Driving Without Brakes (Pt 1 of many)

From 1770 to 1895, no motor vehicles on the road had brakes.

Brakes are unnatural. A horse doesn't have them. I know this from personal experience. A horse has a handbrake, which can be used to tie said horse to a tree, but applying it at speed has similar effects to applying a handbrake in a car at speed. You almost always end up going the wrong way. In my case, I went forward, & the horse had ceased to. Imagine the horse's embarrassment in finding itself casually parked under a tree, the handbrake applied (I still had the reins & was momentarily stationary), & the driver having exited through the front instead of the side access route.

My teenage foibles of long ago aside, I don't find driving cars that much safer for having brakes, but I admit to not having broken any bones doing so in the thirty-odd years I've been propelled by a petrol engine (licensed or not).

We have brakes now because we drive too fast & too badly. Those are distinct things that, along with impairment (alcohol, fatigue, drugs) account for almost all incidents on our roads. There are a very small percentage of genuine misunderstandings, momentary lapses, plainly poor roads & just bad luck.

I am careful about drinking, resting (driving with breaks), etc, & I believe I'm a conscientious driver, so the only thing left to mitigate is my speed. To that end, I have decided to drive without brakes.

"That's stupid!" I hear you cry. Well, I can imagine it, anyway, if anyone were reading this & I happened to be present.

But hear me out ... Why do you use your brakes? If you ask yourself each time you touch the brakes, think about whether it's possible that you didn't need them, if only ...

• if only I'd been going a little slower into that corner
• if only I'd realised the lights were about to change
• if only I'd noticed that pedestrian earlier
• if only I'd been looking for other cars approaching the roundabout
• if only I hadn't hit the accelerator quite so much or so quickly in heavy traffic

All of these are avoidable with a wider awareness of the traffic, the conditions, etc - but most importantly, a greater awareness of how you are driving, the sounds that the car makes when you accelerate, the sense of other cars' movements around you.

Many have said that "saving your brakes" puts a greater load on the gearbox (& clutch), but engine compression was the chief means of slowing down in early vehicles - because they didn't slow down from a high speed. If you get to a high speed & have to slow down immediately, then you've probably wasted petrol as well as brake pads.
Learning how to use your brakes less is an advanced driving technique that minimises skidding, lock-up, loss of control of the vehicle's direction, & that bruising when the seat-belt tightens or the airbags engage.

In general, becoming a driver who doesn't use their brakes can only benefit you & can never do you harm. If we could all drive without brakes, I can guarantee that there would be fewer "accidents" as well as fewer "incidents" on the road, because it's all a matter of awareness when you're behind the wheel.