Brake repair and UFOs may not seem to have much in common, but they kind of do. Those letters can stand for something other than "Unidentified Flying Object": they can represent three problem ways of braking you can use to help avoid such confusion.
You can avoid visiting your mechanic or brake repair shop more often than necessary by following some space-age driving techniques. Even if your thoughts were in outer space during those boring driver's education classes,
you can still learn to identify and practice a few simple techniques that will help your car's internals to stay intact longer, allowing you to keep your vehicle from looking like a UFO.
"U" - Unpumped Stopping
So maybe "unpumped" isn't really a word, but you get the idea. If your vehicle is equipped with anti-lock brakes, the idea is the same. The intermittent application of of brakes will prevent your wheels from locking up, thereby helping your vehicle avoid skidding.
While skidding will surely make your vehicle of choice look and sound more like a UFO, it will also decrease your system's likelihood of doing their job (namely, keeping you from crashing into other UFOs). Brakes that get locked into skids won't take long to need new pads, items commonly replaced by brake repair experts. Once they wear out, squeals, screeches, and other noises rumored to accompany some UFOs ensue.
"F" - Forceful Application
In addition to the above-mentioned skidding issues, forcefully stopping your car can compromise the system's usefulness as well. The line that runs from the pedal to the wheels will eventually need to be replaced. However, by forcefully attempting to stop your vehicle, you can cause a brake line to snap. When this happens, the entire mechanism is compromised.
Like failing to pump your brakes, forcefully applying them is usually a tendency during an unplanned for or out-of-the-ordinary situation. For instance, if you see or suspect that a UFO is coming toward your vehicle, you may understandably want to press your foot down on the pedal. You could even cause such an issue by placing all your weight on the pedal, as you stand up, perhaps to get out your wallet or to get a better view of an approaching UFO.
"O" - Overuse
Like the "U" & "F" issues, this one comes up during times when danger seems imminent. For instance, when you're picking up speed while driving down a mountain road with a trailer in tow. The fear of going too fast and losing control of your vehicle is strong (so say your ghost-white knuckles). You just can't help yourself: You ride the brakes the whole way down. If your trip involves a few more peaks that freak you out, you could be hearing the not-so-mysterious sounds of diminished brake pads, or worse. Instead, even in a vehicle with an automatic transmission, you can shift down, allowing your transmission to help you keep a slower pace. After all, you wouldn't want your vehicle to catapult off the edge of the railing-challenged cliff, prompting the locals to think they've seen a UFO when it's actually your car falling out of the sky.
When your vehicle needs brake repair, you should, of course, get it serviced professionally. However, you can avoid causing needless wear and tear by avoiding the UFOs of bad braking practices.
