While doing some reading about brakes due to a small mishap with the system in my car, I came across something called Brake Assist. This concept sparked my curiosity, so I decided to do some more research to get some more information on the topic.
What is brake assist? Brake assist is a system that is automatically built into the brakes of most cars. In the event that there is an emergency and you have to brake hard or fast, brake assist will come in to apply some extra pressure in order to stop the car much quicker than usual.
When it comes to driving at high speeds or on widely populated roads, it is increasingly important to have control over when your vehicle is moving and stopping. If you happen to find yourself in a situation where you need to stop abruptly in order to avoid an accident or violation, your brake assist function can help.
In this article, we will be covering everything that you need to know about brake assist in cars. Keep reading to get all of the details on this process.
What Is Brake Assist?
In the world of automobiles, the term brake assist is almost exactly what it sounds like. When you are braking in your car, this system can assist you in doing so properly. So, what are all of the details of something like this?
In this section, you will get a brief overview of what brake assist actually is, before we dive into deeper explanations throughout the rest of this article. As a quick reference, take a look at the main points below that describe the characteristics of brake assist.
Brake Assist:
- Emergency braking system
- Recognizes when an emergency occurs and reacts accordingly
- Applies more pressure to the brakes when needed
- Can stop the car more abruptly in emergencies
- Usually used with ABS (anti-lock braking systems)
Brake assist is defined as an emergency braking system, meaning that it is activated when the driver is in an emergency and needs to stop the car quickly. The advanced technology within the system is able to recognize when an event like this occurs, due to preset thresholds, and reacts accordingly whenever necessary.
The main concept of the brake assist is that it will be able to stop the car more abruptly in emergencies, instead of waiting for the system to roll to a complete stop like you normally would.
Brake assists is usually used with ABS systems, also known as anti-lock braking systems. Both of these functions work together in order to stop the car quickly and efficiently without causing too much damage to the tires and brakes, if at all possible.
With the basic understanding of what brake assist is and a general explanation of what it is for, you might be wondering how a system like this is able to carry out such convenient and advanced functions.
Keep reading to the next section to find out more details about the brake assist process from point A to point Z.
How Does Brake Assist Work?
The brake assist function is powerful in the event of a braking emergency. With the power to sense when the driver needs help and consequently push on the brakes even harder to ensure that the vehicle comes to a complete stop, it can literally be a life saver.
In this section, we will be diving into the topic of how brake assist actually works on the inside, from the detection of the problem to the execution of the braking.
The list below will provide you with the main points of this discussion, with more details to follow underneath.
How Brake Assist Works:
- Electronic control unit (ECU) collects and stores information about braking thresholds
When threshold maximum is exceeded, brake assist is notified to stop the car
Braking power is increased by the brake assist system
The brake assist function comes with an electronic control unit, or ECU, that collects and stores information about the breaking thresholds of the driver that are considered to be normal behavior.
These threshold amounts are previously set, and will help the brake assist to notice when something is out of place.
When the threshold maximum is exceeded, which is usually how hard the driver normally pushes on the brakes on a regular basis, the system will be notified to start taking action toward stopping the car.
As a result, the braking power that is exerted onto the brakes by the driver pushing on the brake pedal will be increased and pushed forward quickly in order to bring the car to a complete stop as soon as possible.
At this point, you are probably amazed with all of the advanced things that a brake assist function can do for you. However, there are some limits to how far it can go, which will be outlined in the next section.
Are There Any Limits to Brake Assist?
After reading all of this information about what brake assist is and how it works, you might be wondering just how far this type of system can go when you find yourself in a time of need.
If you are thinking of kicking back in the driver’s seat and letting your brake assist function do all of the work for you, then you are out of luck. While it is true that brake assist can offer a lot of assistance when it detects that you are in an emergency braking situation, ti will not be able to work properly without these actions on your end.
In this section, we will be going over the limitations for brake assist, which are briefly outlined as well as explained in detail down below.
Limits To Brake Assist:
- Speeding
- Impaired Driving
- Tired/Fatigued Driving
- Distracted Driving
While you are driving, it is important to keep in mind the behaviors that are listed above and avoid them as much as possible. The items on the list indicate scenarios that the brake assist function will not be able to help you out of, due to choices that you are making as the driver.
To put it more simply, the brake assist function can help you out when you are driving carefully and need a little bit of an extra push on the brakes in an emergency, but it will not save you when you are driving recklessly or not paying attention.
So, you should avoid speeding, impaired driving, tired or fatigued driving, as well as being distracted while you are behind the wheel.
As mentioned previously, the brake assist function will only work in order to help you, not to do the work for you. This means that you should be watching the road closely so that you will be able to catch any potential dangers and take action toward stopping the car as promptly as possible.
Brake Assist Function Limits:
- Cannot see potential dangers
- Must push on the brakes with increased pressure
One of the downsides to brake assist is that there is no special vision detection that the system has from within the car. As you might have already learned form the previous information, you must let the brake assist know that something is in the way of where you are driving, instead of the other way around.
Lastly, you must push on the brakes with increased amounts of pressure, almost as hard as you possibly can, in order to show up on the radar of the system at all.
To conclude, the brake assist function can be increasingly helpful while you are driving, as long as you are paying close attention and following the rules of the road.