When breaks don’t work

You see a part of your true self when thek breaks don’t work and you are going downhill into a red light.

The whole thing started with me trying to save on gas. With a manual car, there’s no downside to coasting down a hill on neutral with the engine off… except when your breaks don’t work. It was a weird sinking feeling as I stepped hard a second time on the break pedal and it doesn’t budge one bit. As if it’s stuck.

The exact thought that went through my mind within that one second, an amazing one second I might add, went on like this:

What’s different between now and my previous attempts while it was working?

Engine was on before.

Shit, I am about to hit the car in front of me.

Traffic boxed me in both on the left and right, can’t turn

I am in a manual car, that’s why I coasted with engine off in traffic

What’s manual’s advantage again?

Hand brake

Steps on the clutch, turns on the engine, step on break

Hand moved to the hand break and was about to pull it (and hit the car in front)

The foot break works!!!!

I am glad, I didn’t just become a deer staring at the headlight and am an action oriented person. Never would’ve know without facing something like this. I haven’t searched the cause yet, but am pretty sure it has something to do with the hydraulics in the break system not working if the engine is not on.

Lucky me. Been very lucky recently on a lot of things life is treating me well… or I am cutting things a bit too closely and am relying too much on luck.