Final answer:
To stop a vehicle, a driver applies the brakes and holds the vehicle, then proceeds after checking for safety. The smooth transition from movement to a complete stop is managed by understanding the relationship between static and kinetic friction, easing up on the brakes to avoid a jer-king stop.
Step-by-step explanation:
To stop completely, a driver must apply the brakes and then hold the vehicle. Then the driver waits one full second, searches left, right, and left again before proceeding when safe. When learning to drive, one needs to let up slightly on the brake pedal as the car comes to a stop to avoid a jer-king motion. This is due to the relationship between static and kinetic friction.
When a car is in motion and the brakes are applied, kinetic friction is at work. This type of friction slows down the motion of the vehicle. As the car comes to a near stop, if one continues to apply the same braking force, the transition from kinetic to static friction will cause the car to stop with a je-rk. By easing up on the brake pedal just before the car stops, the driver can transition more smoothly into static friction, where no motion occurs, avoiding the jer-king motion.
In physics terms, kinetic friction is usually less than static friction; so when the car is about to stop, a sudden change to static friction with the same amount of force can cause an abrupt stop.