Gareth wrote:TheInsanity1234 wrote:What's the bleeding point of fitting a car with a system to help you brake as hard as you can safely, without losing control, if you're then taught not to use it?
Shouldn't be hard to work out the answer to this question - what ideas have you had so far?
The only thing I can think of is during lessons, if you're driving an ABS fitted car, and then you pass your test and purchase a car without ABS, then it won't be fun and games when you slam your foot on the brake and expect the ABS to sort it out for you.
But otherwise, if your vehicle is well maintained, and there are no warning lights to alert you to an ABS malfunction, or any other possible cause of the ABS system not working, why would you not use it? It's like driving around dark country roads with only your dipped beam in the dark because god forbid you rely on the main beam to assist you in seeing through the darkness.
Strangely Brown wrote:Horse wrote:Re-read the recent posts, he clarifies this. I don't think most people on here are used to receiving this level of self-reflecton and honest reporting.
I have read the recent posts. A few times. He gives the impression that "emergency stops" are not uncommon. As to "how" he brakes being the cause of the ABS activation: unless the Yeti is fitted with "brake assist" then I doubt that is the cause. He also says, " I do brake pretty strongly as part of my normal driving". I have to ask why? Obviously no judgement can be made without sitting in the car but it strikes me that there is an underlying problem that should probably be addressed.
How often do things happen "suddenly" that it requires an emergency stop? ... or even hard braking?
Others may see things differently.
There's nothing wrong with you guys nit-picking, after all, how can I improve my driving if I refuse to accept I'm nothing other than perfect. (Although I am, but I'm modest about my skills
)
I can't recall activating the ABS more than a dozen times (trust me, I have a fantastic memory when it comes to things like that) in the last 13 months I've been driving, however, the activations I think were concentrated more into the first 5 or so months, but that was mainly down to me being a tad enthusiastic and not really aware of the likelihood of pheasants suddenly running for their lives out of a bush into the road immediately in front of you.
The last 6 months or so of driving, I don't think I've activated it more than twice, and one of the cases was a scenario I should've been able to predict very easily. The signs were there (driver pulled out in front of me at a T-junction, and they didn't even look at me or show any signs of significant slowing on approach), the second was another rouge pheasant.
But I was saying that in a few scenarios where I've activated the ABS, I've been surprised by its activation, as I wouldn't have expected it to activate, meaning, I didn't think I was pushing on the pedal hard enough that I'd lock the wheels.
Just to clarify, when I say I brake strongly, I don't mean I'm braking like I'm Michael Schumacher in a F1 race, but I brake more firmly (that may be the word I meant to use) than most people would do in daily driving.
The main reason why I brake pretty firmly in my normal driving is because for instance, when approaching a bend, I occasionally leave things like gear changing a bit late and then I brake firmly (although, presumably, fairly smoothly, as I've not had passengers complain about my braking style) to make sure I'm going slow enough to round the bend without need for further braking.
It could merely be youthful over-exuberance or it could be an indication of a underlying, yet consistent, error in my judgement of situations.
As I was saying, I brake firmly, and I think that contributes to my surprise on occasion when the ABS activates, as sometimes I brake and I don't feel like I'm pushing the pedal with enough pressure that the ABS would be troubled. But then it is.