The Downhill Descent on Canada's Coquihalla Highway | Air Brake Smart

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Whether you're driving an 18-wheeler, a bus, towing a trailer, or driving an Recreational Vehicle you'll need to know proper braking techniques to safely descent one of North America's most challenging hills. Going west to or east from Vancouver on the Trans-Canada with a big vehicle you need to know how to properly brake downhill. Drivers cannot rely solely on their service brakes to descend the hill or there is a great risk of brake fade.

You must understand the grade signs provide the crucial information to descend the hill safely. For those of you driving RV units and towing trailers, ensure that the towing vehicle is rated for the amount of weight that you are pulling. Most often those gross vehicle weight limits are in place to ensure that you can safely bring the vehicle to a stop - especially on a long, steep downgrade.

All braking systems have one weakness - brake fade. Brake fade occurs when drivers employ improper braking techniques causing the brakes to overheat. Simplistically speaking, when the brakes overheat, the drums expand away from the brake shoes and the shoes will no longer come into contact with the drums. When this happens the vehicle has neither service nor emergency brakes, and you are driving a runaway. In some cases the brakes will catch on fire.

In the case of a fortunate downhill runaway, you'll be able to bring the vehicle to a stop on the runaway lane.

Despite advances in engine brake technology, brake fade still occurs from time-to-time. Still, with proper braking techniques, full use of the engine brake and the proper gear, in most cases you will descend the hill safely. As I tell students, you can go down the hill a 1000 times too slow, but the one time that you go too fast, may be your last.

One of Canada's most notorious downhill descents is on the TransCanada at mile marker 217 in the province of British Columbia. The downhill is an 8% & 6% grade respectively for 18 kilometres (12 miles).

The elevation at the Zopkios Brake Check is 1230 metres (4,035ft). The first 3km (1.3m) is the most treacherous, thus there is a truck runaway lane 1/2 km from the top of the descent.

Before descending, ensure that you have your proverbial "ducks in a row."

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