February 2, 2025 at 6:55 am

A Driver Talked About How She Saved Her Family’s Lives After the Brakes Went Out While She Was Driving

by Matthew Gilligan

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Some people might dismiss TikTok videos as silly, but the woman you’re about to hear from proves that watching TikTok videos might just save your life!

Her name is Amy Jo and she posted a video and shared how the things she learned in a TikTok video she watched turned out to be a literal lifesaver.

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Amy Jo said that she was driving on a highway behind a car carrying her sister, brother-in-law, and their four children when she realized the brakes in her car went out.

She remembered an informative video she’d seen on TikTok and that’s what ultimately saved lives that day.

Amy Jo told viewers, “I was driving home from California following behind my sister, her husband, and their four small children, and my brakes failed. They were braking because of traffic, and my car was not stopping. I remembered a TikTok that I saw that was tips that can save your life and others.”

She said the first step drivers should do if they find themselves in this situation is to pump your brakes in case they are locked. In her case, Amy Jo realized that wasn’t the issue and she still couldn’t stop.

Amy Jo then turned on her car’s hazard lights so other drivers could see that something was wrong. Next up was getting the vehicle off of the road.

She said, “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. But if you are not right by a shoulder you need to make sure for sure no matter what your hazards are on.”

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Amy Jo added that it’s helpful to roll down your window and to use your hands to signal other drivers that you need to either move right or left to get off the road.

She said she was able to pull over safely and then she shifted her car into neutral. Once her vehicle came to a stop, Amy Jo put it in park and pulled the emergency  brake.

She told viewers, “So I veered into the left shoulder last second before hitting my sister’s car with her four small children in it.”

Amy Jo stressed the importance of the video she’d seen and said, “I wasn’t taught that information in real life. I learned that information from a TikTok. 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.”

Amen!

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Check out what she had to say.

@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 🍉

Here’s how TikTokkers responded.

This person shared their thoughts.

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Another individual chimed in.

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

And this TikTokker shared a story.

Source: TikTok/@theprincessames

Thank goodness for TikTok safety tips!

If you liked that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who gave two weeks notice… so his employer disabled his truck when he was 300 miles from home!