Emergency stopping (question)

The park brakes and service break are the same shoe.

Pulling the trailer brakes will stop the trailer service brake from getting air, which means they rely on spring pressure only very bad idea

 

Hit the shoulder . put it in the ditch if thats ur only choice. Do not whatever u do hit stopped traffic , because if u kill somebody there is not a good enough lawyer out there to get u out of it.. But really in all honesty being a good driver is about anticipation . a good driver that sees a blind corner he is fully expecting there to be stopped traffic and should already have the break covered with his foot and letting gravity coast his truck and naturally decresing his speed. Dont be one of those guys hauling ### in the left lane trying to pass a truck in the right lane while going around a right hand curve and never backing off. U cant see anything from that spot , one these days some these guys is gonna kill somebody. Just be aware , its the same thing with stoplights . the best way to be able to break for it is if u come up on a green light thats been green awhile and there is cross traffic sitting there waiting, chances are it will change, u should have ur foot covering the break and when i get close enough i hammer back down. During bad weather im slowing more and my zone for stopping is shorter and im not scared to run thru that split second red light if i have to on ice or heavy rain, or even depends if im hauling certain loads that like to move. Flatbed has taught me to be a good driver or atleast try to think about what im doing and how the freight will react to it.. But really Anticipation is the key to staying out of trouble

 

Just the same as not overdriving your headlights you want to be careful around blind corners. The heavier you are the better your traction typically so that's not a huge concern.

 

You get the most traction when the tires are at the verge of locking up. If you pull trailer park brakes on, you risk locking up all the trailer tires. Bad because of several reasons:

•You have much less traction when tires are skidding, which increases stopping distance.

•Your ABS system, which prevents wheel lockup, works on the service brakes. It will have ZERO effectiveness if you set the trailer park brakes.

• If the trailer tires lock, you risk major loss of control.



Reader's Digest version: Very bad idea.

 

You know what, you probably weren't anticipating what was around a turn from the sounds of it and I'm glad nothing bad happened. Good on ya for coming on here and describing your problem and wanting to learn how to get better....not many people do that unfortunately.

 

1) Expect the unexpected.
2) Avoid the collision.
3) Aim high in steering.

1 & 3 - Just like these guys that fly down hills. I've often wondered where they get those guarantees nothing is blocking the road around the next bend.

 

Everyone pretty well summed up what I would say. Bad idea. Use the brake pedal. Abs and all that helps ya control now days.

I will say this, if u dont have a CB get one. If u have one and u keep it off, stop. Lol I cant tell a how many times I have been coming up to a slow down or stopped traffic and been warned on the cb. While every time I have seen it before they hollar on the radio, it's still been nice to know. Its annoying sometimes, but still pretty useful tool deom time to time. Just my $0.02 be safe out there.

 

I know of someone who did this in a bad snow/ice storm... didn't end well a few years ago. It started a big pile up, like 30 vehicles.

Terrible idea because unlike using the brakes once you pull the parking brakes you won't be able to release them.

So if it starts to jackknife after setting the brakes you're screwed. If you just use the service brakes and start to skid you release the brakes a bit, and your able to gain control to avoid the traffic by stopping in time, or using the shoulder or ditch if needed.