Quit Riding Your Brakes

Do people who ride their brakes drive you as crazy as they do me? Probably not.

But that’s why I write the blog and you don’t.

I fantasize about being able to ‘talk’ to those drivers (and many others) and ask them why they do it.

Not only do other drivers not know what the heck you are doing when you ride your brakes, but it’s terrible for your car.

This completely unrelated non-driving blog says it best:

“We’re all familiar with the highway driving experience of being behind a person who is continually braking for no apparent reason. This is especially problematic if you’re in the left-hand lane. You’re zipping along at the posted speed limit and suddenly the brake lights of the car in front go on. You have to immediately react and hit your brakes. If this happens more than a couple of times, you look for the first opportunity to pass this unskilled driver. The person riding their brakes may thoughtlessly cause a serious traffic problem or worse.”

Let’s start with the practical downside of riding your breaks.

According to Car Talk, “when you’re riding your brakes for a long period of time, all that friction turns into heat, which can overheat your brakes and cause them to fail.

“What actually happens is that the brakes get red-hot, and that heats up the brake fluid. Once the brake fluid boils, it’s no longer able to transmit hydraulic pressure, and you can’t stop the car. That kind of constant heat also increases the likelihood that your brake discs will warp and need to be replaced.”

So…bad.

But, what I’m specifically concerned about is how riding your brakes impacts the drivers around you.

Are you slowing down? Are you braking for a reason?

So, I go around you and as I am passing, I look over, and you’re just tooling along oblivious to the fact that you have one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas.

Did you not take Driver’s Ed?

“Any driving school instructor worth his or her clipboard will tell you that riding the brake – putting your foot on the brake pedal however lightly when you have no intention of slowing down or stopping – is a terrible driving habit.

“Not only will it wear your brake pads out quicker than under normal driving conditions, it will create uncertainty to the drivers behind you who see your red rear brake lights on but aren’t entirely sure of your intentions.”