Ever been saved by a driver's aid?
Discussion
This rainy Saturday, for the first time in my 12 year accident free driving history, I came desperately close to achieving that disgrace of all common accidents – going up the back of someone.
Luckily for me, for the first time in my 12 year accident free driving history, I was driving a car with ABS that actually worked.
I’ll not go into the details of what happened but suffices to say I completely misjudged a vehicles intention to turn. A sudden wave of cold panic hit the pit of my stomach as I hit the peddle knowing a loss of traction would be disastrous – I lost traction and within a fraction of a second of feeling the vehicle skid, and before I had a chance to react and reapply the breaks, a judder vibrated up through the peddle and I came to a dramatic halt a mere couple of yards from the unsuspecting car in front.
I guess mostly, aside from a lingering sense of shame, I feel astonished by the reaction speed the system. I read once that when confronted with danger memory is hyper-stimulated so we can learn from experience. I remember very vividly thinking “Oh sh@t, I’ve locked up” but before the impulse to lift off and reapply the brakes had even exited my brain towards right food the ABS had already reacted. I always thought my driving reactions were pretty good but now I feel slow and obsolete.
I was wondering how many people have been saved in a similar way by advanced breaking, traction or stability systems etc.
How did it make you feel - impressed, humiliated or both?
/first post – gotta start somewhere!
Luckily for me, for the first time in my 12 year accident free driving history, I was driving a car with ABS that actually worked.
I’ll not go into the details of what happened but suffices to say I completely misjudged a vehicles intention to turn. A sudden wave of cold panic hit the pit of my stomach as I hit the peddle knowing a loss of traction would be disastrous – I lost traction and within a fraction of a second of feeling the vehicle skid, and before I had a chance to react and reapply the breaks, a judder vibrated up through the peddle and I came to a dramatic halt a mere couple of yards from the unsuspecting car in front.
I guess mostly, aside from a lingering sense of shame, I feel astonished by the reaction speed the system. I read once that when confronted with danger memory is hyper-stimulated so we can learn from experience. I remember very vividly thinking “Oh sh@t, I’ve locked up” but before the impulse to lift off and reapply the brakes had even exited my brain towards right food the ABS had already reacted. I always thought my driving reactions were pretty good but now I feel slow and obsolete.
I was wondering how many people have been saved in a similar way by advanced breaking, traction or stability systems etc.
How did it make you feel - impressed, humiliated or both?
/first post – gotta start somewhere!
It's interesting when someone pulls out from nowhere. I had it, reactions had me hitting the anchor pedal so hard I pulled a ligament in my leg, the EBA and ABS came on, and I was stopped from 40mph before I'd conciously seen the other car. Very much a case of "what the frack just happened?!?".
RB Will said:
GravelBen said:
Nope. Had some close calls caused by ABS though, it really isn't optimised for loose or corrugated surfaces! 
Same. I ended up with the nose of the off roader sat atop a dung heap as I braked hard on the mud and the ABS just kept me sailing on.what vehicle was it (in both cases)?
y2blade said:
can't you switch ABS off for off-road stuff?
what vehicle was it (in both cases)?
Some 'proper' 4wds (with difflocks) you can.what vehicle was it (in both cases)?
I've had it more times than I can count, mostly in Subarus as thats what I've mostly been driving with ABS - and this may seem odd (depending where you live), but I'm talking about on-road situations rather than off-road.
Once you know what to expect from the ABS you can drive around it to some degree with different brake technique and/or judicious use of the handbrake - but its never a good feeling when your car refuses to give you brake pressure into a downhill hairpin!
Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 15th March 11:15
I've been saved by ABS once, car pulling out in front of me when I was doing about 60mph with oncoming traffic. Far too close, must have been mere inches in it.
On the flipside the traction control has almost caused me to have an accident when turning right across traffic, went to go and just got a pretty light flashing on the dash whilst proceeding at 1mph.
On the flipside the traction control has almost caused me to have an accident when turning right across traffic, went to go and just got a pretty light flashing on the dash whilst proceeding at 1mph.
Only the opposite...
I was enthusiastically driving down a very uneven country road that was almost like driving over miniture waves.. Anyway, corner coming up so I hit the brakes and NOTHING it was like I was just gliding across the sea... At the time I thought I was seriously overheated brakes or total failure. But I believes it was down to the abs telling the brakes to release as they locked through the air and lock after over contact with the road not during..
I was enthusiastically driving down a very uneven country road that was almost like driving over miniture waves.. Anyway, corner coming up so I hit the brakes and NOTHING it was like I was just gliding across the sea... At the time I thought I was seriously overheated brakes or total failure. But I believes it was down to the abs telling the brakes to release as they locked through the air and lock after over contact with the road not during..
A few times, especislly when called to brake and steer. Usually wildlife related 'round my way (Sussex).
Don't try and modulate the braking in a modern ABS equipped car- you need to keep the pedal mashed, steer if needed, and let Herr Bosche's algorithms figure it all out for you.
I'm now waiting for the PH's hero's to tell us how they can stop a car better than ABS on *some* surfaces using their skills to keep each wheel at the grip theshold.
SS7
Don't try and modulate the braking in a modern ABS equipped car- you need to keep the pedal mashed, steer if needed, and let Herr Bosche's algorithms figure it all out for you.
I'm now waiting for the PH's hero's to tell us how they can stop a car better than ABS on *some* surfaces using their skills to keep each wheel at the grip theshold.
SS7
As a a passenger ina a Rover 820, pompous arse of a driver who had just got it telling me about the ABS and how he thought it was the devils work and he would be removing the fuse at the earliest opportunity, being young and inquisitive I asked why, he told me
"I drive defensively and scan far further in front of the car than perhaps you do, in the unlikely event of something I dont anticipate I simply employ cadence braking in a controlled manner by modulating pedal pressure and bring the car to a stop whilst avoiding the obstacle in the process"
Just after his smug I.A.M addled rant a tractor pulled out, I saw it and assumed he had, especially given his advanced driving god credentials. Turns out he hadn't and didnt until the very last moment as I shouted something and woke him up, he slammed on and I was impressed at his "cadence braking" then realised he hadn't had chance to disable the ABS, he just paniced and slammed on, it was very very close, H ejust blustered about his advanced skills helping him avoid the incident and didnt mention my contribution of alerting him to it. I decided them that he was the biggest tit I have met in a long time.
So, for me, that sealed the value of these systems for most drivers, most to the time and made me realise that someone telling you how they deal with a situation is just doing that, telling you, talking, all calm and collected, not actually having just had a Tractor appear 50 feet in front whilst daydreaming about other ways to discuss how great they are.
He was, not long after diagnosed with quite advanced Glaucoma, he had ignored it for several years despite a family history and ever diminishing peripheral vision.
"I drive defensively and scan far further in front of the car than perhaps you do, in the unlikely event of something I dont anticipate I simply employ cadence braking in a controlled manner by modulating pedal pressure and bring the car to a stop whilst avoiding the obstacle in the process"
Just after his smug I.A.M addled rant a tractor pulled out, I saw it and assumed he had, especially given his advanced driving god credentials. Turns out he hadn't and didnt until the very last moment as I shouted something and woke him up, he slammed on and I was impressed at his "cadence braking" then realised he hadn't had chance to disable the ABS, he just paniced and slammed on, it was very very close, H ejust blustered about his advanced skills helping him avoid the incident and didnt mention my contribution of alerting him to it. I decided them that he was the biggest tit I have met in a long time.
So, for me, that sealed the value of these systems for most drivers, most to the time and made me realise that someone telling you how they deal with a situation is just doing that, telling you, talking, all calm and collected, not actually having just had a Tractor appear 50 feet in front whilst daydreaming about other ways to discuss how great they are.
He was, not long after diagnosed with quite advanced Glaucoma, he had ignored it for several years despite a family history and ever diminishing peripheral vision.
Yep. Driving an A4 2.8 quattro a few years ago and approaching a side road at about 40 mph- just off roundabout exit when guy pulls out from left to turn right with me about 10 metres away. I slammed on and steered and went around the back of him with a coat of paint to spare.Didn't have time to think and was certainly saved by the ABS which meant the steering continued to work. He was more saved, though as he would have been wearing a V6 otherwise.
I think with the current good ABS systems (not the crappy ones), the only way a driver could out brake ABS would be if they had 4 brake pedals so they could modulate the braking amount at each wheel 
Don't some of the modern ones also figure out if you're driving on mud/ice/snow/gravel and adopt the system to still get maximum braking?
It's funny when I hear someone in a 1995 Micra go on about the ABS in their car, thinking they are all "completely fail proof" and not having an inkling that they are being refined all the time, and the more you pay for a system, the better it'll be.
As to the cars systems saving me, the first time I went on a track day in the Boxster, after a session with an instructor he encouraged me to just hammer it everywhere, throw it into bends, etc, and let the cars brain sort it all out - which it did admirably
Don't some of the modern ones also figure out if you're driving on mud/ice/snow/gravel and adopt the system to still get maximum braking?
It's funny when I hear someone in a 1995 Micra go on about the ABS in their car, thinking they are all "completely fail proof" and not having an inkling that they are being refined all the time, and the more you pay for a system, the better it'll be.
As to the cars systems saving me, the first time I went on a track day in the Boxster, after a session with an instructor he encouraged me to just hammer it everywhere, throw it into bends, etc, and let the cars brain sort it all out - which it did admirably
No, but lack of it saved a dog once, it jogged out on the road in front of me and then started casually trotting down the road in the middle of my lane with its back to me. I was the only car on the road, it was night time, but I was hesitant to go into the lane to my right because I was expecting the dog to go in that direction at any moment. So I braked, very hard. It wasn't hard enough. I pushed a bit harder, the front left locked up. It still wasn't enough and I was about to punt the poor alsatian, but it heard the locked wheel, got a fright and leapt back over to the left and out of the way.
On another occasion cadence braking in a car with no ABS saved my bacon, ABS would have done it better, decent situational awareness would have done it best.
On another occasion cadence braking in a car with no ABS saved my bacon, ABS would have done it better, decent situational awareness would have done it best.
Yeah, I nearly maimed my Wife when she had her head hanging out the passenger window while she was gassing to her friend.
I meant to do the rear window up, but unfortunatly (for her) I started to wind hers up.
I never twigged until she started flapping her hands around like a lunatic behind her- so shocked, that her voice decided not to work at the moment.
She was momenterally in a choke hold until it automatically released. If it didn't have the auto-release windows, I would have been in the dog house for many a day.
I meant to do the rear window up, but unfortunatly (for her) I started to wind hers up.
I never twigged until she started flapping her hands around like a lunatic behind her- so shocked, that her voice decided not to work at the moment.
She was momenterally in a choke hold until it automatically released. If it didn't have the auto-release windows, I would have been in the dog house for many a day.
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