Improper Steering Endangers Drivers With Antilock Brakes!: Car Without Antilock Brakes

008049402000PDFResearch PaperAntilock brake systemsBrakesMultiple vehicle crashesSteeringHighwaysPedestrians and BicyclistsSafety and Human FactorsVehicles and EquipmentI91: Vehicle Design and SafetyBrakingUnited StatesAAA Foundation for Traffic SafetyAAA Foundation for Traffic SafetyUS Transportation CollectionImproper steering in vehicles equipped with antilock brakes (ABS) can send the vehicle veering dramatically out of control, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety tested cars with and without antilock brakes. At 35 mph, a panic stop combined with a violent jerk of the steering wheel caused an ABS-equipped car to dart across two lane widths, enough to send the vehicle into oncoming traffic or off the roadway. The same action in a car without antilock brakes locked the wheels so the car skidded forward in the lane but hit the obstruction. "In a study of crash records the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that ABS cars had more single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes than cars without ABS", says David K. Willis, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "The cars without ABS had more crashes with other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists." The Foundation's tests, conducted on August 26, 1997 at the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio, apparently confirm the theory that while ABS allows drivers to steer around an obstacle in an emergency, too much steering -- such as from jerking the wheel while braking -- sends the vehicle out of control. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety urges all drivers who have antilock brakes to practice using them before they get into an emergency.79