How should you brake if you ride a moped in a mountainous area?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. By using both brakes and braking with the engine.
Explanation
In the photo a winding mountain road goes down the slope to a village in a valley, with a crash barrier running along it. In mountainous areas you brake using both brakes and engine braking - answer C.
On a long descent the brakes work much longer than on flat ground. If you use only one (answer A or B), it overheats, the linings lose effectiveness, and in a hydraulic brake the fluid can boil - the lever becomes soft and the moped stops braking. Engine braking, that is riding with the throttle closed in a suitable gear, takes load off the brakes, and both brakes used together share the work and give a shorter braking distance. The rear brake alone easily locks the wheel, and the front brake alone, used suddenly, can make the front wheel skid. You slow down before the descent, and on a scooter with an automatic gearbox remember that engine braking is weaker, so you brake with pauses, so that the brakes can cool down.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)