when your brakes fail, can you shift to Reverse in order to stop the vehicle? why or why not?

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I’m mostly thinking about a scenario where you are going down a highway (say, at 120kmh for the sake of the example) and suddenly your brakes fail

could shifting to Reverse function as a brake in that situation?

edit: thank you all for the answers, I want to note that I myself don’t drive and did not consider doing this, I was just wondering if this was possible

have a lovely day o/

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75 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

No, in a manual transmission you simply won’t be able to, the gears are turn the wrong direction. In an automatic when you are going faster than around 5mph a reverse inhibitor keeps the transmission from engaging reverse. What you should do is select a lower gear so the engine will slow you down. Downshift if you have a manual, or with an automatic many cars will let you select 1st and 2nd gear. Also you can use your emergency brake, that’s what it’s for, just be careful with it because it can lock your tires causing you to slide, be ready to release it if you lock your tires.

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