Emergency Stops

Introduction

An Emergency Stop is a very rapid stop required to deal with an un-expected hazard developing very close ahead as you drive along. In fact these should be very rare events, as a good alert driver would normally be expected to forsee the hazard in time to cope with it comfortably. However even the best driver can occassionally be suprised by, say, a child running out into the road from a "blind" area.

Although sudden and vigorous, an Emergency Stop must be carried out in a controlled way to avoid loss of control of the car.

Driving Test Procedure

You may be asked to demonstrate a Controlled Emergency Stop during your driving test. This exercise is carried out on roughly one in three tests. Your Examiner will mark you on "Control" and "Promptness". Your examiner will carefully explain what is required and how the exercise is to be carried out. The procedure will be the same as used on your lessons, so it should all be familiar.

"Normal" Emergency Braking

Very quickly apply the footbrake, and progressively brake firmly. In other words start light and quickly build up to a very firm push...about one second from light to firm pressure.
In a car with manual transmission you will need to depress the clutch just before the car stops to prevent the engine from stalling.
Keep both hands on the steering wheel, and keep the steering straight as steering under extreme braking can cause a skid. This is because the tyres only have a finite ammount of grip...they can't steer and brake the car at the same time under these extreme conditions, so both functions suffer.

ABS (anti-lock brakes)

Many modern cars are fitted with ABS, which is an electro-mechanical system fitted to help in emergency situations. Quite simply it prevents the brakes from locking-up the wheels even under excessive braking. The main advantage of this is that you can steer under hard braking, which may allow you to steer round a hazard which has developed too close to you to be able to stop. Follow the advice in the car's handbook regarding braking techniques when ABS is fitted as advice may vary from car to car.

ABS does NOT reduce stopping distances.

Make sure you know the "Typical Stopping Distances" published in the Highway Code.

Cadence Braking

Cadence breaking is a technique useful in cars without ABS to give you some steering while braking firmly. The idea is that you firmly "pump" the brakes...very quickly on and off the brakes. In theory the car should slow when the brakes are applied, and steer when they're not, just like ABS. Around two to three firm pumps per second should be achievable with practice.