Originally Posted by
FiftySix
One could always practice panic stops while shifting weight rearwards and feeling brake pressure until it becomes second nature. Then when you have to slam the brakes, you're really not slamming the brakes you're just stopping as fast as possible.
When I was much younger, we had 2 weeks of snow, I absolutely loved driving in it and got so used to it .... driving until I wanted to turn (a lot faster than all the other road users) and using the handbrake to turn in a controlled situation ... anybody watching and following me would have thought I was Finland's finest really driver and totally used to driving and controlling a car in those situations.
One day ... late for my own party, I knew the DJ was expecting to meet me at a certain time so was driving faster than I should in a panic to get there, went into a bend a bit too fast and in the snow and lost control ... my reaction .... instead of using the handbrake to control the turn (which 'd done for the previous 2 weeks) was to slam my foot on the brake and totally lost control of the car and was unable to steer it ... I was lucky I went up a bank and stopped 8" (literally) before the lamp post.
My best friend growing up, his grandfathers company provided artificial arms ... apart from war victims their biggest clients were motorcycle accidents and the most common problem, when they know they're approaching an accident, human instinct is to grab the brakes and cling onto them as hard as you can and the muscle memory doesn't let go.
This results in you holding on so hard, the bike hits the car .... or whatever it is you're braking to avoid ... and you get thrown over the top of the bike and your muscles don't let go and as you pivot over the top of the bike it literally rips your arms out of their sockets ... do you think they practiced slow braking????
My whole point is a our thought process totally absolutely goes to the wall in a survival situation which means you'll grab the front brake if that's the only one you have available and is asking to cause or at least worsen what the outcome would be with 2 brakes so to advise otherwise is irresponsible.
I'm sorry ... I'm really not having a go at anybody but I do think some of the advice is a bit under thought.
EDIT: This is the company I was referring to and my friend has been a director of the company for goodness knows how many years but started work there probably in around 1985 after finishing further education so I guess he knows a bit about what he was talking about
https://www.steepergroup.com/orthotics/