[mnemnc]

> Now think it through. What happens if a wheel locks up? Right, it loses all stopping power.

That‘s not true. Going in a straight line, blocking wheels will stop you in less distance than with active ABS.

However ABS allows you to brake and go around an obstacle without losing control of your vehicle.

[jjav]

> That‘s not true. Going in a straight line, blocking wheels will stop you in less distance than with active ABS.

Most certainly not. The sliding coefficient of friction of a tire is quite a bit less than the static coefficient of friction. Shortest stopping distance is achieved by keeping the tire rolling, just on the very edge of lockup, for the entire braking distance.

Early ABS systems had slow pulse cycles and couldn't control wheels individually, so a good driver could outbrake them but the ones from the last 20 years are quite good.

ABS is one rare example of a safety technology that doesn't have much drawbacks. Very much unlike newer technologies like lane assist and self braking, which have benefits but also clear drawbacks.

Even for ABS though, there are edge case dangers that a non-ABS car wouldn't have (like ice mode disabling brakes when not on ice).

There's no magic answer with tehcnologies. Every time a system increases complexity, it increases failure mode potential as well.

[throwaway525142]

I think the friction of wheels is lower when the wheels lock up vs when they go with the speed of the road.

From Wikipedia[1]:

> Kinetic friction, also known as dynamic friction or sliding friction, occurs when two objects are moving relative to each other and rub together (like a sled on the ground). The coefficient of kinetic friction is typically denoted as μk, and is usually less than the coefficient of static friction for the same materials.[40][41]

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friction&oldid=10...