The document provides an overview of how brakes work in a vehicle. It explains that braking force from the brake pedal is transferred through hydraulic lines and pistons to the wheels, where friction is used to slow the tires and stop the vehicle. It also describes features like ABS that help regulate braking on slippery roads. The document emphasizes the importance of brakes and advises drivers to get any potential brake problems checked immediately.

1. GUIDE TO THE BRAKES
You just can’t take your brakes for granted. Here’s
how they work.

2. INTRO
 Brakes are possibly the single most important
part of any car. After all, if you don’t have them,
you can’t stop. A pretty important part of driving,
we’re sure everyone would agree!
 Unfortunately though, many people take them
for granted, and only notice faults with them
when something goes wrong.
 As such, we’ve prepared this guide aiming to
illustrate how your brakes work, hopefully it’ll
give you a better understanding of them, and will
alert you to potential issues quicker.

3. BASIC PRINCIPLES
 A lot of people don’t understand how putting
pressure on your brake pedal can lead to your car
stopping. That’s fair enough!
 In short, when you put pressure on a brake
pedal, this transmits this force to your car’s
brakes through a fluid. Your car transmits this
force through both leverage and hydraulic force
multiplication.
 Want that in something closer resembling
layman’s terms? Read on…

4. TIRES
 The force from your brake pedal is transferred to
your tires using friction, just like the tires
transmit that force to the road surface itself
using friction.
 Naturally, the harder your press on your pedal
the stronger the reaction from your brakes.

5. BRAKE PEDAL
 The brake pedal is designed in such a way that
the that it absorbs the force of your foot. This
pressure is then transferred to your hydraulic
system.
 Despite everyone knows the principle of a brake
pedal, taking the time to stop and look at it’s
design shows just how clever it is.

6. HYDRAULIC SYSTEM
 The hydraulic system transfers the pressure from
your foot to your tires.
 The most basic way to describe a hydraulic
system would be this: force applied at one point is
transmitted to another using an incompressible
fluid (usually some sort of oil).
 These two points usually consist of two pistons
which are fitted into glass cylinders full of oil.
Force is transferred between these pistons
through downward force being applied to one
(through the brake pedal).

7. LEAKAGE
 A potential problem with a brake system that
relies so heavily on fluids is leakage. If fluid
leaks, eventually there won’t be enough fluid left
to fill your brake cylinder, resulting in non-
functioning brakes.
 Fortunately, most modern cars are designed to
deal with these potential failures. However, it’s
worth finding out a little more about them – you
can never be too careful.

8. ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEMS
 Many modern cars are fitted with Anti-Lock
Braking Systems (or ABS for short), which aims
to help cars stopping on a slippery road.
 A very simple ABS system would have a
controller which monitors speed sensors at all
times. If it finds decelerations in the wheel that
are out of the ordinary, it reduces the pressure to
that brake until it sees an acceleration, then
increases the pressure until it sees a
deceleration.
 The upshot of this is that the tire slows down at
the same rate as the car, with the brakes
preventing the tires from locking up.

9. THINK YOU’VE GOT A BRAKE PROBLEM?
 Then get it looked at either way. While it might
seem like a no-brainer for some, other people
might be tempted to drive it to a garage – don’t
do it!
 Get a mechanic to come and look at it where you
are, or call to get your car towed.
 Driving with bad brakes isn’t worth it – if you
crash, the best case scenario is dealing with
cracked windshield repair, the worst is life itself.
 Get them looked at!