anti-lock Braking System (ABS)

You are ABS functions by effectively pumping the How does ABS work?
approaching a brake: applying and releasing the brakes in rapid
green light in the succession. In the past, drivers were taught to use Slight differences exist between anti-lock brake
right-hand lane of this technique on their own when they sensed their systems, but all systems are comprised of three
an intersection. As vehicles wheels locking up. However, ABS is able major components: wheel speed sensors (sensors
you get closer, you see to pump the brakes much more effectively and is that monitor the speed of wheel rotation), hydraulic
someone about to turn right your lane. more attuned to detect the threat of wheel-lock than units (the mechanical devices that actually release
You honk your horn, but the other driver makes most drivers. While ABS monitors the brakes and the brakes, as needed), and an electronic control
his turn anyway. In a panic, you apply your brakes adjusts pressure as necessary, all drivers must do is unit (ECU) (the electronic controller that interprets
hard and turn the wheel to try to avoid the continue to apply firm, consistent pressure on the information from the wheel speed sensors and gives
impending collision. The attempt to steer, however, brake pedal and steer in the direction where they commands to the hydraulic units). In modern ABS
fails because your wheels have locked up from the want to go. setups, the hydraulic units and ECU are attached
heavy braking. Having lost the ability to manoeuvre together so that while they have different functions,
out of harms way, you helplessly skid straight When would ABS be useful? they are physically one unit. The ECU is designed
towards the car that turned in front of you. Had your to check for rapid wheel speed decelerations:
ABS is designed to be useful whenever a driver indicators that a wheel is about to lock up. If your
car been equipped with an anti-lock braking system slams on the brakes, particularly when road
(ABS), your wheels would not have locked up, and ABS computer detects, for example, that the front
conditions are slippery or wet. In these conditions, left wheel is experiencing a rapid deceleration, it
you would have retained the ability to steer your a vehicle is more likely to slide or skid if the wheels
vehicle out of danger. will instruct the hydraulic unit associated with the
lock. ABS is designed to help reduce the risk of front left wheel to reduce the brake. The hydraulic
What is ABS? collision in many relatively common situations, unit will continue to reduce the braking force until
including the following: the computer senses that the problem wheels rate of
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is an active A vehicle suddenly veers in from of you, forcing rotation is accelerating. Once the wheel has begun
safety feature designed to prevent a vehicles you to brake and swerve. rotating normally, the brakes are once again applied,
wheels from locking up after an instance of heavy and once again released if the wheel shows a risk of
braking, thereby reducing the risk of skidding and A large animal jumps into your path and you
have to slam on the brakes. locking up. The process of releasing and applying
allowing the driver to retain steering control. On the brake can happen several times a second.
wet or slippery roads, ABS can also reduce the Bad weather results in slippery road conditions,
distance required to come to a stop. When drivers making wheel lockage more likely in the cases
slam on the brakes in a vehicle without ABS, the of heavy braking.
wheels are prone to stop spinning all together Since the primary function of ABS is to allow you
(locking up). When the wheels lock up, the driver to avoid skidding and retain steering control after
of the vehicle no longer has any steering control and hard braking, ABS can help reduce the risk of being
the vehicle may begin to skid. On rougher road involved in a head-on collision with a car or other
surfaces, potholes or soft curbs could cause a object.
vehicle to spin out if it is already skidding. If your
ABS system senses that one or more of the wheels
is at risk of locking up, it will automatically reduce
the braking for that wheel, encouraging it to keep
rotating.
Your brain is your vehicles most important safety feature.
 Your brain is your vehicles most important safety feature.

ABS setups tend to differ among types of vehicles. ABS vs. 58m for cars without it). The same kind of tendency to over-steer. In a vehicle without
On cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) the most decrease in stopping distance was not seen on dry ABS where the wheels have locked, an extreme
common setup is a four-wheeled system, where a pavement (only a 5% decrease in stopping distance steering command would have no effect since
speed sensor is placed on each wheel. When the risk was noted for vehicles with ABS). This is most the driver does not have directional control.
of a lock-up is detected, four-wheeled systems will likely because on dry pavement the friction caused However, since ABS prevents wheel lock, an
either release the brake force on the rear wheels, by locked wheels is still enough to still bring the equipped vehicle would respond to the drivers
the affected front wheel, or the affected individual vehicle to a stop. Therefore, ABS was advertised as exaggerated steering input which may lead to an
wheel, depending on the type of system. Pick-up being of particular use in wet or slippery conditions. increased risk of losing control, rolling over, or
trucks and cargo vans, in contrast, tend to have rear- Other promising test results showed that ABS is running off the road.
wheel only ABS setups. Rear-wheel systems have associated with a 35% decrease in frontal collisions Third, some studies have suggested that drivers
speed sensors installed only on the back wheels, with other moving vehicles on wet roads, and a 9% with ABS modify their driving behaviour by
and will only initiate anti-lock measures if one of decrease in frontal impacts on dry roads (Farmer driving faster in wet conditions or following
those wheels is experiencing a rapid deceleration. et al. 1997). In addition, under controlled test other vehicles more closely. This behaviour
Therefore, pick-up trucks and cargo vans are conditions, it was found that 58% of drivers without would undermine the ability of ABS to help
typically still vulnerable to front wheel lockage ABS strayed from their intended path, whereas only in situations where heavy braking is required
(IIHS 2010). 24% of drivers with ABS did the same (Farmer et al. (Farmer et al. 1997, Williams and Wells 1994).
When ABS is activated, drivers will experience 1997).
One notable area where ABS has been shown
a distinctive sound and/or sensation on the brake Despite the positive performance of ABS in to have great success is in reducing motorcycle
pedal. Some drivers may hear a groaning sound and controlled conditions, there is still lingering debate fatal crashes. Braking is much more difficult on
feel the brake pedal pulse or drop under their feet. about how the benefits of ABS have panned out motorcycles than other passenger vehicles due
Other drivers may feel that the brake pedal is harder under natural driving conditions. The Insurance both to the method of braking on a motorcycle and
to push down. Different ABS systems produce Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted a the fact that motorcycles are inherent less stable
different effects, and drivers are encouraged to meta-analysis of reports on the effectiveness of than four-wheeled vehicles. Locked wheels are
familiarize themselves with what ABS feels like in ABS and found that having ABS was associated particularly dangerous for motorcycle drivers, since
their vehicles. A good way to do this is to practice with no significant difference in a drivers risk of they almost always precede the drivers falling off
hard braking in an open space (e.g., a vacant parking being involved in a fatal crash (Farmer et al. 1997). the bike. Motorcycles with ABS demonstrated a
lot) at a speed of around 30km/h. The absence of any decrease in fatal accident risk is fatal crash involvement 37% lower than motorcycles
somewhat surprising, however there are convincing without ABS (Teoh 2011).
How effective is ABS? reasons as to why this is the case:
In summary, the demonstrated benefits of ABS on
The effectiveness of ABS has been a point of First, studies have suggested that many drivers passenger vehicles are worth keeping in mind. ABS
some controversy. Prior to equipping cars with with ABS on their vehicles are still under the has been shown to:
ABS, the braking system was tested extensively impression that they should pump the brakes
prevent wheels from locking,
and showed a ten metre (33 foot) reduction in the (Williams and Wells 1994). This is problematic
distance required for drivers traveling at 97 km/h since pumping the brake on a vehicle with ABS to keep drivers in control of their vehicles, and;
to come to a complete stop (Farmer et al. 1997). can result in reduced braking effectiveness.
In addition, the National Highway Transportation Second, experts have suggested that the steering
Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that stopping control that ABS helps maintain may be
distances on wet pavement were 14% longer for working against drivers who panic in emergency
vehicles without ABS (51m with for cars with situations. In a panic, drivers may have the
 Your brain is your vehicles most important safety feature.

in certain cases, to shorten a vehicles stopping First, since panicking and over-steering may be The effectiveness of ABS is heavily dependent
distance. behind the increase in fatal crashes associated on the skill and reaction time of the driver. Any
The fact that having ABS does not seem to help with ABS, drivers need to know how to steer factors that reduce reaction time or hinder a drivers
reduce the most serious type of motor vehicle crash safely and decisively in emergency situations. skill will limit the potential benefits of ABS, and
speaks to the need for drivers to fully understand Second, having ABS on a vehicle does not mean may actually increase the risk of a serious crash.
what ABS is meant to do and what their roles that a driver can follow vehicles more closely. Some of these factors include fatigue, distraction,
are in interacting with it. The best way to realize Since stopping distance may not necessarily excessive speed, and intoxication. Drivers are
the potential benefits of ABS is to combine the be shortened, drivers are always urged to always encouraged to use safety technologies to
automatic braking assistance provided with leave a safe distance between themselves and complement their responsible driving practices, and
consistently careful driving and controlled, decisive surrounding motorists. not as a reason for driving less attentively or more
steering commands. recklessly.
Of importance, ABS is not designed to work at
Are there any limitations with speeds below certain low speeds. At low speeds Can I turn my ABS off?
ABS? drivers will typically be able to come to a complete
stop before there is any threat of the wheels locking Most ABS systems can be disabled. Sometimes
Yes. As with many other safety technologies, up. Therefore, ABS does not help prevent low-speed this requires manually disengaging a fuse, whereas
realizing the potential benefits of ABS depends collisions resulting from driver inattentiveness. other ABS setups can be disabled by depressurizing
largely on whether drivers understand the design Similarly, beyond a certain speed threshold, a driver the brakes from within the vehicle. Your owners
limits and how the technology works so they can may be unable to combine ABS stopping power manual will have instructions on disabling ABS if
use it appropriately. The discrepancy between the with safe steering input. If a vehicle is travelling this is possible on your vehicle. However, drivers
theoretical and practical effects of ABS highlights to fast, a sudden deceleration following by a quick are urged to use their judgment when deciding to
some important limitations of the system. steering command will make it more likely that the turn off any safety feature. Disabling these features
vehicle rolls over or runs off the road. is generally discouraged. This is especially true in
The main goal of ABS
the case of ABS, where forgetting that the feature
is to allow a driver to Drivers should always maintain a safe speed, has been disabled may result in the driver not using
retain steering control no matter what kinds of safety technologies the proper braking techniques when confronted with
after an instance of are installed in their vehicles. Additionally, the an emergency situation (i.e., pressing down firmly
heavy braking by condition of the vehicle is also a contributing factor on the brake instead of pumping the pedal).
preventing the wheels to potential ABS limitations. In order for ABS to
from locking up. be helpful, the brakes and tires need to be properly How common is ABS on todays
Drivers should be maintained. Finally, drivers who own vehicles roads?
aware that reducing equipped with ABS must be aware that if any
the distance required brake of ABS warning lights are illuminated on the Since studies have not shown very significant
to stop is a secondary dash but ignored, the ABS system will be disabled benefits from having ABS on vehicles, it was
benefit of ABS, and and the braking system will function only on the never made a requirement by Transport Canada.
that a reduction in regular hydraulic system. As such, it is important to Nevertheless, ABS is a very common feature in
stopping distance does respond appropriately to all warning lights on the
not always result, even dash by having potential problems checked by a
in cases where ABS has worked properly. There are professional.
two important implications of this:
 Your brain is your vehicles most important safety feature.

todays vehicles. Since its production in 1985,

the number of vehicles with ABS as a standard or
optional feature has risen steadily. By 1988, ABS
was standard or optional on 90 domestic and foreign
car models. By the model year 2010, ABS was
on 89% of new cars and 99% of new light trucks.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
predicts that by 2015, 95% of all registered vehicles
will have ABS installed (IIHS 2012).
How much does ABS cost?
The cost of ABS is estimated to be around $240.00
when it is installed in the factory. In addition, there
is no evidence that equipping a vehicle with ABS
reduces the fuel efficiency significantly. Any slight
overall weight increase that results from the addition
of ABS has virtually no impact on overall fuel
consumption. Program
education
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vehicle safety features:
Active Safety Features
Passive Safety Features
Driver Assistance Technologies
Safety Technologies in Development
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