Your car’s braking system technology has fundamentally remained almost unchanged for decades. Metal brakes discs rotate with the wheels and brake pads which comprise of friction material are pushed against the discs to slow your car when the foot brake is pressed (see how car brakes work).
The harder you push the brake pedal, the quicker your car slows down. On some older vehicles, hitting the brake pedal too hard puts you at risk of potentially losing control due to the wheels locking up. However, since 2004, all vehicles in the UK are fitted by law with a system called ABS. ABS or ‘anti-lock braking system’ uses sensors to detect if a wheel becomes locked and if it does, the system releases the brakes for that wheel just enough for the wheel to begin rotating again.
Essentially, wheels that are not rotating do not steer, so the benefit of ABS is that you have far greater control of your vehicle, even when braking in an emergency situation.
The brake pedal is located in the middle, between the clutch and the accelerator. You’ll never need to brake and accelerate at the same time, so you use your right foot to brake, the same foot that you use to operate the accelerator.
To use the brakes, we use a technique called feel, firm and feather. This means that you push the brake pedal until you feel the brakes beginning to work, then firm on the pressure to lose the required amount of speed and finally feather the brakes to make slight adjustments.
Thank you very much very informative! I had taken 35 classes still failed in 2 tests now trying for the 3rd & last time! My trainers have never explained the functions of the ABC; they only command us to press those without explaining why we are doing so! Actually, for beginners, it’s very necessary to know all these!!!
Hi Mamatha,
Yes, you’re right! It often helps considerably to understand the basic function of something, rather than to simply tell someone when to use it. This can be particularly useful for the clutch. Good luck on your next test.
Thank you for this wonderful information.. I am a beginner and this helps me a lot in learning how to drive
You’re welcome!