Is the hand brake redundant?
 

Recent discussion in another thread regarding the application (or otherwise) of the hand brake on a V70 made me think.

I also have an automatic V70 and while I apply the hand brake when parked on the street as per the law's demands, I leave it off when parked on my drive, especially if the car is to be left for any length of time. I adopted the same practice with my automatic 1, 2, 7 and 9 series cars; leaving the manuals in first or reverse gear when facing up or down hill.

I think some of the confusion regarding the brake's use is in it's name. If we referred to it as the 'parking' brake, it's intended use would become more clear. Our American cousins refer to it as the 'emergency' brake, indicating that it is intended to arrest the car in the event of the main (foot) brake failing (much less likely since dual circuit brakes became the norm, I agree). This supports the view that the brake is strong enough to hold the car in any circumstances.

Way back in the late '60s, just after I had passed my test on a 'modern' A40, I drove an early Austin 7 owned by a friend. This car had rear wheel brakes controlled by a foot pedal, and front wheel brakes controlled by a hand lever - truly a 'hand' brake. The brakes did become coupled on later cars as the model evolved. This system required a degree of planning and control in use if one wanted to stop safely!

Much later - hands up anyone who ever (mis)used the brake to perform a hand brake turn in an original Mini!

So, in the 21st century, and at the dawn of the age of driverless cars, is the hand brake redundant?

Regards, John.

The "handbrake" has been called Parking Brake for many years now but both mean the same thing of course , A mechanical device independent of the main hydraulic system to lock at least two wheels on the same axle to prevent the vehicle running away .

The Parking brake can never be redundant , how are you going to stop the car running away on a hill for example ? How will you Pass the MOT Test? The Law also requires one .

These electric Parking Brakes are not really Independent of the cars systems , if the main fuse blows for some non brake related problem you have no Parking Brake , likewise , when the electronics fail ( yes they do ) you are stuck where you are for quite a while , surely the Construction and Use Act has been revised to allow these things ?

Having watched some videos of automatic gearbox strip downs, I'd not want to leave mine with the transmission in Park & with no (electric) handbrake applied.

The pawl that engages with Park is really there to protect the transmission from being rotated with no oil pressure, & as others say elsewhere, I suspect it would snap off inside the box if subject to shock such as being hit by another car.

I leave my auto 940 in neutral with the handbrake on wherever I park unless on a hill I put it in park for good measure.

Those of us with manual transmission would struggle with hill starts if we had no hand/parking brake.

Something I never gave thought to until having official driving tuition is that the handbrake is important when stopped at pedestrian crossings as in the unlikely event of someone rear ending you, with just the footbrake you are more likely in your suddenly dazed state to roll forward in to crossing pedestrians.

Also, a pet hate of mine at night is people stood on their brake for ages in a queue dazzling stationary traffic behind - personally if I know I'm going to be sat there for any length of time I don't find it too taxing to lift a handle.

I read something recently about most handbrakes now being electronic. I love electronic parking brakes, brilliant. So much easier to use.

The (automatic) Merc E320CDI I owned some years ago had a useful feature in that the column lever which operated the cruise control could also be pulled once backwards when stationary to lock the brakes on & pushed away to release them again, useful when pulling out from a steep hill on a junction or even holding the car stationary in traffic.
I noticed in some American movies & TV series from old that characters would pull up in a car & then after the engine was turned off the car would move forward about a foot, I realised that they'd put the car in "park" & it was moving forward a little until the pawl & ratchet engaged in the 'box after they'd taken their foot off the brake pedal.
I've always just used "P" when leaving an automatic parked, my other half always applies the handbrake as well as "P", so at least it gets some exercise :wink_smile:

They are finished! Can't figure out how they got away with going all that electric ****! The mot used to argue they were required incase of emergency. therefore I believe they should be cabled operated by lever in a convenient place and independent from the foot brake mechanisms.
What was ever wrong with manual handbrake!
Who would ever use or have time to find the electric button in an emergency? Proper handbrake was driver control!

The problem was people all had different strengths when pulling the lever up and sometime cars ran away down hill when parked and killed people ...

At least with the electric handbrake you know it is firmly on ... ( It's cheaper to make too of course ! )