Tiberius1701

Glad to hear about the result! But..never whack a Focus drum with a hammer....the spindle/drum assy is held in place by four bolts. You could whale away all day and it wouldn't budge. See attachment..

codeman94

you bring up very good points.. and the fact that I know they aren't performing all that well is why I know I should replace them ASAP, but the State of Indiana inst going to "park" me until I do. I'm grateful for that freedom.. and I will do my part by having my brakes done so I can keep that freedom.

smitty

I'm not familiar with the test in NJ, but I assume it is a measurement to some "minimum standard" of brake performance. How they determine this minimum standard is more in keeping with your argument for more freedoms/ limiting freedoms/ etc. Sort of like the air bags issues from a few years ago. Anyway, I don't think NJ made him "park" his car, but instead didn't pass him and left it up to him to decide whether he wanted to risk a fine or not. That is not limiting his freedom, but instead encouraging him to bring his car up to some minimum safety standard or risk monetary loss. ie, choices and consequences.... an unpopular concept. However, the consequences for someone else could be high. I'm not sure where along the line requiring reasonable behavior from the population to help us all live more safely together became "limiting freedoms," but it's a popular stance.

While the brakes on the taurus were only adequate to begin with, your taurus may be in compliance right now. But you don't really know because Indiana doesn't test that. Washington doesn't either, but I bet their talking about it if I know Washington. I'm not calling into question whether you are a responsible driver or car owner. As a matter of fact, I'm sure you are responsible. I just have a fundamental difference of opinion in what government should be doing for us taxpayers. Protecting us from one another's poor decisions as best as possible without limiting people's personal freedom to live how they want is a tough tightrope to walk, and we all have passionate opinions about it.