Knowing what your stopping distances are is crucial for your safety. A number of things can affect stopping distance including the weather and the type of tyres you have. These things affect the time and distance it takes to come to a safe stop.

Wet weather stopping distances

It is common to think that your stopping distance is the distance a vehicle travels after you apply your brakes, however this is just the braking distance. This braking distance does make up a large part of the stopping distance, but you also need to include the thinking distance. The thinking distance is the time it takes you to decide you need to brake.

Your thinking distance is also affected by a number of factors. If you are alert, your thinking distance will be shorter than someone who is tired or distracted. If you are driving in the rain your thinking distance will be negatively affected as visibility will be poor.

Your tyre condition significantly affects your ability to brake quickly. Factors such as tyre damage and tread depth will reduce how effectively you can brake.

If you’re worried about the tyre condition on your Mercedes, give us a call and book in to have them checked over!