On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 09:43:35 GMT, "Richard J."
wrote (more or less):

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

I don't rely on ABS to stop me quicker - I
use it to even out the fact that the car in front probably has it
and will stop quicker than I can if I don't have it...

If you are relying on ABS to stop you, you are driving too close to the
vehicle in front.

Er, actually ABS doesn't really affect stopping distances. It
allows you to steer while braking.

Er, have you driven on snow with and without ABS? It certainly does
affect stopping distance on ice or snow.

And in different ways.

On ice, it will prevent lock-up of each wheel, increasing braking
efficiency across the four wheels, decreasing stopping distance
compared to a manually-controlled wheel.

On snow, locking up the wheels can have the beneficial effect of
causing a wedge of snow to build up in front of the locked wheel,
which decreases stopping distance on snow compared to an abs wheel.


--
Cheers,
Euan
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