DRIVER BEHAVIOUR  -  Routine braking

Start position

• Controlled speed slow down
• No potential danger expected

During good grip

Depending on the deceleration the driver is able to control the situation with an optimal force on the brake pedal.

During poor grip

The driver may become panicked if the experienced deceleration is much less than expected. The driver may even experience acceleration instead of the actually happening deceleration. This may lead the driver to think that the brakes are non-functional and to press harder or to pump repeatedly the brake pedal.

Excess pressure is also applied because of the "natural logic" that increasing the pressure on the brake pedal leads to more efficient braking and also because of the difficulty to know when there is enough pressure. The driver may even pull the steering wheel to increase the pressure on the pedal.

Applying excess pressure on the brake pedal adds physical difficulty to steering because the muscles of upper body, arms and hands become tensioned.

The visual field of the driver shrinks (becomes narrower) in emergency. Therefore drivers very often miss the utilization of steering options to drive around the danger.