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Antilock-breaking (ABS) vs Stabilty Control (ESP) vs Traction Control Video

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SeraphimLabs:
@SeraphimLabs - Are you psychic or something? If your posts got any closer to what is going through my head I'd have to start getting paranoid!

;) :D
-Stoic Joker (June 11, 2014, 12:53 PM)
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Been fixing cars since I was old enough to hold a wrench. These days I mostly do industrial and IT related repairs, but I am around automation enough to always be second-guessing it and cross checking its behavior.

When you are around automatic stuff and it is your job to fix it, getting an inherent distrust of the machine is an occupational hazard. After all it is your job to find what is wrong with the device and put it right again.

Technology isn't some magic box that does stuff. It operates by a predictable set of rules. Watch its behavior until you learn the rules by which it works, and you can instantly spot when something has gone wrong with it.

Stoic Joker:
^Now I had me a funny feeling about that... :D :Thmbsup:

mouser:
So I took my car down a rocky gravely road, and tested ABS -- which kicked in easily on that surface.  It wasn't particularly dramatic but i'm glad to know what it feels like so if it happens in real driving it won't startle me.
I also tried to get it to trigger on a regular road, but a hard stop at 35mph did not trigger it -- despite giving me whiplash and throwing baby cody from the back seat to the front seat, and so i gave up on that.

IainB:
... It wasn't particularly dramatic...I also tried to get it [ABS] to trigger on a regular road, but a hard stop at 35mph did not trigger it -- despite giving me whiplash and throwing baby cody from the back seat to the front seat, and so i gave up on that.
______________________________
-mouser (June 15, 2014, 04:09 PM)
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It shouldn't be obtrusive ("dramatic") if it is working properly. It's pretty much idiot-proof and doesn't require any special changes to your driving for it to work effectively. Just forget about it.***
Probably too much friction when you were on the dry road, so there would be no wheels locking up. Try it in the rain on the same road when it is wet and you will probably find it engaging. Try braking in the wet whilst you are turning and see what happens.
Then go and ask your insurers for a reduction in your car insurance premiums because, statistically, your chances of having an accident have been reduced by this technology. On the same principle, I was promptly given a 10% discount (after I had asked) by my AA (Automobile Association) Insurers on my annual all-risks car insurance when I passed the Institute of Advanced Motorists driving test (statistically, IAM members have a reduced risk rating - i.e., a lower risk profile).

***Note: But for goodness' sake remember it when you get in to drive a car that has no ABS fitted.

IainB:
Anything I wrote above was based on the assumption that the ABS was fitted correctly and working properly.
However, I was alarmed to read in GM Recalls: How General Motors Silenced a Whistle-Blower:
...In May of that year, Kelley told lawyers, the audit found three problems, including a vehicle in Flint, Mich., with its antilock brakes improperly attached and a vehicle in Lansing with a fuel leak. McAleer’s lawsuit claimed that as much as 1 percent of all vehicles manufactured by GM during the 1999 model year could be defective, or more than 30,000 North American cars and trucks. ...

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(My emphasis.)
Apart from the ABS problem, a 1% defective/unsafe ratio in car manufacture would seem to be a shockingly bad record. Furthermore, reading the article, one would probably have no way of knowing for certain whether they had fixed their QC processes, or just continued to bury the issue.
I'd think carefully before buying a car from that manufacturer, new or second-hand, without doing quite a bit of independent research first and giving the vehicle a complete independent AA safety inspection and certification before accepting delivery. Being paranoid about car safety and a bit of a petrol-head and a reasonable car mechanic, I'd also give it a thorough going-over myself, immediately after receiving it.

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