When I was in the car with a friend recently, I noticed that the brakes seemed to be locking up throughout the ride. Wanting to find out more about what was happening, I did some reading online to come up with a detailed explanation on why brakes lock up.
Why do brakes lock up? The brakes in a car will lock up when the friction inside of them is too great in comparison the the friction between the ties and the road.
When there is too much pressure on the brake pedal, the reaction that happens within the inner components will cause the tires to remain still and slide across the surface of the road, losing all traction because they couldn’t keep up with the force that was exerted on the braking system.
Having your brakes lock up in the middle of the road can be a scary thing, especially when you are not prepared for it. If you have ever wondered what actually causes this phenomenon, the information in this article will give you the answers to all of your questions. Keep reading for a detailed explanation on why brakes lock up, as well as what you can do if it ever happens to you.
Why Do Brakes Lock Up?
Brakes locking is a very common occurrence among vehicles, and is likely to happen to everyone at some point. If you have ever been driving at high speeds and slammed on your brakes, you might have felt that you were still sliding forward, only the tires were no longer spinning.
When you are trying to come to a complete stop with your foot pushing all the way down on the brake pedal but you seem to have lost control of the car, it is very likely that your brakes have locked on you.
This can be very nerve-racking, because when your brakes lock you have little to no control over the direction in which your vehicle is moving.
So, what actually causes brakes to lock up? This is the question that we will be answering in this section. Take a look at the list down below to find a brief explanation of this concept, and keep reading to get all of the details.
Why Brakes Lock Up:
- Too much friction in brakes
- Not enough friction between tires and road
- Tires stop rotating while vehicle is still in motion
- Brakes lock up
The main reasoning behind locked brakes lies in the amount of friction within them. When you use the braking system, there are two general points of contact that create friction between each other. The first one is inside of the braking system. This is where the individual components of the brakes will come in contact in order to slow down and stop the vehicle.
The second point of contact is between the actual tires and the road. When you are driving, the wheels on your car are gripping onto the ground, allowing you to stay in one place without turning or spinning around.
When there is too much friction in the brakes, usually due to the driver slamming on the pedal at fast speeds, the wheels will not have enough time to catch up.
In other words, the friction inside of the braking system will be greater than the friction between the tires and the road. As a result, the tires will stop moving while the vehicle is still in motion, causing them to slide over the pavement.
During this event, the brakes will be locking up inside of the car. You will notice that you are not able to turn the steering wheel, and the car is not stopping even though you are putting pressure on the braking system.
For a quick recap on how the braking system of a car actually locks up while it is in motion, refer to the list down below.
Brakes Locking Up – Explained:
- Brakes are hit with too much force
- The friction between the brakes and the disc becomes stronger than the friction between the road and the tires
- Wheel is not able to counteract the pressure from the brakes
- Wheels stop rotating and slide across the surface of the road
What To Do When Your Brakes Lock Up
There is no doubt that having your brakes lock up unexpectedly is a frightening circumstance. If you find yourself in this scenario, it is best to be prepared with what you should do in order to solve the problem, instead of waiting until it happens.
Not knowing what to do in this situation can be dangerous, because you will never be able to adequately come up with a solution if you are stressing. In this section, we will be covering the topic of what to do when your brakes lock up.
Take note of the tips that are outlined in the list down below, and keep them in mind whenever you have to deal with locked brakes in the future.
What To Do When Your Brakes Lock Up:
- Keep the brakes locked up and try to gain as much control over your vehicle as possible
- Step off the brake pedal to allow the wheels to get traction again
- Stab braking technique
When it comes to brakes locking up, there are a few ways that you can go about handling the situation. There are three options, to be exact.
The first thing that you can do is just keep the brakes locked up and wait for the car to come to a complete stop. This will involve keeping your foot pushing onto the brakes and waiting for the sliding to come to an end.
When you decide to keep the brakes locked up, it is important to keep in mind that you will have little to no control over the steering wheel and the direction in which your vehicle is moving, although you can try to control it as much as you possibly can.
This method will not be ideal for highly populated areas such as a public road or a freeway where you are heading in the direction of other cars, because your car will basically end up wherever it decides to stop, even if that means running into something.
You wouldn’t want that to be another car or a person, so it is vital that you think on your feet and make the decision of whether or not you should keep the brakes locked or try to unlock them immediately.
In order to unlock the brakes, you will step off of the brake pedal briefly, During this time, the wheels on the car will be able to regain the traction that they once had on the road.
After giving the tires a break, you should be able to effectively stop the car soon after. This option will give you more control of the vehicle’s direction, and you will be able to get control of the steering wheel once again. Even if you are not able to push on the brakes and stop the car right away, you can at least decide where you will be going.
The last option for getting out of a situation where your brakes are locking up is to use the stab braking technique. This is essentially a combination of the first two methods.
You will begin by taking your foot off the brakes and pumping them in short bursts. This will allow you to get control of the steering wheel while slowing the vehicle down at the same time.
Now that you understand how to fix locked brakes as well as what causes them, you should have no problem preparing for a similar circumstance should you ever experience this.