From what you know about friction, if a car has good brakes, does that make it safe to drive on wet or icy rd?

Rapid Fire

NO! It does not make it safe.

When I drive on ice I drive as if I had no brakes whatsoever. Might as well, since I am not going to use them anyway unless I absolutely have to. Even with ABS you cannot stop in a reasonable amount of time or space. Many ignore that fact at their own peril.

The only way to be safe on ice is to slow the H3LL down. I live in a part of the country where the roads are ice covered all Winter ( too cold for salt and sand just blows off the roads). We do not go careening around at the speed limit, we slow down. There hasn't been a serious road accident around here in the Winter for years.

LeAnne

The friction between the brake shoes and pads is only as good as the friction between the tires and the road.

kelly_f_1999

not much of anything drives good on ice brakes good or not and tires are better on wet roads as much as brakes good brake anytime is a good thing wet or dry safe to drive with in speed if brake are good anytime wet and ice just drive slower

silent assassian

no because brakes dont contact the drive surface. tires do. if you have good tires, friction is greater so it would be safer. brakes have nothing to do with it.

choti

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Vince M

Even poor brakes can stop the car's wheels from turning on an icy road.

The problem is that the wheels can stop, but if the road is slick, either from ice or water, or even wet leaves, the tires can simply skid on the surface and NOTHING can stop the car, except, perhaps, a tree, a snowbank, or another car. If nothing gets in the way, then the car will slow down enough for the tires to get some traction.

That's why it is advised that people don't brake hard when slowing down or stopping on icy roads. You don't want to "lock up" the wheels. Doing this can result in losing traction. Vehicles equipped with ABS brakes will "pump" the brakes, alternating very quick pulses of braking, turning, and braking sequences to prevent the wheels from locking up.

But the real, ultimate solution to minimize the chances of skidding on wet or icy roads is to, simply, drive slower. The lower the speed of the vehicle, the less energy the brakes need to stop the car. At slower speeds, light pressure on the brakes can safely stop the car.

Don k

Brakes have one purpose. That is to stop the car. Icy roads do not rely on brakes they rely on traction. Traction comes from one place, TIRES. If you have good tires that are designed for the icy conditions then you are safe. Well safer then NOT having good tires. Brakes will make is safe if they are in good condition by NOT locking up when they shouldn't be locking up. If you have brakes that are working in perfect condition then they will do what they are designed to do. Stop the vehicle under normal conditions. If they are sticky, or grinding, or just not working. As far as driving on ice. If you don't need to stop then don't apply brakes. No matter what, Ice is not a good thing for any vehicle. Brakes will make driving on ice bad. Well only if you use them. Stay off the brakes, drive forward and don't turn the wheel. I hope this helps.

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