On Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:58:10 +0100, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

because for years the makers have been allowed to get away with the
fiction that dual-circuit brakes fill the requirements for primary and
secondary braking systems.
It is an utter fallacy that such systems work reliably.
Twice I've been in a car that suffered brake failure of one side of a
dual circuit braking system and guess what? - the pedal did buggerall
with the second circuit.

One assumes you did what anyone who "knows how to drive" would do. ie
press the pedal *far* harder than normal and if you run out travel,
or get close to running out of travel, pump it fast and hard.

Most people probably don't realise how much the servos (brakes or
steering) are assisting them these days. Yes you still have brakes or
steering without 'em but boy do you have to put some serious effort
into them. Brakes can catch people out as there can be enough vacuum
in the system for the first application to be normal but once that
vacuum has been used...

--
Cheers
Dave.