Should You Teach Your Kid to Pump The Brake Pedal During Emergency Stops?

"The wise man avoids evil by anticipating it." ~ Publius Syrus (Roman Author, 1st Century B.C.)

The answer to that question is:

It depends...

It depends on the vehicle you're driving. Is it equipped with an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) or the old disc and drum brake combo.

The ABS does the brake pumping for you. It monitors each wheel's speed and keeps them rotating very rapidly, changing the pressure in the vehicle's brake lines to maintain maximum braking just short of locking up the wheels. This means you can steer out of trouble while braking. You can take evasive action at the same time you are slowing down.

The older disc and drum brakes that we old-timers grew up with required skillful cadenced braking during emergency stop situations in order to maintain steering control. Wasn't that fun... press the brakes until just before tire lock up, then back off a little and then deploy pressure again until near lock up, then let up slightly, then press down again, then...etc.

Geez, I'm glad they invented ABS. I get tired just writing about pumping the brakes. Anyway, if you try that with ABS you'll reduce its effectiveness.

Most newer cars have the full, four wheeled ABS package. If this is what you are driving then you'll want to teach your kid to keep that right foot firmly pressed on the brake pedal, without pumping, to let the system work for her.

Make sure she's ready for the sound, feel, and braking results as well. When she presses hard on those anti-lock brakes maybe she's going to feel a weird pulsing/vibration sensation. Or maybe the pedal will suddenly drop. Or perhaps the clicking and grinding noise will freak her out. Tell her that these things mean the system is at work. Tell her not to back off the brake until she gets down to the speed she needs to avoid the collision.

On the other hand, if she's lucky enough to be sitting behind the wheel of a 1966 Mustang or a 1956 T-Bird, then go ahead and teach her the old, cadenced braking technique.

You're going to have to teach her to work with whatever you're driving. Caution her about the other type of braking system.

Excellent Source of Studies Concerning ABS
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2006