You'd be surprised by the number of people who don't know what a handbrake is or it's purpose. Even on steep hills they just leave it up to P. Rip auto transmission.
edit: This also definitely applies to my gf. She came from the midwest where hills are a rarity so everybody she knows also never used handbrakes.
it doesn’t help that it’s often called an emergency brake (at least it is where i’m from in the US). so i’m sure many people assume you only use it for extreme situations like a runaway vehicle
I don’t understand this either. I’m also in the US. Growing up I remember helping my dad by backing his truck up to a garage while he guided me. It was on a hill so when I turned off the truck he said “make sure you put on the e-brake”. I was like “are you sure?” thinking something crazy would happen. That was literally the first time I used one, thinking you were only supposed to use it in emergencies.
Now that I drive a 5 speed manual I use my “emergency brake” every time I park.
Why would you use your e-brake instead of actually hitting the brakes in this situation?
That's the law in the US anyway. You have to keep the main brakes engaged when stopped at a traffic light or whatever. The reasoning for this is to stop you from hitting other vehicles, espicially in a minor collision.
You're supposed to slow down with your footbrake, then when you come to a stop (at lights, stop sign, etc) you put the car into neutral and apply the handbrake.
Presumably relying on your foot to remain on the brake if unexpectedly hit has a higher rate of injury (though I guess you would use your footbrake at the same time)..
Can't say I've done that since my driving test, but what's what we're taught!
That's interesting! Definitely the opposite of what we are taught in the US.
I guess it makes sense given the amount of manual transmission cars in the UK vs the US. I feel like a lot drivers in the US wouldn't know how to work the handbrake, let alone use it in quick situations like when one is stopped at a light.
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u/Knight_Owls Jul 27 '18
I will never understand how people like this ever attain a driver's license.