"Matthew S. Whiting" wrote in message
...

Only if you applied the brakes, or applied them too hard.

Yes, I saw an impending problem standing in the middle of the road to my
left with a ditch to my right- I was braking.

My first
choice is always to steer around an obstacle rather than to try to stop
short of it, given the option.

Correct. I wasn't able to stop in time and the animal was in the other lane.

Unfortunately, most of our driver
education advocates braking rather than steering.

Agree!

If you don't hit the
brakes at all when on snow, you can steer reasonably well. And if you
are in full ABS mode (pedal to the metal), the steering even then gets
pretty dicey if on snow or ice.

Less responsive for sure, but not impossible. On a non-ABS vehicle, once
the wheels lock, getting them unlocked requires a period of reduced brake
pressure - a pressure far less than maximum braking. Steering is impossible
until that braking pressure is released. That straightline physics problem
is a factor until then, some stopping distance has to be sacrificed, and
critical moments are ticking away.

I know as I experiment a lot in parking
lots in the winter. It is great fun and good practice! Drives the wife
crazy though... :-)

Exactly, and oh well.



I'm talking mostly about road tests done by car magazines and motorcycle
magazines. ABS almost always increases stopping distance on dry
pavement, gravel, and snow. It tends to be about a wash on wet pavement
and ice.

The NHTSA study stated that ABS reduced stopping distances in most road
conditions, including dry pavement - just "less so." Since we're both less
interested in stopping distance anyway, this isn't really worth drawing
swords over.

Unfortunately, the real world statistics don't show a clear advantage
for ABS. And this is from thousands of accidents involving people of
many different skills and many different vehicles.

What you refuse to acknowledge is that the best driver in the world is going
to do poorly in an ABS-vehicle if there is 1) no idea/training on how to use
it, or 2) that it is even there (like an average driver with a rental car).
Think of it like spell check - if we hit cancel - send it anyay when it
automatically pops up, the best speller in the world might send out a
message with a typo. It rarely catches omitted words either.

Even the insurance
companies were caught off guard as some originally offered discounts for
ABS vehicles being sure they would reduce claims. Didn't happen and try
to find a company that still offers a discount for ABS...

Funny, how if you go to an all day defensive driving clinic, they'll give
you a defensive driver discount. I just checked my policy, and you have to
be over 50 years of age to qualify for the discount. The insurance companies
know that it's about training and experience, not technology. If you look at
the training announcements from Cirrus since the statistical fleet crash
rate went through the roof, you'll see they got the same message.

On the other hand, I do receive an ABS discount from my insurance company.
It only applies to collision and comprehensive, though.