The name “drum brakes” comes from the way that the brakes are designed. As you drive down the road, your wheels are bolted to a wheel bearing and hub assembly. Attached to the spinning hub is a drum and on the inside of the spinning drum are brake shoes. When the brakes are depressed, the caliper, which holds the brake pads, hydraulically presses the brake shoes against the inside surface of the drum to slow the car down. As this happens day in and day out, the brake pads slowly wear down. Unlike with disc brakes, these brakes have no screamer and will give you no indication of when they have worn down below the legally required thickness. Because of this, drum brakes must be regularly inspected to make sure that they still have adequate braking material on the brake shoes.