Stopping distance

• What is thinking distance?

  Time between seeing the hazards and applying the brakes
• What is thinking distance affected by?

  • speed
  • Tiredness
  • Drugs
  • Bad vision
• What is braking Distance?

  Distance that the car travels whilst brakes being applied
• What is braking distance affected by?

  • speed
  • Load
  • Brakes
  • Grip (worn tyres, worn brakes, ice, oil)
• How does braking work?

  • when a vehicle brakes, a force is applied
  • Work is done by the frictional force of the brakes and the wheel
  • To reduce the kinetic energy of the vehicle and the temperature of the brakes increase
• Why does speed affect braking distance More than thinking distance? 


  Because thinking time is pretty constant however, breaking distance increases, the faster you are going
• What is the work done to stop the car equal to?

  To the cars kinetic energy store
• What happens if the speed of the car doubles?

  the kinetic energy increase for fold ($v^2$) so the greater the speed, the greater the braking force needed
• What can having a bigger braking force lead to?

  The greater the deceleration , this can lead to over heating and loss of control