Electronic handbrakes. Ever wondered what happens if you activate them at speed?

[Mako]

I've been tempted to try it in T's cars (at low speed) so many times, but I know that if a disaster happened, the Black Box would implicate me so I leave the button alone.

I just assumed that they were designed in such a way that either..

1. ...they are coupled to a speed sensor and won't actuate if the car is moving or, less likely...​
2. ...they expect, like a manual handbrake, that the driver knows what they're doing and just lock on.​

The truth - presented here by Garage 54 - is far more complex. You may decide for yourself whether the results are a good thing or not.

 

[poose]

I hate them things with a passion, the amount of times they don't actually activate after you pull the switch if you don't quite get it right

 

[Relliott6879]

The answer, at least in das Audi, is 'nothing'. Above a certain speed, (probably about 20 or so?) the button simply doesn't respond.

 

[backseateducation]

Did you find that out in a Blackpool carpark on a Friday night Rich?

 

[nvingo]

The clickbait videos 'I'm a korean car expert' suggest that in an emergency (the service/hydraulic brakes malfunctioned), the electronic parking brake will operate in a pulsed fashion automatically to stop the car without flipping it over (that might be what the linked video also says).
The logical next step would surely be for the system to detect that the brake pedal is pressed but no retardation is occuring and automatically invoke the cable-applied rear brakes - then inhibit acceleration/high speeds until engineer intervention.