well as i was heading through a green light on the way home from a weekend trip to washington dc, a gmc jimmy decided it didn't need to heed its red light in the opposing left-turn lane. to make things worse, i didn't see it until the last moment because the light is at the crest of a hill and you can't see oncoming traffic until you're very near to it (this is probably the reason for the left turn lane light, even in a back-country setting). i also just didn't plan on anyone ignoring oncoming traffic.

i hit the brakes, saw i couldn't stop in time to avoid the collision, and swerved left as teh jimmy continued to make its turn. i definitely remember NOT removing my foot from the brake while i swerved, and if it had not been for the ABS i would have skidded straight into his right rear quarterpanel at about 25 mph (and he was probably doing 15).

it shook the hell out of me, but truly made me appreciate the ABS.

hal

 

 

Boy do I wish I had ABS on my car,
I have a cracked front bumper as a result of not having it. My brakes have locked many times on wet roads and snow covered roads.. unbelievable.

 

ABS is there to help. But if you don't expect it, you might get scared and let off the brake or pump the brake which can make things worse. People should always know their car and know what it will be like when the ABS comes on.

 

ABS did not work in snow for me it sucks.
last year had a big snow storm here with like 5cm snow on the ground no one plowed I was going like 20km/h then all of a sudden car infront of me decides to stop quickly so ABS kick in I knew I'm gonna hit it so I turned steering
and the car DID NOT turn the way steering was pointing so I let the brakes go for a second and reapplied. good hting I didn't hit that car

 

I saw the car, hit the brakes, and turned the wheel, and my car slid straight into it. That sucked like ****. Its weird in the driving schools they tell you if you dont have abs pump your brakes. You dont think about that **** when your in a situation like that. The first reaction you know instinctively is to slam on the brakes and turn the wheel to avoid it. Im glad they teach it but it doesnt help unless you have mad, really tight, very very very good reflexes. Which I doubt most do, hehe. Now I check every intersection with alot of caution even when my light is green. I remember for a month I was too afraid to drive and always thought I saw some car in the corner about to hit me when driving. But I am over that now. It just sucks that my car doesnt have it. But its all I guess a learning experience.

 

ABS has saved my car from a few accidents in the snow too. Its good to be able to jam on the brakes without thinking... not like you really can in those types of situations anyways. The only thing bad is when you get bigger rims it always kicks in too early... like during normal hard braking. That can get annoying sometimes but its a small price to pay for something that can save your car or your life more than once.

 

This is a reason why I think that everybody should go into empty parkinglots and practice emergency braking in the rain and snow and do controlled doughnuts etc... most people think that we are the people who cause accidents... the truth is that when it come down to a real emergency situation we're the ones who know how to stop and are much more likely to avoid an accident..

 

As I read this thread, and some of the posts on it. ABS does save lives, however being too over-confident with ABS is a bad thing. 95% of the time when you brake, you're just like everyone else inlcuding the Yugo next to you.
It's that 5% of panic stops that make your appreciate ABS even more.
However in snow, forget it, its a different story. On snow its all about how you control the full dynamics of your car. How the tires grip the surface, how the suspension works to your every command, and most importantly your brakes. ABS on snow just plows you ahead, the way to brake is threshold braking where you step on the brake, and not lock it up or depend on ABS to stop the car. Especially in corners, I practiced in a snowy parking lot, drifting, taking turns 15-20mph, using the e-brake, and just accelerating and stopping. The lessons I learned out there, helped me in the NYC snow storms. I had fun driving my car in the snow. I could take the turn on my block which is over 90 degrees at speed and pull the e brake up for a sec to start the swing out, and then modulate my accelerator to pull the car thru with some counter steer.

 

yeah IMO ABS is useless in snow. cannot steer in snow with brakes applied anyways only usful in rain

 

It's not the ABS that saved you, it's the fact you remembered to steer that saved you. ABS is just a tool, you are the brains.

Great heads up!

 

Driving in snow can be dangerous. If you're driving hard, every turn comes with massive understeer, if you actually get any steering responce at all. I'm happy with my ABS-less Max, and I am not a firm believer in the so called "safety" ABS brings, like most people are. I totally agree that you should go to a parkingg lot and try out everything, until you get comfortable and start having fun. I may be a conceited bastard, but I think I am probably one of the best winter drivers here, a lot better than average. You may think I'm crazy, but learn to use your parking brake when cornering in a parking lot. If you car won't turn on a snowy road, a 1-2 second hold on the e-brake can sometimes slide the tail around and coax your car to turn. I've almost met a few ditches and phone poles before my e-brake saved the day....