The systems that stop you, the rubber that lets them work, and the dashboard lamps that mean pull over now rather than book a service next week.
Two brakes with two jobs
The footbrake is the service brake, used for all normal slowing and stopping. Brake in a straight line before a turn, not while you are in it — a vehicle that is braking and turning at once is asking the tyres to do two things with one grip budget.
The parking brake holds a stopped vehicle, including on a slope. It is not a second service brake, though it is what you reach for if the footbrake fails. You may not leave a vehicle unattended without setting it.
The rest of this lesson
- What ABS does and does not do
- One millimetre, everywhere
- Check pressures cold
- The three lamps that mean stop
- Two gauges that are not warnings