What if your going down hill fast in a car and the brakes go out?

Quiet.Buck

down shift the gears either in manual or automatic slowly and let the engine slow the car. and once down to a slow speed say 20mph or so, you can start using the hand or food brake (what is called the emergency brake for a reason) to finally stop the car.

worse case... slam the automatic into park and let the transmission slam itself together at such a force all the wheels will lock up and you will skid to a stop. but your engine and transmission will be garbage... but you will be alive.

mfees56

emergancy brake... if you are in manual transmtion shift to a lower gear... same as if you are in an automatic but your more likely to blow the engine then. don't go into the grass as segested earlier because most likely you would lose controll and crash at a high rate of speed.

nameless K

Lets see... well instead of doing the stupid thing of jumping out out the car, I would do that one head down, and arms over head thing they do for tornado drills, and things like that. Then just hope the air-bag saves you from some impact...
So yep... brace yourself or something. At least mentally prepare yourself somewhat for what's coming. You'll think more clearly that way. How do I know? Because I hit some really bad black ice one time and skidded off the road down a hill into a ditch. I had my coat cushioning my arm on the drivers side against the door, so I got lucky with only these really huge bruises, and a cut on my forehead.

alfie thai

there are ways as long the car in gear you not going very fast with no acceleration so you got a hand brake you bull on slowly and if that not help to slow down look for a wall of some thing you could scrape along it to stop

carrieluvsredsox

maybe the emergency brake

justin1jd

Just down gear it but do NOT go into the grass like that one person said... that is nutts to even say and I myself would like to know why he/she even said such a thing.

Utkarsh

shift down the gears and slowly apply the handbrakes.
take the car in a grassy or rocky area.

hoping4miracle.today

This has actually happened to me on a date when I was 16, & I was driving, we were coming down a steep 2 mile hill (about 60 degree incline) & picking up speed within the 1st mile, while trying to brake for red lights - couldn't & barely missed cross traffic. Speed limit was 25 & when brakes lost I was hitting around 75 mph & remembered my dad warned me because of the hills we lived near & instant flashback of my dads warning on what to do...I put car in neutral (even if you can't do neutral still apply emergency brake) & put on emergency brake, saved our lives, was about 20 feet from going off a bridge when we finally stopped (applied the brake near the bottom of hill/last block was going so fast by the time I braked). Unfortunately nobody (about 30 people in the last 40 yrs) had ever survived going off bridge into Lake Superior couple hundred feet fall. Fortunately, I actually listened to my father when he didn't think I was! :0) That also was my last date with that guy! He was freakin out while this was all happening & I kept calm (@ least I think I did, I know I sure tried & was praying fast & furious) & did the above. By the time police & ambulance came (which none needed to - only needed tow truck to be towed to shop for new brakes) my date was white as a ghost, sweating, & crying... and I had to tell him everything was ok & we were ok. Didn't hit anything (except I really wanted to hit my date for acting like a 6 yr old girl) lol... hope this helps you!

jamestong98

DO NOT jump out of the car. You could get killed and wayward card could kill and injure others.

4 wheel brake failure is less likely since the brake lines for each 2 wheels are separate. Mechanical hand or parking brake would still work. Use it. Engine brake is also a powerful brake. Downshifting plus the mechanical handbrake can put the car in control and stop it safely.

hellsmonkey5

If all else fails...Tuck and Roll!

Shift to a lower gear, use the emergency brake intermittently so it won't over heat, zig zag as much as possible and still maintain control, and look for any kind of upgrade that can assist in slowing the vehicle. Try your best to communicate your problem to other drivers, even though there never seems to be a policeman around when you need one, an alert driver once assisted me when my brakes went out on a long steep down grade and managed to contact the police who went in front of me all the way down. Pray !

emergency brake? if you have one...

serg

Drive into the hill/mountain, try to slow down in the grass first.

James H

Downshift and pull the emergency brake.
And you have to, sideswipe a tree or
a fencing before you start barreling through
intersections.

Jeff B

Find God

Rob

Don't worry there is usually a STOP sign at the bottom of the hill!

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