Exploring Automotive Electrical Faults

Why You Should Have Your Brakes Checked Several Times A Year When You Live In San Francisco

Living in San Francisco is quite an adventure. The trolley cars and the many different neighborhoods are as unique to this city as the subway trains and buroughs are to New York City. The biggest difference, however, is that New York City is mostly flat, while 'Frisco has numerous and very steep hills. In fact, San Francisco is murder on car brakes. If you live there, you need to have your vehicle's brakes checked several times a year. Here is why:

Brakes Working Overtime

The brakes in a car driving uphill in San Francisco will wear down a lot faster than the brakes on a car in any other city. You have to drive with one foot on the brakes at all time just because of the need to keep from rolling backward down a hill. You have to simultaneously gun the engine and step on the brakes to refrain from slamming into other cars and structures going uphill.

Going Downhill

Going downhill, you are barely moving because the brakes are engaged almost all the way down the hill. If you did not use the brakes going down a San Francisco hill, then your car would roll down on its own, gaining speed as it goes, until a traffic light would signal the police that something is wrong. By the time you get to the bottom of the hill, you would be going far too fast to stop, and slamming into another driver would be your only recourse. That is why your breaks should be checked every couple of months.

Parking

Parking in San Francisco typically means driving around for a very long time until someone vacates a spot. Even then, you have to parallel park your vehicles against the pitched slopes of San Franciscan hills. Not only are you relying on your standard breaks to keep your car from rolling downhill, but you are also relying on your parking brake to keep the vehicle from slipping away from the sharply sloped hills.

That is double murder on your braking systems since you have to keep track of both your regular braking system and the parking brake, which reinforces the parking power of the basic brake system. After some time, the braking systems need to be checked to make sure they are still in full working order. Otherwise, your car's primary braking system can and will stop, causing multiple accidents with your vehicle.

Contact a company like Dualtone Muffler Brake & Alignment for more information and assistance.


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