[quote=Luddite]Given the difference between life and death can be millimeters or milliseconds I suspect any improvement in braking can make a difference and in some cases a HUGE difference it would seem. In the case of the vid, who knows how much quicker the poor chap might have come to a standstill given the car he hit was part of the distance involved in bringing the Morgan to a stop...? Given the opportunity to have abs or not in heading towards such a situation which would you choose..?
With or without, that driver could not stop in that distance.He woke up too late.
My point is that there's a belief abs reduces stopping distances which it doesn't. It enables steering which is it's great safety benefit. There is no manufacturer who claims abs reduces stopping distances. On the contrary, it is freely admitted that on a less than perfect surface abs can considerably increase stopping distances. Which is why you can turn it off in off road vehicles.
So the presentation of that video as some sort of endorsement of abs encourages the dangerous belief that abs will help us out in situations such as the one on the video.
What I'm claiming is easily confirmed by any investigation, even on wikipedia!
Anyway, I'm going to stop going on about it now
Nick[/quote
I strongly disagree. Being a norwegian citizen and having had my license since 1968, I have considerable experience driving car with and without ABS, on snow, ice, slush and the worst of all - wet ice. ABS prevents locking the road wheels. As long as your wheels are rotating while braking, you have some sort of control, the moment you lock them you have none. When I took my drivers education in the pre-ABS era, I was told to "pulse-brake" in emergency situations, never slam the brakes. Pulse-braking was pressing the pedal just until the wheels locked, then lifting your foot so the wheels unlocked, press - lift - press - lift etc. Just what the ABS does. If you pulse-brake or brake super gently you might avoid activation of the ABS, but if you need harsh or panic braking, ABS is very important. If somebody wants to challenge me, I will be glad to participate. Let us find a little downhill slope with wet ice, go down with some speed and panic brake at the bottom. Two equal cars, one with ABS deactivated and the other (which I clearly will prefer to drive....) with ABS, then measuring the stopping distances. I will gladly donate my Morgan to the winner.
