10 ways you can reduce car braking time

These will help you avoid accidents while driving

Everybody wants to live a relaxed life but it's the changing circumstances that urge us to act fast and break the comfort of our life. The cars are a perfect example of stop and go character of our life.

Brakes and acceleration go hand in hand.

You don't want but you have to apply immediate brakes in case of something pops up in front of you; it may be a giant pothole or an unmarked speed breaker or a pedestrian. In these instances, you wish the car could stop as quickly as possible.

Now, how to reduce that braking distance and braking time so as to lessen/avoid the possible damage?

Let's have a look at these 10 things that can help you do that.

1. Tap on speed

Stopping distance is largely divided into two types -- thinking distance and braking distance.

The former is the one when the thought to apply brakes comes to your mind and you press your foot on the brake.

While the latter is the time taken from applying brakes to the time the car comes to a halt.

If you are driving within a limited speed in the first place, the physics of stopping distance automatically reduces as the car will come to a halt faster than it would have when you were driving at higher speeds.

So, follow the rules and drive according to the speeds defined on the sign boards.

2. Maintain brakes

Another critical aspect is the brakes; well-maintained brakes will take lesser time in bringing the car to a stop compared to the ones which are poorly maintained.

Reason, the brake pads in the former, brakes will have less friction with the tyres due to their new condition. Whereas, the brake pads of poorly maintained brakes will show signs of wither due to continuous usage, which decreases their friction capability and ultimately, their efficiency in bringing the car to a halt.

This applies to both the cars, with or without ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System).

3. Tyre pressure

Remember, that it's only the tyre of your car which is in direct contact with the road surface.

An over or under inflated tyre means, surface contact of the tyre tread is more with the inner tread in the former case while, it will be more with the outer tread in the latter.

Both pressures are harmful to your vehicle as uneven tread pattern leads to a quick withering of tyres and decreases friction capability to a great extent.

Maintaining correct tyre pressure always helps you reap great benefits. Apart from helping you increase your car's fuel efficiency, it helps better the ride quality of the vehicle.

Similarly, a precisely inflated tyre as per your car's user manual will always keep them in good condition and continue to provide optimum friction while braking.

4. Uneven tread wear

The minimum recommended tyre tread depth, when it should be replaced, is 1.6mm. A brand new tyre has a tread depth of 8mm but with continuous usage, it trims leading to reduced friction levels.

For instance, a car running at 45kmph will come to a halt in 25.9 metres with tyre tread depth reading 8mm; whereas, it takes the car 35 metres to stop at the same speed with tyre tread depth reading 3mm.

Noticed the shocking increase in braking distance?

It gets even worse at the recommended 1.6mm where it can extend to as far as 43 metres.

5. Tyre quality

The quality of tyres is yet another critical aspect which helps in reducing car braking distance. It is always recommended to go for premium tyre makers like MRF, Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Apollo or JK Tyres as the tyres in these companies go through rigorous testing in extreme conditions before finally making their way out of their manufacturing facilities.

Don't worry about the extra cost you pay for these tyres as peace of mind is priceless.

Contrarily, if you go for local or budget tyres, there's no guarantee so as to how much they'll last and there's a question on their overall quality as they don't go through those tests which a branded tyre does.

Additionally, you get better mileage, durability and reliability with established brands.

6. Road conditions

Under unfavourable conditions like heavy rains, wet surfaces or snowy areas, it is always advised to drive slowly. Because no matter how great quality tyre you have or how new it is or what tyre pressure you have put, the chances of hydroplaning increases by a great degree in such scenarios.

Moreover, in snowy areas, the snow tends to accumulate in between the treads, making the braking not as effective as it would have been in normal conditions.

The tyres tend to slip in such circumstances. Thus, act smart and drive slow to eliminate the chances of a mishap in the first place.

7. Road view

Always keep a good view of the road ahead. This will help you identify a possible threat from a distance and will assist in lessening your thinking distance.

In most cases, the drivers don't pay attention to the windshield condition, which obstructs their view and spread the light glare coming from the incoming vehicles.

Moreover, the poorly maintained wiper blades are another reason to complain as far as visibility hindrance is concerned. The broken wiper blades may even decrease your visibility by smearing the smug on to the screen.

8. Distractions

With the habit of checking WhatsApp and social media notifications on the go, the drivers tend to lose their control over the vehicle. Their thinking distance goes for a toss as by the time they realise the issue, they are already into it.

Navigation is another distraction which leads to mishaps as the driver is constantly focussing on it, thereby losing the focus on the road.

The auto manufacturers are constantly working on including as many voice controlled features as possible inside car to ensure driver's concentration isn't disturbed at any cost. 

9. Drinking and driving

Drinking leads to losing your focus, be it in driving or anywhere else. But the combination of drinking and driving becomes lethal as the rationale of damage is significant and in some cases, it could lead to fatal outcomes.

Avoid mixing both the things as a moment's pleasure might ruin your life. To further curb this, the government has increased the penalties levied on such offenders.

Earlier, as per the Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988, a person found drunk while driving or under the influence of a drug was to be fined Rs 2,000 or an imprisonment of six months; now the penalty has gone up to Rs 10,000 as per the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.

Driving under such influence delays your thinking distance and one is not able to identify a potential threat and ultimately, collides with it.

10. Tired driving

It's recommended not to drive while you are too tired as you never know when the sleep will overcome you. Driving should be done when you are fresh because a tired body tends to react slowly in case of any possible threat on the road.

It's not a good idea to make your mind work when it is desperate to take a nap.

The thinking distance would go down drastically and in some cases, you might not notice the danger until you are too close to it.

On a long journey, take a break of 15 minutes in every two hours of driving or you can share driving with someone who knows driving.

Stay attentive, stay fresh and enjoy the drive.

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