In my GM training for ABS it was never even hinted that is was a ice and snow device. Every demonstration we saw was dry or wet roads. Why would an insurance carrier in the south give a car with ABS a saving on their insurance if their car had ABS?

Back in the 80s GM said it can take up to 4 times longer to stop a skidding car then it would take say a race car driver to stop the same car. The point of ABS was to stop people from a panic situation and save lives. Not avoid a fender bender at 35 miles an hour in 2 inch of snow. If I remember right GM used to warn people the ABS was not designed for use on ice.

 

Jack up the car from under the lower control arm. Now lift the tire. You should not feel any slop. Don't be gentle with it remember that tire hits pot hole at 60 MPH with as much as 2000 lbs on it.

Do you get the ABS pump at low speeds around corners or bumps? If it just happens randomly it could just be the wire harness.

 

only when braking. the mechanic scanned it and said the driver's side wheel speed sensor isnt working to full capacity. it has 2 on the front, and his explanation went like this.....

sensor A(drivers side) is defective
if sensor A reads 7 mph while braking and sensor B(passenger side) reads 5 mph while braking then the ABS will actuate because it thinks there is a problem on the drivers side hub

now thats a rough paraphrase but he didnt think it was a big enough deal to rush to change the sensor or hub. he also checked the brakes which were 50% and said everything else looked ok. i may jack it up and check for play in the wheel today. for now, not having ABS has made driving a little more pleasant. i get the science behind ABS and dont discredit its usefulness but the actuating at random stops is more unnerving than not having it.

 

As I said, to counteract idiot drivers bad moves.

To those of us who have realized the benefits of the ABS activating on ice, we know that old philosophy was WRONG.

 

only takes a few hours to change hub. just do it.

 

I think GM was worried people would drive fasters on ice if they had ABS or even not get studded tires.

I would not define a 18 year old who had a Semi drift into his lane an idiot because he panics. A car that locks up the wheels in that situation is a death sentence. With ABS you can stop faster and still steer in panic mode. That was how GM explained the first generation ABS.

 

All their worries were futile, because many of todays drivers don't know how to "handle" a car, they expect the car's "enhancements" to compensate for their poor driving skills.
And I wouldn't call the victim in that scenario an idiot either, that title would go to the semi driver.

 

So your argument is that you don't really need ABS because you don't drive like an idiot but ABS system could save a victim from an idiot? I am confused are you saying ABS systems should be intact or it is ok to dismantle them?

You still cannot be sure the Semi driver is an idiot. What if he is having a heart attack? or brake system has completely over heated. What if someone cut him off? That would mean the idiot was twice removed.

It simple math, If you took antilock brakes out of every car tonight people would die tomorrow. Plain and simple. Everything for that point on is just odds. You roll the dice every single time you get in the car. You really want the odd as strong as possible in your favor.

 

You're probably more likely to get hit by lightning than by a semi driver while having a heart attack. As a matter of fact, I know someone who's been hit by lightning (on a golf course), but don't know anybody who was hit by a heart-attacking semi driver! lol
Back when we started driving, you were "connected" to the car, the one in conscious control of it. The technology in today's cars has made it to where drivers are falsely confident that the car will make up for their mistakes. Of course, since the car will be the one to compensate for ones poor driving skills, they can pay attention to more important things while driving like shaving, putting on makeup, and texting.

 

You are focused on the example I gave not the question. Do you think it is ok to disable an ABS system because it is annoying you at low speeds?

You are old enough to remember crash scenes in the 70’s and 80’s. 100-150 ft of skip marks right into a tree or a ditch. (I was a passenger in one with 120 ft right into a 3ft dia oak) You don’t see that anymore. Why? Someone panics and slams on the brakes they can still steer. This is not all about how well you drive, it about how you react when facing death. You can practice till the cows come home but you will not know how you will react until it happens. Some people let off the brake and steer away from the tree, some people freeze and die. The reason I used race car driver as an example was not just because they are better drivers but more because they would not panic in a driving situation.