Question

Suppose you are driving a classic car, why should you avoid slamming on your brakes when you want to stop in the shortest possible distance? (Many modern cars have antilock brakes that avoid this problem).

Answer 1

Brakes are a mechanism that is used to slow or stop a moving vehicle by exerting pressure on the wheels. We have to answer this question in relation to the types of friction that come to play when we apply brakes suddenly.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Friction is a force that opposes the relative motion and occurs at the point where two bodies meet. There are two types of friction: Static friction and kinetic friction.
When an object is subjected to static friction, the frictional force opposes the force applied to it, and the object remains at rest until the static friction force is overcome.. The frictional force resists the motion of an object in kinetic friction.
Due to kinetic friction, your tires will slide on the road if you stomp on the brakes.
Anti Lock brakes operate by "pumping" the brakes (far faster than you can) to prevent the tires from sliding on the road.
Hence, we should avoid slamming on brakes when we want to stop at the shortest possible distance so that the tires do not skid and the car stops safely.

Note:
The friction between the moving object and the normal force is proportionate and perpendicular. The object's friction is determined by the characteristics of the surface it comes into contact with. As long as there is a point of contact, friction is independent of the area of contact. The velocity has no effect on kinetic friction. In comparison to the kinetic friction coefficient, the static friction coefficient is larger.