Traveling on the DC capital beltway, traffic slowed due to a car pulled over. I engaged the brakes and had a hard pedal with no braking action at all. I popped the transmission into neutral and was unable to get any braking action. I swerved to miss the car in front of me and clipped the rear of the car to my right. I firmly had my foot on the brake the entire time and never felt any sensation of any braking force. I went on some new Beetle forums after the accident and was able to find several strings describing exactly what happen. It appears that when a split occurs in the vacuum hose to the power brake booster, if the brake is engaged in normal service, there is no issue however if you jab the brakes such as in a panic stop one gets a hard pedal and no stopping power. This is a very dangerous condition due to the brakes failing at the most exact time when they are needed with no prewarning.

- Bridgeton , NJ, USA