[Warwithwheels]

^^ ABS is definitely a must have when on the Highway. Thats beyond a debate.

How about for in city driving? Why not have a ABS off switch, like the one in the newly launched TVS Apache?

[cranky]

ABS simply activates when a wheel locks up. A locked wheel decelerates far less effectively than a wheel which still has traction. In every single situation it is more effective than a locked wheel. Imagine a wet road with locked tires, even at 40km/h it is a disaster waiting to happen.

However, ABS on its own can only do so much. A tyre that has very little traction (overinflated or low-grip, high mileage rubber common to most stock tyres in the country) will not be able to stop effectively with or without ABS. I'm pretty sure the lack of braking in the Innova incident stated here is not only due to ABS. If the tyres had locked the situation would have been far worse.

ABS sensitivity is controlled by the onboard computer, and obviously where there is software there is a switch to defeat it.

The two best safety features in a car are its driver and its tyres. Both are in action before any impact. Good tyres can be the difference between the front of a head and the back of it, in a braking situation.

[LP640]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Just can't recover from the freaking incident that happened a couple of minutes ago

Just can't imagine what would have happened only I was driving our other car with ABS equipped? I am sure the breaking distance would have been longer, turning the incident into an fatal accident.

Just a couple of thoughts that emanate from this incident

• Does ABS really make sense for cars that do a lot of Intra town/ city trips where the speeds are usually in the 25 ~ 40kmph region?
• Had a similar experience with our ABS equipped Innova. Emergency breaking did not work and car just kept moving forward and hit the biker who had a fall on the road due to a tire burst.
• Is it possible to have a sensor that triggers ABS only when you break hard at particular speed and above [say 50 kmph and above], akin to how airbags work.

Would it be wrong to conclude that ABS equipped cars are not safe for a person who does more intra city/ town rides?

Please chip in with your views!

Hi Warwithwheels. I have an Elantra and I practise braking hard on blank steets (gullies) at night, where there is no traffic. My car has ABS with EBD and BRAKE ASSIST. When I brake by really slowly pressing the pedal, i have to press very very hard as the Brake assist does not get activated. When i press pedal quickly, the brakes feel solid and cars brakes with out too much effort. I suggest we all should try and undestand our Elecronics systems, so that we know how will it react when it kicks in.

[LP640]

I was returning from Bandra on the Eastern Expressway at 1.30am. I was doing about 120kph. Was driving on the lane near divider. A truck in front moved to left lane. I thought it was letting me pass. And then what i saw was lane adjacent to divider was being closed for some repairs. The guys were just putting the yellow stop indication. A golden i10 had already stopped dead in fron of the Stop sign, in the middle lane. I was still in divider adjacent hane, no option to move left, Truck moving along side and i10 stopped ahead in left. So i braked hard. Could feel the ABS pulsation on the pedal. The construction guys got afraid and jumped on the divider. I spopped at about 2 m from the stop sign and the guys. Wat a relief. BUT after I stopped safely I realised I had still made a mistake. i did not know if any body was travelling right behind me.. from ten decided to keep sight on all mirrors before emergnency..(basically all the time )

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by LP640

.....My car has ABS with EBD and BRAKE ASSIST. When I brake by really slowly pressing the pedal, i have to press very very hard as the Brake assist does not get activated. When i press pedal quickly, the brakes feel solid and cars brakes with out too much effort. I suggest we all should try and undestand our Elecronics systems, so that we know how will it react when it kicks in.

Lucky you! Unfortunately even the top end Innova doesn't sport EBD and Break Assist. Going by your experience, I feel that EBD helps apply adequate braking pressure to each wheel in order to maximize stopping power while maintaining control over the vehicle.

IMO, ABS could prove really dangerous in certain situations unless it is complemented by EBD and Break assist. Sad that a vehicle in the 13 ~ 15L territory doesn't come with such indispensable feature.

[macbeth]

Originally Posted by LP640

I was returning from Bandra on the Eastern Expressway at 1.30am.
=========
from ten decided to keep sight on all mirrors before emergnency..(basically all the time )

Hey LP640,

120 is surely not a safe speed to drive within the city limits irrespective of the team. Luckily the car did to stop else it would have been disastrous. Any ways take care and drive safe

Regards

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by cranky

Road was slightly gravelly and must have suddenly narrowed as it is wont to do with work continuing on the six-laning.

I ALWAYS make it a point to cross check the width and try to see whether any person/animal/vehicle isn't to the vehicle's left hand side, the vehicle which I am overtaking.

In case I can't see, I wait for driver's passing signal.

Have learnt the hard way.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Last month, I took NH45 for one of my trip to southern part of TN.

I too took this road a couple of days back. Though i didn't have any emergencies i faced a problem of dead animals(probably dogs) lying in the roads. Saw atleast 4 of them at different places. Most of them were probably more than a day old carcass, and hence the bodies had bloated to around a feet in height.

My question is when you see one at the last moment and you are at around 80-90kph, is it advisiable to just pass over it, or turn the steering quickly and avoid going over the dead body? I guess heavier and big vehicles will pass over the dead animal without losing balance, but mine is a Chevy Beat. Hence the doubt.

[mac187]

Had a heart stopping moment of my own the other day. i have a Swift Ldi, stock rubber and stock brakes!

I was on highway at night 10PM, it was raining all the way, very heavy to medium shower. When the showers reduced a bit, went a little fast, was doing about 80 ~ 100 km/hr. On the horizon of the headlight saw a car parked to the right, the place looked like one of those small bridges, say 10 - 15 ft long. Was wondering what happend then saw the road, There was a big pool of water, braked really hard. The car just went skidding into the water at same speed!
Huge woosh, front windshield was covered with water. My heart skipped few beats there.. The water actually helped in stopping the car. Took left, Stopped little ahead to check for damages, thankfully there were none. Just the steering felt weird for a while, guess it is because of the water on the disc an all.

The other car was an Ikon, dont know what happened but the car front fender and bonnet were damaged. Looked like he lost control and hit the bridge wall.

I really want to do something about the brakes, it was a scary situtation to be in. Dont want to repeat the same.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by mac187

I really want to do something about the brakes, it was a scary situtation to be in. Dont want to repeat the same.

You may upgrade your tires to a stickier/softer profile. You may go in for 175 or 185 section too.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by mac187

Had a heart stopping moment of my own the other day. i have a Swift Ldi, stock rubber and stock brakes!

I was on highway at night 10PM, it was raining all the way, very heavy to medium shower. When the showers reduced a bit, went a little fast, was doing about 80 ~ 100 km/hr. On the horizon of the headlight saw a car parked to the right, the place looked like one of those small bridges, say 10 - 15 ft long. Was wondering what happend then saw the road, There was a big pool of water, braked really hard. The car just went skidding into the water at same speed!
Huge woosh, front windshield was covered with water. My heart skipped few beats there.. The water actually helped in stopping the car. Took left, Stopped little ahead to check for damages, thankfully there were none. Just the steering felt weird for a while, guess it is because of the water on the disc an all.

The other car was an Ikon, dont know what happened but the car front fender and bonnet were damaged. Looked like he lost control and hit the bridge wall.

I really want to do something about the brakes, it was a scary situtation to be in. Dont want to repeat the same.

You could start with being slightly slow in such conditions.

Given wet tyres, wet surface, braking effectivity goes for a toss with extremely wet liners. So, there's not much you can do apart from being more careful.

See if you can upgrade the tyres better suited to your car and it's handling.

Also, while driving in rains, try braking (gently) every now and then to get the water off the brake liners/pads.

Drive safe!

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Everything from here on happened in slow motion,

I could very well relate that feeling...been in that position twice & came out safely on both the occasions. The first incident is very scary.

[achtung]

Hi - re: engine braking, in an emergency situation, don't bother thinking about this - use the brakes.

ABS is designed (as said earlier in this thread) to stop your wheels locking and skidding. When that happens, you have no control over steering and you also don't slow down as fast.

If you have a car with ABS (I would recommend ABS for City and out of City driving, because you never know when you will need it!) I recommend getting some practice on a deserted street with no cars behind you ! A downhill road would be good to get you up to the speed where you would normally skid.

The great thing with ABS is that you can slam the brakes on as hard as you possibly can, and ABS will take care of making sure the wheels won't lock. Though many think the main advantage of this is that you won't skid, the fact you can brake really hard AND steer out of harm's way is potentially more important.

So, get your ABS car on the afore-mentioned deserted downhill stretch and try getting up to a decent speed (e.g. 50-60 km/h), slam the brakes on and try steering around an (imaginary!!!) obstacle.

As also mentioned in other replies, ABS is not magic and can't defy the laws of physics. It can only work with the tyres you have (note - good tyres are critical safety aids!), the road surface you are on (e.g. it won't magically make you stop slower in rain or if you are aquaplaning over a big puddle) and it won't make you stop earlier than if you manually braked to just the point of not skidding yourself (though that is next to impossible - especially in an emergency!! - a lot of people don't brake hard enough, or skid). So if you are going much too fast for the road conditions, it won't save you.

Anyway it makes for much more relaxing driving altogether if you ensure you have as much time as possible to react to situations, and you can do this by ensuring you have a good gap to the car in front, ensuring that your path is clear before overtaking, etc, etc. Driving in India showed me that anything can happen, and fear limited my highway driving speed to something like 90 km/h (except for elevated sections of motorway when there is less chance of bizzarre happenings, and you can do 160! :-) )

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by achtung

ABS is designed (as said earlier in this thread) to stop your wheels locking and skidding. When that happens, you have no control over steering and you also don't slow down as fast....

... it won't magically make you stop slower in rain or if you are aquaplaning over a big puddle

Hi achtung, not sure if I'm reading it correctly about increased stopping distances, but just needed to confirm.

ABS decreases stopping distances in normal and slippery surfaces.
ABS increases stopping distances in gravel or loose surfaces.

But, in both cases, there is a significant increase of overall control of the vehicle and steerability.

[achtung]

With gravel / snow, if the wheels lock, they will push a pile of gravel / snow in front of them, which would slow the car down more than if the wheels were running over the top of the surface.

Otherwise, they stop you better than you would probably stop yourself, unless you are a freakishly skilled driver

All the best - stay safe!