I know its the middle of summer but i think anything to do with safety is relevant at any time of the year. I know this particular topic has been discussed to death but as we all know there are new immigrants coming on board all the time.
The point in question is "Braking in Slippery conditions"..................
Okay you have got the footbrake, similar to that in a car but air assisted and in practically all cases, fitted with an anti skidding system (ABS). This ABS system can sense when your wheels are locking and as they lock, it releases the brake, when the wheel starts to gain traction it applies the brakes again. This process is repeated many times per second and the result is maximum braking effect without the loss of traction which means you are applying the max braking but you still have steer and grip which equals control over the vehicle.
I know all you truckers out there already knew that but i still wrote it anyway just as a reminder because now i am going to tell you about the other 3 brakes and headline what will happen if you use them on slippery roads.
The Parking brake - this has 2 settings, on and off. This brake while driving on a slippery surface will also have 2 settings, skid and not skid. Its not a graduated brake, its either on or its off and you wouldnt dream of using it while moving.
The Jacobs Brake (Jake) or engine brake, retarder brake. Its got tons of knicknames and slang names. Some companies have their own model, Freightliner use the (Jake), it all boils down to the same thing, you activate the Jake and the engine has no motive power, not only that but the engine slows the road speed down by turning its self into a giant dynamo, the lower the gear the faster the vehicle will slow down. This componant plays a major part in holding down a vehicles speed while negotiating down grades without using the brakes, which as we all know prevents brake drums and shoes overheating and losing their fictional qualities. Fantastic idea and very usefull over here........... BUT ....................... It cant tell when you go into skid, in fact it compounds the problem because it produces friction along the road train which prevents the road wheels turning to get a bite on the road surface. So therefore, the only part it plays in driving on slippery surfaces is being switched off............dont use it !!!!
The Trailer Brake (Spike) is another fascinating entity, it applies the trailer brakes only. Im sure that more exerienced drivers than I will possibly argue that this is a life saver and that you cant drive without it but in my 12 months driving these things i have never used it. Oh excuse me i tell a lie, i have used the handle as a cap hook a couple of times but other than that it may as well not be there. In the past i have heared people say:
"If you are going into a jack knife then use the Spike to hold the trailer back and straighten the combination"
My answer to this little gem would be " If you are going into a Jack Knife situation or you trailer is coming round on you then you have already lost traction, is braking really going to rectify the problem, you muppet !!!"
The answer is simple, dont use it.
Okay the point of this post is that the only brake you use in slippery conditions is the one fitted with the ABS (the foot brake).
This combined with driving at a suitable speed for the road conditions, avoiding any heavy braking or steering is the best recipe for a safer winter driving season...........
Heed my warning if you wish, or if you chose to argue or ignore it please can you make your best effort to get all 18 wheels of the asphalt so i dont get stuck in your road closure.
The point in question is "Braking in Slippery conditions"..................
Okay you have got the footbrake, similar to that in a car but air assisted and in practically all cases, fitted with an anti skidding system (ABS). This ABS system can sense when your wheels are locking and as they lock, it releases the brake, when the wheel starts to gain traction it applies the brakes again. This process is repeated many times per second and the result is maximum braking effect without the loss of traction which means you are applying the max braking but you still have steer and grip which equals control over the vehicle.
I know all you truckers out there already knew that but i still wrote it anyway just as a reminder because now i am going to tell you about the other 3 brakes and headline what will happen if you use them on slippery roads.
The Parking brake - this has 2 settings, on and off. This brake while driving on a slippery surface will also have 2 settings, skid and not skid. Its not a graduated brake, its either on or its off and you wouldnt dream of using it while moving.
The Jacobs Brake (Jake) or engine brake, retarder brake. Its got tons of knicknames and slang names. Some companies have their own model, Freightliner use the (Jake), it all boils down to the same thing, you activate the Jake and the engine has no motive power, not only that but the engine slows the road speed down by turning its self into a giant dynamo, the lower the gear the faster the vehicle will slow down. This componant plays a major part in holding down a vehicles speed while negotiating down grades without using the brakes, which as we all know prevents brake drums and shoes overheating and losing their fictional qualities. Fantastic idea and very usefull over here........... BUT ....................... It cant tell when you go into skid, in fact it compounds the problem because it produces friction along the road train which prevents the road wheels turning to get a bite on the road surface. So therefore, the only part it plays in driving on slippery surfaces is being switched off............dont use it !!!!
The Trailer Brake (Spike) is another fascinating entity, it applies the trailer brakes only. Im sure that more exerienced drivers than I will possibly argue that this is a life saver and that you cant drive without it but in my 12 months driving these things i have never used it. Oh excuse me i tell a lie, i have used the handle as a cap hook a couple of times but other than that it may as well not be there. In the past i have heared people say:
"If you are going into a jack knife then use the Spike to hold the trailer back and straighten the combination"
My answer to this little gem would be " If you are going into a Jack Knife situation or you trailer is coming round on you then you have already lost traction, is braking really going to rectify the problem, you muppet !!!"
The answer is simple, dont use it.
Okay the point of this post is that the only brake you use in slippery conditions is the one fitted with the ABS (the foot brake).
This combined with driving at a suitable speed for the road conditions, avoiding any heavy braking or steering is the best recipe for a safer winter driving season...........
Heed my warning if you wish, or if you chose to argue or ignore it please can you make your best effort to get all 18 wheels of the asphalt so i dont get stuck in your road closure.
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