brake check
{{Short description|Dangerous driving manoeuvre}}
{{about|the driving manoeuvre|testing of automotive brake systems|brake tester}}
File:Essingeleden Trafikolycka aug 2012a.jpg is a possible outcome from brake checking.]]
A brake check, also known as a brake test, occurs when a driver deliberately either taps on the brakes several times or slams hard on the pedal when moving in front of another vehicle, with the intention of causing the behind driver to either collide or take evasive action.{{cite news |title=Brake testing - What is it? |newspaper=Driving Tests Resources |date=23 November 2015 |publisher=Drivingtests.co |url=https://www.drivingtests.co.nz/resources/brake-testing-what-is-it/}} The term is often applied in the context of auto racing.
Legality
Brake checking is often considered a crime{{Where|date=June 2025}} and falls under laws pertaining to reckless driving, aggressive driving, or stunt driving.{{cite web |title=Is Brake Checking Illegal? (Yes & How to Prove It) |url=https://www.lawsuitlegal.com/car-accident/brake-checking.php |website=Lawsuit Legal |access-date=14 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=Is Brake Checking Illegal? (Yes & Why It's Dangerous) |url=https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/news/brake-checking-illegal/ |access-date=14 August 2024 |date=27 January 2023}} The Washington State Department of Licensing in the United States includes brake checking as a symptom of aggressive driving.{{cite web | url=https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/roadrage.html | title=WA State Licensing (DOL) Official Site: Road rage }} Legal experts in the Canadian Province of Ontario consider it to fall under that province's stunt driving laws.{{Cite web|title=Stunt Driving|url=https://maverickslegalservices.ca/stunt-driving|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Mavericks Legal Services|language=en-US}}{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/mississauga-street-racer-charged-highway-401-chatham-1.4706256| title = Police say driver was 'brake checking,' reaching speeds of 190 km/h on 401 in Chatham {{!}} CBC News}}
In motorsports
The concept of brake checking is often seen in auto racing, with several drivers being accused of, or admitting to, brake checking competitors for various reasons. At the 2006 Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon brake checked Michael Waltrip during a caution period in what was seen as retaliation for contact both made earlier in the race and for an incident that occurred between the two the year prior at the same track. The stoppage caved in the nose and radiator of Waltrip's car, leaving him stranded in the middle of the backstretch with fluid leaking onto the track.{{Cite web|title=The Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip Show at New Hampshire|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/207872-the-robby-gordon-and-michael-waltrip-show-at-new-hampshire|access-date=2023-05-28|website=Bleacher Report|language=en-US}}
An incident in the 2017 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel was attributed to Vettel's belief that he had been brake checked by Hamilton.{{Cite web|title=FIA analysis showed Hamilton did not brake-test Vettel|url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-hamilton-vettel-baku-brake-testing-923425/923425/|access-date=2021-12-01|website=www.motorsport.com|date=25 June 2017 |language=en}}
In 2018, an on-track incident between NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin at the spring Martinsville Speedway race ended in what Autoweek{{'s}} Matt Weaver described as, "Harvick{{nbsp}}... slamming on his brakes, the resulting contact severely damaging the nose on Hamlin's Toyota." Hamlin would later comment, "I probably should have brake-checked him in the first place."{{Cite web|last=Weaver|first=Matt|date=2018-03-26|title=Kevin Harvick brake-checks Denny Hamlin in NASCAR Martinsville|url=http://autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a1694141/kevin-harvick-brake-checks-denny-hamlin-nascar-martinsville/|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Autoweek|language=en-US}}
In 2021, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen brake checked Lewis Hamilton after Verstappen was asked to give a place back for previously overtaking Hamilton off track. Red Bull Racing's chief technical officer Adrian Newey said "I think he got frustrated with Lewis not overtaking him but he still shouldn't have brake-tested him."{{Cite web |last=Wilde |first=Jon |date=2022-05-03 |title=Adrian Newey: "Silly" Max Verstappen "shouldn't have brake-tested Lewis Hamilton" |url=https://www.planetf1.com/news/adrian-newey-max-verstappen-brake-test/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=PlanetF1 |language=en}}
In the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, during the final lap of the race, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso brake tested Mercedes' George Russell at Turn Six of the circuit, which caused Russell to close distance unusually fast. This culminated in Russell losing control of the car, causing him to crash, with the car coming to rest upside-down in the middle of the track. This saw the race ending under a virtual safety car. Alonso received a 20 second penalty for erratic driving. Russell would later comment: "It caught me by surprise. I was half a second behind him and next thing he slams on the brakes, accelerates again and then slams on the brakes again."{{Cite web |date=2024-03-24 |title=Alonso penalised over Russell crash incident |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/68649182 |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}
References
External links
- {{cite news
|first=Andrew
|last=Benson
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/5237288.stm
|title=Alonso penalty adds to team woes
|publisher=BBC Sport
|date= 2006-08-04
|access-date=2006-08-06
}}
- {{cite news
|first=Andrew
|last=Benson
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/40400424
|title=Azerbaijan GP: 'F1 in 2017 just got nasty - and it's Sebastian Vettel's fault'
|publisher=BBC Sport
|date= 2017-06-26
|access-date=2017-06-26
}}