Have A Brake. Have It Checked.

Have A Brake. Have It Checked.

By Taga Ibaan Ako

Year after year, all over the world, number of vehicular death casualties keeps on piling up due to faulty brake system. Back in time up to the present, there were several recorded road accidents due to the same reason.

For most of the time, trucks and buses are often the ones seen on road mishaps due to the same reason. Others would even use it an alibi. But actually, they just don’t want to admit how fool they are and to avoid being blamed for the lives they have mutilated. But of course, other vehicles can not be exempted from this; cars, SUVs and others, they too have their own brake system. And yes, everyone’s life depends on them as well.

In the Philippines alone, you can almost have a deaths log book in counting those who lost their lives in connection with car brakes. In December 11, 2007, 5 killed and 60 were injured in a series of NLEx road accidents. A multi-vehicle accident involving 11 vehicles resulted to the death of a 7-year-old boy, injuring 4 others in the same road, June 6, 2008.

On the other hand, at least 15 people, including four children, were killed and 48 others injured when a bus lost its brakes and rammed a concrete wall along the road in Barangay Don Andres Soriano in Toledo City, Cebu, last July 5, 2010.

Senator Ralp Recto’s sister Plinky Recto also got involved into this back in March 12. Reports said that Recto was driving her Nissan pick-up heading to Katipunan Avenue when her vehicle was rammed by an Isuzu truck driven by Teddy Galang at 1 p.m. The truck reportedly lost its brakes and hit Recto’s car.

The latest was in August 18, 2010 where 41 people were killed when a packed bus left the mountain resort city of Baguio en route to San Fernando, La Union plunged into a ravine after its brakes failed. Even President Noy Aquino got so frustrated about it and finds a “brake malfunction’ alibi to be a lame one.

Symptoms of Brake Failure

What are the symptoms them of brake failure? They can differ, depending on the type of brake system you have. As you read them, understand that you don’t win a prize if you wait until your brakes display all the signs of failure before you do something about them. Get them at least properly checked why you see the first symptom.

Sign of auto brake problems include:

1. The brake pedal just keeps dropping lower inch which is a good sign that there is less there to offer resistance.

2. The brake pedal feels very soft or spongy or requires you to pump it.

3. It takes longer to get a response from the brakes.

4. Serious noise when you apply the brake pedal.

5. Perceptible vibrations as you apply the brake pedal.

6. Grabbing or pulling the car side ways every time you push the pedal.

How To Diagnose A Brake Problem

The brakes in your car have got to be the component that you rely on the most. Though you may not consciously think about it, you sure would if they suddenly didn't work. Don't forget about your brakes. They need maintenance as much as any other part of the vehicle does. Checking the brakes as well as the brake fluid is something that you should have written on your calendar along with things like oil change and transmission flush. Here’s how you can diagnose a brake problem.

Instructions

1. Check the brake fluid if the brake light is on.
2. Understand that a high-pitched scraping or squealing noise that goes away when you step on the brake tells you that the brake pads are worn - but only with brake pads that have wear sensors attached.
3. Note that a grinding, metal-against-metal sound when braking indicates that it's too late: Your brake pads or shoes are completely worn away, and you are now ruining the rotors or drums. You should have gotten the brakes checked earlier!
4. Feel the brake pedal. If it is soft or mushy or gets harder and higher when you pump it, you might need to bleed the brakes (which get air bubbles out of the brake lines).
5. Note that if the brake pedal slowly sinks to the floor when you step on it (or intermittently), you might be in need of a new brake master cylinder.
6. Drive the car at low speed, braking as needed. If the brakes squeal, you might need new brake pads, or the brake rotors might need to be resurfaced or machined.
7. Understand that if the car pulls to one side when braking, you might have insufficient hydraulic pressure in one part of the brake system, or one brake might be sticking. Front-end problems can also cause this symptom
8. Consider your rotors if you feel a pulsation when stepping on the brake pedal, particularly when braking at higher speeds. This symptom may indicate warped brake rotors. The rotors will need to be either machined or replaced.
9. Remember that smoking brakes, usually accompanied by a very bad smell, indicate a stuck brake caliper or wheel cylinder. This symptom may also be caused by driving with the hand brake on or by a stuck hand-brake cable.

Checking and taking care of your brake system not only increases the life span of your can. It can also preserve the selling value of your car in the long run. But more importantly, a well functioning brake system saves lives.

(Sources: www.articlesbase.com, www.journal.com.ph, www.ehow.com, www.journal.com.ph, www.philstar.com, www.beatthegmat.com, abs-cbnNEWS.com, and http://newsinfo.inquirer.ne http://images.search.yahoo.com)

List of Vehicular Accidents Due To Faulty Brake System

1963

US. June 10. An open truck carrying 49 Boy Scouts and leaders stalls while climbing a hill en route to Hole in the Rock Road, Utah loses its brakes, and plunges into Carscass Wash, killing 13.

1976

Guatemala. March 10. A regular route bus lost control due to brake failure and plunged down a mountain side in Central Escuintla, Guatemala, killing 38, another 14 are injured.

Indonesia. October 31. A tourist bus collided head on with a mini bust at the outskirt of Bogor, West Java, Indonesia due to brake failure, killing 34 and injuring 25 others.

1981

India. April 14. A bus carrying Hindu Pilgrims swerved to the left of the road, and negotiating a turn with brakes failures of the road, caught fire at Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, India, killing 61.

Philippines. July 21. A bus over turned after brake failure and ploughed through a crowded market at Halsema Expressway, Atok, Benguer, killing 28 and injuring 70.

1986

South Africa. May 12. An over crowded bus lost control due to brake failure and flipped over near Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, Tanskei, South Africa, killing 30. Another 64 are injured.

1989

Peru. May 19. A Lima-Huancayo regular route bus carrying 60 passengers slammed on brakes but failed to avoid a pile of construction blocking bridged, and plunged 90-foot into a Mantaro River, outskirt of Jauja, Junin Region, Peru, killing 45.

1998

Zimbabwe. January 5. Forty-three (43) killed and more than 60 seriously injured when a bus plunged down a steep slope in Nyanga district, after the brakes of the bus failed.

(Source; http://en.wikipedia.org)