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Imagine taking the off ramp of the freeway touching the brake to slow down for the tight corner and nothing happens. Even pressing the brake pedal as hard as you can does nothing. How do you avoid crashing and having to send your car to the collision specialist to be repaired?

Staying calm is the single most effective thing you can do in this situation. Yes, it’s easier said than done when you’re speeding down a road with no way to stop. But keeping calm and steering to avoid hazards and other traffic is the best way to stay in one piece. Turn on your hazard lights to warn the people around you that something is wrong, even if they don’t know what it is.

Keep pumping the brake as you go because you may be able to rebuild enough brake pressure to get them working, even for a little bit. Don’t worry if you have ABS as it only kicks in when you brake too hard, which won’t be the case here!

If you have a manual, start shifting down the gears, without wrecking the engine. Use your judgement when to change gear, being especially aware when you get to 2nd or 1st gear. If you have an automatic then switch it into low gear as soon as you can.

Use the emergency brake if you can. It isn’t designed to stop a moving car but will slow you down to a stop in time. Do it steadily, don’t snatch it or you could spin out. If none of these mechanical measure work, find an open stretch of road away from pedestrians and traffic and let the car coast to a stop. If you are lucky enough to be near a hill, head for it and let gravity do its thing.

If you aren’t slowing down much or worse, are heading downhill, look for a truck emergency lane or somewhere to run off the road. These are dangerous manoeuvres but may have to be considered if you aren’t losing enough speed. Grass, gravel, shrubbery or anything like that will help you scrub speed while remaining mostly in control.

Other methods such as using the central reservation or crash barriers are only advisable if you are confident you could remain in control of the car. If you lose it then an accident is going to happen and you will probably be hurt, or write off the car. A collision with other vehicles is also not advisable. It may look good on TV, but hitting an unsuspecting driver from behind is likely to injure them as well as you.

Avoiding an auto accident while not having any brakes is as much a matter of luck as it is judgement. By following these straightforward steps you can avoid disaster and hopefully only end up with the car in the shop rather than you in hospital.

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