garfieldtcat
Well-Known Member
I have been in the unfortunate situation of having to use the hand brake in an emergency. Not in a Jeep though.AFAIK law still requires the e-brake to be mechanically engaged, and this IS a good thing to know in case of hydraulic failure.
All beginning drivers should be taught if the pedal goes to floor you stomp or grab for the e-brake.
My dog at the time ate the brake lines off my SUV. Well he chewed them up anyway. I guess he liked the taste of brake fluid, because he did it twice.
The brakes actually still worked for the first couple of stops but unbeknownst to me, it was hemorrhaging brake fluid each time. I was doing 60mph towards a t-junction when they finally failed. Started off with some weak brakes before they gave up completely.
Whipping the e-brake slowed me down enough to make the turn. I ended up in the median on the wrong side of the road but I didn't hit anything. If I hadn't been so fond of doing hand brake turns.. and didn't think to pull the e-brake, I almost certainly would have ended up in a head on collision with a railway bridge. I even drove that thing to my mechanic using the hand brake to stop along the way.
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