Parking Brake Cables

In cars, the hand brake (also known as the emergency brake, e-brake, park brake, slide stick or parking brake) is a supplementary system that can be used if the vehicle's primary brake system (usually hydraulic brakes) has a failure. more...

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Automobile e-brakes usually consist of a cable (usually adjustable for length) directly connected to the brake mechanism on one end and to some type of lever that can be actuated by the driver on the other end. The lever is traditionally and more commonly a hand-operated system (hence the hand brake name), the most common configuration being a handle on the floor between the driver and front passenger, and less commonly being a handle bar located on the lower portion of the dashboard somewhere close to the steering wheel column or between the driver and his or her door. Alternatively, the lever can be foot-operated, in the form of a pedal in the foot well in front of the driver, located to the far left apart from the other pedals.

However, the most common use for an automobile emergency brake is to keep the vehicle motionless when it is parked, thus the alternative name, parking brake. Car emergency brakes have a ratchet locking mechanism that will keep them engaged until a release button is pressed. On vehicles with automatic transmissions, this is usually used in concert with a parking pawl in the transmission. Automotive safety experts recommend the use of both systems to immobilize a parked car, and the use of two systems is required by law in some jurisdictions, yet many individuals use only the "Park" position on the automatic transmission and not the parking brake. Also, manual transmission cars are recommended to be left in their lowest gear (usually either first or reverse) when parked, especially when parked on an incline. It should be noted, however, that increased rolling resistance may lead to greater damage to the stationary vehicle if it is struck by a vehicle in motion - the firmly anchored stationary vehicle will dissipate crash energy by absorbing it into its structure.

Types of Brakes

While both hand-operated systems and foot-operated system serve for parking brakes, the hand-operated systems are more useful in other situations. Hand-operated brake can be used for assistance in starting on steep inclines in manual transmission cars, which is more difficult with the foot-operated parking brake. In addition, with the centrally placed handle (but not the dashboard-mounted type handle), the brake can be easily activated either by the driver or passenger (if the driver were to become unconscious, for instance) in case of an emergency. The centrally placed handle is also preferred for initiating handbrake turns, as the release button can be held down to prevent the brake from latching; this is very difficult with the foot pedal operated configuration. Foot pedal parking brake is traditionally mostly found in American cars, since many American cars came with front-row bench seats, making a central handle impossible. Whereas, non-American cars predominantly came with front bucket seats, and so they were equipped with a lever between the seats. Non-American cars, when equipped with front bench seat, usually had the dashboard-mounted handle, although this was also found in some American cars.

Read more at Wikipedia.org