Even people who’ve never driven a car have probably heard this famous line:“Never brake in a corner!” When you first learned to drive, this was likely one of the very first “rules” someone told you — maybe your father, brother, or driving instructor. But is it really true? Should you never apply brake while during a turn? Let’s unpack that idea for a second.

“If you brake while the car is skidding, you’ll completely lose control.”

It’s one of the most common claims. But before accepting it, we need to ask: Why does a car lose control? Let’s list a few possibilities: vehicle speed, road surface, the sharpness of the corner, tire condition, weight transfer — the list goes on. But among all these, speed is the most critical factor. If speed is removed from the equation, there will be no sliding in the corner. In other words, if the driver had adjusted their speed according to all these variables, the vehicle wouldn’t have lost traction in the first place. So, let’s say they didn’t — the car starts to slide mid-turn. What should the driver do to regain control? You’ll often hear strange advice like “Speed up – use accelerator to save it.” But think about that for a moment: if excessive speed caused the problem, how could adding more speed possibly fix it? That’s like burning your toast and turning the toaster up higher to “save” it. If speed is the issue, the only logical solution is to reduce it — and that’s exactly what the brake pedal is for.

“But my dad told me braking in a corner is dangerous…” Well… he was right for his time. When our parents learned to drive, cars didn’t have ABS (Anti-lock Braking System). ABS is a driver-assistance system that prevents wheel lock-up during hard braking, allowing the driver to steer and brake simultaneously. Back then, when a driver hit the brakes hard in a non-ABS car, the wheels would completely lock up and lose all traction, causing the car to continue straight regardless of which way the driver turned the steering wheel. So yes — in non-ABS cars, braking mid-corner could indeed make things worse in certain situations.

With ABS-equipped vehicles, which have been mandatory on all new passenger cars in the European Union since the early 2000s under Council Directive 71/320/EEC (and similarly in many markets worldwide, including Turkey), this is no longer the case. When you brake firmly in a modern car, the ABS system helps prevent wheel lock-up and allows you to maintain steering control.