press down hard on the brake pedal, and continue to steer the vehicle.
You complete the written air brakes test, and perform your road test in a vehicle equipped with air brakes.
There is no air brake endorsement. A CDL driver who does not complete and pass the written air brakes test AND complete and pass the road test in a vehicle equipped with air brakes gets a restriction prohibiting them from operating a commercial vehicle equipped with air brakes.
Braking distance is usually the critical factor in avoiding a collision, as it determines the distance a vehicle travels before coming to a complete stop after the brakes are applied. Reaction time is important too, as it influences how quickly a driver can respond to a situation and apply the brakes, but braking distance ultimately determines if a collision can be avoided.
If the vehicle is for commercial/business use, or otherwise does not fall into an exempted category with the FMCSR which makes it not require a CDL (and is operated within the conditions which must be met for that exemption to be applicable), then that vehicle requires a CDL. If it is equipped with air brakes, and requires a CDL, then the driver must have completed and passed the written air brakes test, and must have performed their pretrip and road tests in a CDL vehicle equipped with air brakes. Otherwise, they get a restriction which bars them from operating a vehicle which requires a CDL and is equipped with air brakes. If the vehicle does not require a CDL, then no endorsement for air brakes is needed - air brake endorsements do not exist on US licenses; only the aforementioned restriction for CDL holders.
On a US licence, the supposed "air brake endorsement" does not exist. For a driver obtaining a CDL, they must take the written air brakes test, and conduct their road test in a vehicle equipped with air brakes, or else they will get a restriction prohibiting them from operating a commercial vehicle which is so equipped. For everyone else, no such criteria exists - RVers, people renting U-Haul/Ryder trucks, etc. do not need to know the first thing about air brakes in order to be allowed to operate a vehicle equipped with them, so long as that vehicle doesn't require a CDL.
Try looking for "air brake endorsement" in the NY driver's manual. You'll notice there isn't mention of one. The reason is because there isn't one. For a CDL driver, if they do not complete and pass the written air brakes test and then conduct their road test in a class appropriate vehicle equipped with air brakes, then they get a restriction which bars them from operating an air-brake equipped commercial vehicles.
It doesn't exist. A CDL driver must complete the written air brakes test and complete their road test in an air brake equipped vehicle, or else they'll receive a restriction prohibiting them from operating a commercial vehicle equipped with air brakes. For vehicles which aren't considered CMVs, there is no requirement for an endorsement of any sort.
While I believe air brakes should be an endorsement, for a non-CDL vehicle, there are no additional requirements imposed when the vehicle is equipped with air or air-over-hydraulic brakes. The need for a CDL is determined by the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. In your case, the vehicle is rated at 26,000 lbs., which doesn't require a CDL. However, if it carries a quantity of hazardous materials which requires placards to be displayed, or if it were a bus designed to transport more than 15 persons (including the driver), then it would be a CDL vehicle at any weight, and air brakes would have an impact. A driver who tests for a CDL must take both the written air brakes test and perform their road test in a vehicle which is equipped with air brakes. Otherwise, they will get a restriction which prohibits them from operating a CMV which is equipped with air brakes (however, this restriction does not apply to non-CDL vehicles).
In some countries, to be permitted to operate an air brake equipped vehicle, your licence must show an endorsement which permits you to. In the US, "air brake endorsement" is actually a misnomer - there is no air brake endorsement on a US licence. If a CDL driver does not pass the written air brakes test and conduct their road test in an air brake equipped vehicle, they get a restriction prohibiting them from operating an air brake equipped commercial vehicles. However, this is only applicable to commercial vehicles - operating a non-commercial vehicle with air brakes requires absolutely no qualification, whatsoever.
The stopping distance of a vehicle is determined by factors such as the reaction time of the driver, the speed of the vehicle, road conditions (e.g., wet or dry pavement), tire traction, and the vehicle's braking system's effectiveness. A longer reaction time, a higher speed, poor traction, and a longer braking distance can all contribute to increasing the stopping distance.
An element of total stopping distance is perception distance, which is the distance a vehicle travels from the moment a driver detects a hazard to when they start applying the brakes. Other elements include reaction distance (distance traveled while the driver reacts) and braking distance (distance traveled after applying the brakes).