A young woman claims a TikTok saved her and her family’s lives. Amy Jo (@theprincessames) was driving on the highway behind her sister, her husband, and their four kids. All of a sudden, Amy Jo’s brakes wouldn’t work.
She explains what she did to get her car to safety after recalling the PSA she watched on TikTok years prior. Her clip detailed the lessons she learned in another video in the hopes it could help others. The video has garnered over 2 million views.
A life-saving trick?
Amy Jo begins her video by speaking directly into the camera while sitting on a carpeted floor of a room. “A TikTok that I saw a few years ago saved my and my family’s life yesterday,” she says.
“I was driving home from California following behind my sister, her husband, and their four small children. And…my brakes failed,” Amy Jo recalls. “They were braking because of traffic. And my car was not stopping.”
During the panicked and highly pressurized situation, Amy Jo says she managed to recall a TikTok video she saw years prior. “I remembered a TikTok that I saw that was tips that can save your life and others,” she says. “And what to do if your brakes just go out while you’re driving.”
What to do if your brakes fail while driving?
The first step she remembered to follow was to pump the brakes. That’s because there could be a chance the vehicle’s stopping mechanism could just be locked. However, Amy Jo quickly discovered that this wasn’t the case. “And it still was not stopping,” she says.
Next, she turned on her hazard lights. This way, other drivers could be alerted to the fact that there was something wrong with her vehicle. Her next course of action was to get the car off of the highway away from other cars and onto a shoulder.
“So I put my hazards on so the car behind me knew to back off and that something was wrong. Thank God we were in the very left lane, so I was able to safely maneuver into the left shoulder,” she adds. “But if you are not right by a shoulder you need to make sure for sure no matter what your hazards are on.”
What do you do next?
Furthermore, the TikToker added that rolling down your window and hand-signalling is helpful, too. This will also catch the attention of fellow commuters, especially if you aren’t in the left lane already.
“But also roll down your window and signal to the other cars I need to go left,” she says. “Or I need to go right something is wrong.”
Amy Jo says she was able to successfully reach the shoulder without incident. Then, she popped her car into neutral until it slowed down. Once it rolled to a stop, she placed it in park and popped up the emergency brake.
“So I veered into the left shoulder last second before hitting my sister’s car. With her four small children in it. I let it roll by putting it in neutral. I let it roll to a stop,” Amy Jo says. “And then put it in park and then put the emergency brake on.”
She credits the popular social media application for saving her life. In between doom-scrolling and brain rot content, she was thankful to come across this clip.
“I wasn’t taught that information in real life. I learned that information from a TikTok,” she says. “That app saved my life. It saved my sister, her husband’s, my nieces’, and my nephews’ lives. This app is not just for dancing videos and silly cat videos.”
What do experts recommend you do if your brakes fail while driving?
Other outlets echo similar safety protocols to the one Amy Jo highlighted in her clip. Munley Law lists the following steps that echo the ones in her TikTok. Firstly, drivers should immediately take their foot off the gas pedal to inhibit any acceleration. Your first course of action should be pumping your brakes.
Following this, Munley recommends turning on your hazards and honking your horn. The primary goal here is to alert other drivers to your presence.
Furthermore, you can attempt to downshift the gears of your car. This could work even if you have an automatic vehicle with paddle shifters. Switch to manual driving mode and gradually work your gears down. The firm suggests engaging your emergency brake once you’ve reduced your speed. While this will not stop your car, it will help to slow you down.
After applying the e-brake, attempt to merge off the road cautiously. Use hand signaling to indicate you are trying to merge either left or right. For left merges, stick your arm straight out. For right merges, hold your left arm out the window and create an “L” shape with your arm, sticking it straight up into the air.
Once you’ve gotten your car to a safe place, stop your vehicle, and place it in park. Allstate Insurance also recommends a similar methodology here.
@theprincessames ‼️My parking brake****‼️ This video could save your life. What to do if your brakes fail. #lifesavingtips #brakesfail #brakesgoout #whattodoifbrakesfail #drivingsafety #drivingsafetytips #tiktoksavedmylife ♬ original sound – Amy Jo 🍉
Commenters chime in
One person echoed Amy Jo’s gratitude towards the social media application. They stated the dissemination of information on it is what makes it an effective communication tool.
“Seriously. People say ‘oh well the information you learned on TikTok is openly available on the internet,’” the user wrote. “But you’re not going to know what special little tips to Google.”
Someone else said, “Emergency brake can help too if you need to make a quicker stop.”
Another person made a slight edit to the order in which Amy Jo presented her brake failure steps to safety. “Pump the brakes, downshift, slowly apply the emergency brake. [Then] find somewhere soft-ish to rub the side against to slow you down,” they claimed. “That’s the proper order.”
One user remarked that they, too, came across life-saving car information while perusing TikTok. “My car hydroplaned once. And I remembered a TikTok that said never to slam on the brakes,” they said. “Foot off gas, and steer and some other tips. And that TikTok saved me from crashing. Glad you are okay.”
Someone else wrote that Amy Jo’s video taught her about the function of an emergency brake. “Waaaaait is this my learning the emergency brake is not…an emergency brake? Cause you not use it to stop?” they asked, befuddled.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amy Jo via TikTok comment for further information.
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