Is it better to brake a vehicle on an inclined or on a level section of road? I live near the top of a hill and every time I leave home I think of asking this question and forget by the time I might. The road is quite steep and about half way down there is a short level section. I need to slow down at some point to be at a reasonable speed to stop at the bottom of the hill.
When driving it "feels better" to brake and slow down on the level area than on an incline. Assuming I'll reach the end at the same speed in either case the final braking can be disregarded. In terms of wear on the brakes, is it better to slow down on the incline or on the level section or does it make no difference? Are there other inefficiencies I'm not considering as well? (I stay in low gear the entire time and safety is not a concern as I have the right of way and never reach an unsafe speed.)
 A: What likely matters for wear is the velocity of the vehicle at the moment of breaking - that is, one may consider differents ecnarious, like:

*

*breaking continuously while on a slope AND in the level section

*breaking on the slope but not in the level section

*not breaking on the slope, and then breaking on the level section

This may be made more complicated, if the slope continues after the level section. In this sense, the question is not very clearly posed (but I assume this is a part of the discussion related to the experimentd esign, and therefore a valid one under the community rules.)
Regarding scenario (3) it is necessary to note that on the level section the car must slow down even without the breaks applied, if one is in a low gear. This brings another uncertainty in the question: if the car is truly in a lower gear, the slope should be really steep so that it continues to accelerate... which means that one would eventually exceed the allowed/safe speed - another point that requires clarification. (I may be wrong, as my experience is mostly with a manual transmission.)
