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My son is about to sit his driving test and we've been going through the practical questions that now form part of the test. Most are sensible (how to check levels, tyres etc) but one seems really odd to me - Question "Show me how you would check the parking brake for excessive wear." Model answer "Demonstrate by applying parking brake that when it is fully applied it secures itself, and is not at the end of the working travel." Its that last bit that's odd. I haven't had a car since an original Mini on which you could readily see any adjustment mechanism that might (even then stretching a point) indicate you were "at the end of the working travel". In practice I'd always base it on feel, angle (on a familiar car) and number of clicks. Any idea what the DVLA actually means?
Edited by Pugugly on 20/04/2008 at 19:34
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Not an authoritative answer from some book, but to ensure it is not at the end of travel I would use more force to lift the handbrake it higher - not necessarily another notch, but to show that it is not at a mechanical stop.
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He could reply something like this........
First we will drive to a disused industrial estate or similarly quiet location.
I will then accelerate the car to 50mph.
I will first flick the the steering to the left and then immediately apply full right lock using the heel of my hand to rotate the wheel rapidly.
At the same moment I will apply the handbrake using maximum pressure.
If the vehicle fails to perform a perfect 180 then the handbrake requires adjustment.
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shoespy
The risk implicit in that, albeit perfectly correct, answer; is that you will get your failure notice posted through the passenger window from an examiner who rapidly exited the vehicle.....
"Reserve travel" on the lever is what they're after.
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The number of clicks simply tells you how well adjusted the cables are. It's got nothing to do with how worn the shoes are. Unless they are worn to the point that even with the cables tightened the handbrake still won't hold adequately, the only way to check the shoes is by dismantling the brakes.
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They're not asking about wear of the shoes/pads/cables - just when the handbrake is at the end of it's travel - so that you cannot apply any more pressure to the brakes
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Strongly suspect that all they are looking for is that the handbrake engages without excess travel, and seems to hold the car effectively
Jonathan.
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They're not asking about wear of the shoes/pads/cables ->>
Yes they are - the question reads:
"Show me how you would check the parking brake for excessive wear."
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Screwloose has the correct answer, reserve travel is the the distance (movment) between the handbrake being fully applied and the end of the lever travel. If you hit the lever stop before the brakes are applied fully you have no reserve travel. This could be caused by any combination of poor adjustment, worn brakes, or cable strech.
Edited by Old Navy on 21/04/2008 at 09:52
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MOT test "manual" here www.ukmot.com/3-1.asp describes "parking brake" checks. No mention is made of shoes or pads that I can see.
In common parlance, afaik, "parking brake" means the hand/foot brake bits that are in the drivers reach, and not the bits that react at the remote end due to their operation by the driver.
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The same as "testing the footbrake" means checking that the pedal works. Nothing to do with whether the bits at the other end engage. :)
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Yes, it says so on that MOT link:
"Types of parking brake mechanism
In this sub-section, it is assumed that the parking brake is applied by a hand lever.
For vehicles with foot-operated parking brakes the ?Method of Inspection? detailed will need to be varied for the particular mechanism. "
Of course, there is a separate section for the brake components outside the reach of the driver:
www.ukmot.com/3-5.asp#Text_top
www.ukmot.com/3-7.asp#Text_top
Edited by jbif on 21/04/2008 at 12:05
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£24,490was £24,790Details
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