These days, we take antilock brakes' grinding and pounding underfoot as a fait accompli of the safety age. Just about every insurance agency offers a discount for cars equipped with ABS, though the NHTSA maintains its soft-pedal endorsement of the device, "When used properly, an antilock brake system (ABS) is a safe and effective braking system." But according to The Truth About Cars, ABS is a killer. To wit:
Researchers have compared accident and fatality rates for vehicles with and without ABS. Other studies have examined the driving records of ABS and non-ABS equipped taxi drivers in Munich and Oslo. The accident and fatality data shows that ABS exacerbates the severity of accidents in certain situations. The taxi study proved that drivers tend to take greater risks in cars equipped with ABS (although the difference in collision rates was not significant). In short, ABS may do more harm than good.
The hazards may not all be a function of driver usage, either. We're particularly keen on looking at the data regarding how steering to avoid an obstacle while under ABS could cause a two-lane shift. Read on before stomping on that left pedal again.
Killer ABS [The Truth About Cars]
Related:
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