[sridhar24]

Good that you guys are safe after such a serious accident but always remember to wear the seat belts and drive safely.

[Rehaan]

Hey Beemer,

Kbk & Rtech rightly explained the ABS factor in your experience, and honestly it might not have made a huge difference. Infact, if you think about it, in that extreme panic situation you might have taken advantage of ABS and steered off the road, or into something else which might have had much worse consequences.
Anyway, it sounds like you definitely have learned from this experience, and im glad you are sharing it with us. (Do you happen to have any pictures?)

It was such a severe accident ,that the tanker's fuel tank was broken into pieces

All i can say is - im glad neither of you were smoking!

example, when ever I cross a stationed bus at the busstand , I imagine a guy is going to cross the bus to go to the other side of the road.

Absolutely man, i do the same thing and im glad some1 else does too... another thing to keep an eye open for in the distance is playing/fighting dogs, because they are too engrossed in thier interaction to pay attention to traffic (which most dogs are usually good at - but dont rely on it!).

Fake it until you make it.

By default, now whenever i see a potential situation my foot moves over to the brake.

You dont realise how important taking tiny precautions are until you cross the line and its too late. So dont let that happen.
cya
R

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Absolutely man, i do the same thing and im glad some1 else does too... another thing to keep an eye open for in the distance is playing/fighting dogs, because they are too engrossed in thier interaction to pay attention to traffic (which most dogs are usually good at - but dont rely on it!).

Are you sure? I never trust dogs, or I should say, I trust dogs (and for that matter, entire cattle class) to walk right in line of my vehicle trajectory. Seen (or been part of) at least 8-10 accidents involving dogs and buffalows. They either dont move or if they move, move for commiting suicide below your vehicle.

Be careful even when there are 4 lane roads with road dividers in between. People somehow like to jump over the divider and land up right in front of you, oblivious to the fact that they are walking/crossing a highway. (Mostly in rural areas). Better way is keep on honking till they look at you and take foot off accelerator meanwhile.

[dev]

What is the difference between a Power brake(Esteem has this) and ABS/MAV?
Thanks

[maybach]

Originally Posted by dev

What is the difference between a Power brake(Esteem has this) and ABS/MAV?
Thanks

POWER BRAKES ARE EQUIPPED IN ESTEEM AND NOT IN THE NEW HONDA CITY CITY HAS HYDRAULIC BRAKING WHERE AS POWER BRAKES HAVE SOME FLUID INVOLVED IN BRAKING JUST LIKE POWER STEERING.. ABS IS ANTI LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM.. THERE IS A MACHINE IN THE CAR (IN THE COROLLA ITS PLACED IN THE ENGINE BAY) WHICH UNLOCKS THE TIRED 60 TIMES PER SECOND.. HENCE PREVENTING THE CAR TO LOCK AND SKID

[maybach]

Originally Posted by Beemer

Thankfully (to god), i and my friend escaped from the crash nearly unhurt ! Courtesy , the solid build of octavia and those airbags and would you believe it , none of us were wearing seat belts !

GLAD TO KNOW YOUR SAFE.. DRIVE SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY..

I thank makers of Skoda , who has given us a world class car in india but has lost out on ABS . I would like to urge car manufacturers or rather indian govt., to make it mandatory that every car sold in india should be equipped ABS as standard , like it is in the UK coz i know and am preety sure , had my octavia been equipped with ABS , it would have prevented the car wheels from locking , hence preventing from such a severe acident !!!
OCTAVIAS ARE NOW EQUIPPED WITH ABS

However , pals , whenever you go out to buy a car , alwayz consider the car having ABS coz god's forbid , if you ever come across something like this ,it can really be a life and your car saver , its worth the extra money spent !!! Give your shout on this, guys
and THANX for the patience for reading this !

WELL I HEARD THAT YOU CAN PUT ABS IN YOUR CAR.. ITS BEEN MANUFACTURED BY BOSCH.. THIS HAD COME IN AUTOCAR AND I SEND AUTOCAR 15 MAILS IN A MONTH IN THEIR AAA SECTION TO HELP ME BUT THEY DIDNOT REPLY TO ME I EVEN CALLED THEIR HEAD OFFICE IN BOMBAY AND THE GUY PICKED UP THE PHONE KEPT ME ON HOLD FOREVER

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by maybach

THERE IS A MACHINE IN THE CAR (IN THE COROLLA ITS PLACED IN THE ENGINE BAY) WHICH UNLOCKS THE TIRED 60 TIMES PER SECOND.. HENCE PREVENTING THE CAR TO LOCK AND SKID

I remember it as 160 times a minute which is very different from 60 times a second.

I used to drive a car with ABS and traction control. As some have already confirmed ABS doesn't reduce braking distance. The only thing that ABS does is lets you turn while braking. In other words, you can floor the brakes (don't slam) and steer the vehicle without losing control.

I have also done lot of ice/snow driving. The way ABS behaves on snow is scary. When you squeeze the brakes, if you press a little harder, the pedal jumps back vibrating violently making you think something went really wrong. Then there are those moments when you are moving/sliding in two directions (front and sides). When this happens, don't think about ABS, don't even think brakes. Just use the steering to get out of that mess.

Check out this article on how to use ABS brakes properly.

[maybach]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I remember it as 160 times a minute which is very different from 60 times a second.

I used to drive a car with ABS and traction control. As some have already confirmed ABS doesn't reduce braking distance. The only thing that ABS does is lets you turn while braking.

here there samurai.. about the 60thingy i juss remembered that it was sumthing to do with 60 : Well if ABS doesnot reduce braking distance.. then how come it reduced it on the INNOVA.. the ABS version stops in 2.XX and the non ABS stops in 3.XX

[Rehaan]

RX135 - I say that because i have seen dogs (in the city atleast) cross roads better than most pedestrians...lol

Dev - "Power brakes" are available in all cars on the market now. ie as a stock fitting. It basically means that the braking system uses a brake booster which uses vaccum from the engine to ASSIST the braking, ie you dont have to press the pedal as hard as in the old old cars without boosters.
The difference between power brakes and ABS is that ABS (antiLOCK braking system) doesnt let the tires lock up (stop turning) whilst the car is still moving during braking. This means that you are able to steer the car as opposed to just sliding with the tires locked and not able to turn, which is what would happen if you slammed on the brakes all the way in a non-ABS car.

Maybach - all brakes are hydraulic. and its probably just that the NHC doesnt advertise the fact that it has "power brakes" since its taken for granted nowadays. (correct me if i am wrong).
Also, maybe ACI doesnt reply to your mails coz you write them in ALL CAPITALS!

Samurai - ABS figures vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, the catch is that they say it functions UPTO 10 times a sec (for eg.). Whether that really happens is your guess we are talking about a hydraulic system here!
When driving in snow or sand it is best to turn ABS off as when you lock the tires and snow/sand piles up in front of the tires it helps slow the car down.

Maybach - ABS not only lets you steer, but in some cases (with a well made & designed ABS system eg. bosch used on Mercs & BMWs etc) it does reduce straight line braking distances. This is because it keeps the tires from locking up and "sliding". Instead it keeps them in the maximum traction zone (as opposed to surpassing it by locking the tires) and hence reduces braking distance.

cya
R

[gamerno1]

thank god u r ok, well i never wore a seatbelt even when am at 100 in my 1 year driving but u have forced me to think again. can i get ABS for zen?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

When driving in snow or sand it is best to turn ABS off as when you lock the tires and snow/sand piles up in front of the tires it helps slow the car down.

Acura TL didn't have the option to switch off ABS. Actually, I don't recall ABS switch in any car I have driven.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Acura TL didn't have the option to switch off ABS. Actually, I don't recall ABS switch in any car I have driven.

Yeah, i was gonna mention that most indian cars with ABS dont have that option to switch it off.

In the Acura maybe ABS was part of the ESP/ESC or whatever its termed? could you turn that off?

GamerNo1,
You will be GamerNo0 if you dont wear your seatbelts.
ABS and airbags are just icing on the cake. Seatbelts are what will save your life.

Cya
R

[Rtech]

Rehaan, I don't think i have ever come across a car which allows the driver to switch off the ABS. Maybe high end exotic cars, but surely not regular family cars or even top end luxury cars. ESC yes, but not ABS.

[maybach]

Hey Rehaan thanx for the info.. but the NHC is not equipped with power brakes.. just checked it out in the Car Service Book of Honda, it has hydraulic braking.. which is terrible..
ABS figures vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer as i have noticed poor ABS frpm hyundai as well as TCS.. i went to test drive a Elamtra CRDi and when i launcehd it with TCS off the week spun badly.. also it lost traction.. when i braked the wheels locked up maybe the ABS was not working well there.. i do agree that ABS reduces the braking distance as the innova ABS stops before the non ABS innova
And yes rehaan i didnot write to ACI in capitals..

[Rehaan]

Hey Rtech,

Actually, i just found out that no new cars have the ABS on/off switch! This is due to vehicle safety legislation.
However, for eg. old audis used to have this switch.
Other cars (for eg i have read abt the Z3) having a way to disengage ABS by holding the DSC button for 2-3seconds, which turns off DSC and ABS. Ofcourse, this feature is not documented in the manual.
Also, some 4WD vehicles turn off ABS when you engage the differential lock (Source (pdf))

Also i have breifly seen something mentioned about subaru's supersport ABS, which apparently greatly increases ABS performance on loose surfaces.

cya
R