Originally Posted by
Ten5
And besides what is the redundancy for a when your handbrake fails?
Um, the rest of the system? It's not likely that brake or chain will fail. But it does happen. However, it's nearly impossible that both will fail at the same time.
Modern cars are actually doubly redundant - there are two cylinders for power brakes, each connected to the brakes on two wheels. If one cylinder fails, you can still stop reliably with the other. If both fail, then you still have a parking brake.