While driving a car in a crowded place or parking in a small area, we all know how important the reaction time is. In fact, it’s a nightmare for every driver to go through a crowded place where they have to use the brakes to avoid crashes or accidents.
If you drive a car daily, you’ve used the cover braking. Well, you might not know the name of it, but you used it in your daily life. Covering the brake technique is using the right foot on top of your left one to use it for braking.
However, if you haven’t used it, well, you’re actually missing out on something important and big. So that’s why it’s important to know what is cover braking and when should you cover the brake.
What Is Cover Braking?
So before we head on to know the benefits of covering the brake technique, we first need to know what covering the brakes means. Brake cover is a frequent method employed in various situations by drivers. It doesn’t need to be thoughtful or a particular effort. It’s a simple movement that will allow both you and your car to stay safe on a long-term basis.
While driving a car, we use our left leg to press the brakes and the right one to accelerate the car. But when driving in a congested area, the accelerator has almost little to no work as you’ve to use the brakes frequently. So that’s where cover the brake techniques comes in handy.
As there’s no work for the right leg, you simply just put it over the left one (you need to hover it, not press it). More specifically, you’d glide above the brake pedal and barely contact it with the lower side of your shoe. This technique allows to react quickly and helps to press the brakes quickly.
Hearing this, you might think this technique is not that useful But trust me, it actually is. 90% of the people have a quick reaction with the right leg over the left one. So when you put this leg on top of the left leg ultimately on the brake, it’ll be much easier to stop our car by applying the brake lever. This technique prepares you to react to everything quickly.
Simply put, here’s what covering the break is-
- Shift your right leg from the accelerator to your left leg on the brake
- Just touching the right leg on the left feet on (no pressure)
- Not applying the brake lever with two legs. Rather, it’s a preparation for quick reacting and applying brakes in need.
When Should You Cover the Brake?
You’ve already learned what covering the brake is. So that leaves to know, when should you cover the brake. Well, that’s exactly what we are gonna discuss in this part. In a scenario where you need to stop quickly, it’s preferable to react well. In certain cases, your foot/hand will be above the brake pedal, allowing you to simply press down on the brakes and come to a complete stop.
You may have just saved a few meters in your stop since you braked a matter of seconds faster. It might also be the primary difference between a grave catastrophe and the saving of oneself.
When driving through heavy traffic, one should cover the brake is. In this instance, you must always guarantee that you can quickly come to a complete stop or hit the rear brakes or brake pads as the situation dictates. As a result of cover braking, you will be able to make a seamless transition from high acceleration to breaking. It’s also effective for slowing or stopping over short distances.
Wondering when should you cover the brake? Well, let’s take a look at some of the common scenarios-
- Parked Cars
In your daily life, as a driver, we’ve to deal with some parked vehicle. Cover your brake to prevent getting into trouble. It would be best if you also keep your distance from any parked car to the width of a car door. If you see any car door opens suddenly, you need to cover your brake quickly.
- Cars That has Brake Lights on
If you notice any car turn on its brake lights, you must cover the brake. As a result, even if the car behind won’t stop, you’ll be able to stop your car and avoid the collision.
- Signal Lights
While crossing a signal light, sometimes you might have to hit a brake in time. Braking will ensure that you don’t need t worry about hitting or getting into something or anything in the neighborhood.
So it’s recommended to put your right leg over the left one and cover the brake while you cross a signal.
- Slippery Roads
It’s a difficult driving situation to drive a car on a slick track. This circumstance is more likely than anything else to test your riding skills. When you cover the brake on a slick track, you might need to apply the emergency brake and slow down quickly, especially if you sense that the car tires are slipping and rushing through the mud.
Covering the break will provide you sufficient traction to retain your bike as it goes across the course.
- Crowded Place
When you’re a driver in traffic or going through a crowded place with your car, you cannot accelerate it all the time. In most cases, you’ve to hit the brakes to avoid accidents. After all, someone can suddenly come out of somewhere and force you to stop. It’s a part of your driving skills as well.
In this scenario, if you think the normal braking is enough, you’re wrong then. You’ve to rat quickly, and that’s why you need to cover the brake at once!
- Off-Roads
If you’ve driven through muddy areas, you know how difficult it is to control the cars and hit the brakes. As we all know, off-roads are mostly narrow, muddy and bumpy. There’s a possibility that, an animal can come across your car anytime, and you’ve got a few seconds to hit the brakes. You need to quickly react and save yourself from a unpleasant accident, as the response time is narrow. So always use the cover the brake technique.
Conclusion:
Covering the brake is not a choice but a necessity and must be performed at all times while driving your car through crowded places, signals, or even while parking it. Making yourself used to cover the brake will allow you to drive safer and prevent your risk of injury on the road. Overall, there’s no covering too much of the brake.
So when should you cover the brake? You already know! If you’re using this covering the braking technique, now’s the time to make it a habit!
