Robert Henry wrote:
Why do you know that? ABS doesn't make you steer any better, unless
you've locked your brakes.


On a snow covered surface, I do not believe that I could have kept the
brakes unlocked in a conventional vehicle. The straightline physics
principle would have applied. It is likely that I would have made the
trifecta, hitting the deer, the oncoming traffic and the ditch. (For some
reason, I wasn't introduced to the concept of hitting the deer until I
started flying airplanes.)

Only if you applied the brakes, or applied them too hard. My first
choice is always to steer around an obstacle rather than to try to stop
short of it, given the option. Unfortunately, most of our driver
education advocates braking rather than steering. 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. 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... :-)


I agree that average to poor drivers will do
better with ABS.


Well, apparently not. It is conceivable if not likely that is the group that
tends to run off the road or rollover more often in ABS vehicles, negating
the advantage.


Very good drivers will often not do much better and
and can do worse with ABS.


Back at you; how do you know that? There are probably so few very good
drivers out there as to be of no consequence. I've had a 5-year good
driver credit since I was 21; so I'm the exception to this statement?

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 main advantage I've seen is in cases where one side of the
car is on ice and the other on pavement (happens often in the northeast
in the winter). ABS clearly provides an advantage here with its
differential braking capability.


More to the point, I stand by my original statement. Training (and
experience) is the issue. To rephrase your statement, I would say that a
driver of any level driving an ABS-equipped vehicle without proper training,
if any, and/or experience with ABS will often not do much better and can do
worse. I believe this is what is suggested by the statistics.

I agree that proper training AND frequent practice are key to almost any
activity involved a motorized vehicle.


However, good
braking technique without ABS is about equally good.


Perhaps. In the interest of full disclosure, I am probably dependent on
ABS; if the system failed when needed most, I'd be toast. The difference is
that I believe, and I think the body of knowledge suggests, that the human
being is unable to sustain the level of performance needed to use "good
braking technique" when it is needed most (e.g., at night, in the mountains,
snowing). On the other hand, the ABS system is most likely to be there when
the driver needs it most. As such, I think ABS is the better way to go
overall, but not as a supplement to good driving technique. (Sort of like
using a parachute to supplement good ADM.)

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. 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...


Matt