One more car question - ABS - safer or not???

[Judegirl]

Apparently there's little agreement on whether antilock brakes are actually safer. If anyone have an opinion or more information on this, I would really, really appreciate the help. I'm all researched out on this one....

TIA!
Jude

[Judegirl]

Apparently there's little agreement on whether antilock brakes are actually safer. If anyone have an opinion or more information on this, I would really, really appreciate the help. I'm all researched out on this one....

TIA!
Jude

[ncmommy]

I didn't realize there was any debate over this one. We bought a new minivan a couple of months ago, and did a lot of research on safety...NHTSA is a great resource. Personally, I would never buy a car without ABS.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/equipment/absbrakes.html

Robin

[Mommy_Again]

DS worked for General Motors for 12 years and he said ABS is infinitely safer, no question about it. His example: you are driving in the rain and skid. ABS allows you to actually steer your car to safety while breaking instead of losing contol and fishtailing, or worse, veering off the side of the road. Definitely get them.

[mudder17]

Absolutely it's safer. It's one of the reasons we traded in our 98 Saturn SL2 for a 2003 L200 before DD came along. It's definitely kicked in a few times when we could have gone skidding. The only thing you have to make sure you don't do when you start to skid is pump your brakes. I never had this problem because I never really learned to pump my brakes. But it took DH some time to get used to it because he's been driving since he was 16 (me since 26 because I was "slow" :P) and has been pumping brakes in Los Alamos Mountain winter weather since then.


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya
http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/16994.birthday.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif Breastfed 7 months and counting

[Judegirl]

Right - I think that's the issue; they haven't been found to be safer because there are lots of brake-pumpers. I am one and dh is not. But I guess it's possible to un-learn.

I read that they may not stop as quickly, though, in an emergency; perhaps you trade quick stoppage for steer-ability? And if there's nowhere safe to steer, then that doesn't help much.

I've also never lost the ability to steer in an ABS-less vehicle, and I've skidded into snow banks in one with ABS. (I was probably pumping the brakes! LOL)

Thanks for the info!

Jude

[mharling]

Yep, definitely safer. I think a lot of insurance companies offer a discount too for cars that have them.

Mary
Lane - April 2003
Little sister on the way!!! March 2!

[KrisM]

I believe that overall, they are safer. They improve vehicle stability, steerability, and stopping capability. They are also often used to offer "traction control" in vehicles, which means that the computer in the car will selectively apply the ABS to one or more wheels, if it determines traction is lost on other wheels.

However, if the ABS kicks on on a gravel or loose snow type of surface, your stopping distance might actually be increased, when compared to standard brakes. This is because with standard brakes, the tires are locked and a little berm of gravel or snow is created, which helps stop the car. Since ABS keeps the tires rolling, no berm is created and it is more difficult to stop.

If you've never driven an ABS vehicle, it will take some getting used to. It is tough to remember to continue to push down on the brake when you feel it pulsating, rather than pump the brake, like you always have done. I would recommend driving on some dirt roads and getting it activate so that you know what it feels like before it kicks in in real life. It might also have a noise associate with it, which might throw you off in real life.

HTH.

[KrisM]

In a non-ABS vehicle, if you lock the tires, you lose the ability to steer. If you were pumping the brakes, you would not lose that ability.

Think about a stroller - if you have one that has wheels that lock straight, it's much harder to steer when they're locked than unlocked. This is the same for a car.

Or, if you've tried to make a tight circle in a car, you might have noticed that the rear tires "scrub" around the corner. Basically, they don't steer (in a FWD car), so they have to hop a bit to make the corner.

But, on slippery and dry roads, they should not cause you to stop any more slowly than standard brakes. They may actually stop faster. See my other post on gravel or loose snow though.

Also remember, whether you have ABS, 4-wheel drive, or anything else, you still can't steer on ice!

[Judegirl]

Thanks for the info, everyone! I'm sold - ABS it is.

Kris, that's what I read - the gravel thing - that's all it was, I guess.

Thanks again!
Jude