear the engine.
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