ABS is cool

posted by Jeff | Tuesday, May 18, 2004, 10:00 AM | comments: 2
Today some asshole in a giant SUV that I couldn't see around wasn't paying attention on I-271 and skid/swerved all over trying to avoid the stopped traffic in front of him. He went right, fortunately I could go left in the shoulder. Fucker nearly caused a crash.

What was neat about this incident is that my car, the Corolla I bought a couple of months ago, has anti-lock brakes. It's the first car I've had with ABS. While the idiot in the big, causing-gas-to-be-two-dollars SUV nearly lost control, I was able to steer clear without ever skidding. That's pretty cool.

I know there has been a certain amount of debate about ABS. Some people who drive professionally, racing or otherwise, say that it removes a certain amount of control from their driving, because they expect the deal with the car and the physics involved with a skid. I can certainly appreciate that, because that's how I feel about driving in show. I know what braking and steering will cause the car to do, and it's what I expect.

Still, this was kind of neat. I hate that drive... and things like this make it worse.


Comments

CPLady

May 19, 2004, 12:29 PM # I had my first car with ABS, a Saturn, back in the mid 90's and although it took some getting used to at first, I loved it. The automatic "pumping' action made it much easier to stop without skidding on slick roads.

gregleg

May 19, 2004, 7:52 PM # I agree. I'm still driving my first car with ABS ('99 Honda Civic), and with Pittsburgh's hills/weather double-whammy, I've fallen in love with it. Saved my ass a few times...

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