NEWYEARS EVE!
LEISURELY JAUNT DOWN A LOCAL SINGLE TRACK,NOTHING SCARY JUST TAKING THE POOCH FOR HER DAILY ****!!.ON ROUNDING A LEFT HANDER OVER CREST 20-25 MPH I WAS CONFRONTED BY A VW (polo),OH CHRIST CAME TO MIND AS I JUMPED ON THE STOPPERS BUT TO NO AVAIL,SLID STRAIGHT INTO SAID VW.AFTER I FORCED MYSELF TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE(FRONT SPOILER,HEADLAMP,FOG LAMP,INDICATOR,BONNET CREASE)INCIDENTLY THE VW ONLY HAD A HEADLAMP&SLIGHT DENT IN BUMPER LUCKY SOD,IT OCCURED TO ME THAT I DIDN'T FEEL THE ABS.IS IT POSSIBLE THAT;

a)THE CAR WAS MOVING TOO SLOWLY FOR THE ABS TO OPERATE.
b)THE ROAD WAS TOO SLIPPERY WITH LEAVES THAT THE ABS WAS CAUGHT OUT.
c)THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A GOODYEAR (PARDON THE PUN)

PLEASE SOMEONE PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY AS THE COURTESY CAR IS A 1.0L NISSAN MICRA.ROLL ON NEXT WEEK WHEN THE FUN BEGINS ONCE MORE.

I can confirm that the ABS operates at lower speeds than 20 mph. It works on the slippiest of surfaces (ie wet ice), even at 10 mph.

You should have noticed the ABS cutting in, as it does make a bit of noise, and vibrates the pedal. Sounds like you might have had a problem with it, if you actually skidded/slid into the car. If not, then you might not have pressed the brakes hard enough to lock. Get the dealer to check it out for you.

I currently have a courtesy Legacy AWD, while my 99 Impreza Turbo is readied, and the ABS I would assume is practically the same as the Impreza. It works at very low speeds. I almost drove into the local pub last week....what a shock that would have been for the people drinking in it. The reason was absolutely deadly black ice at a junction. I was only doing about 15mph coming to the junction and I only barely managed to avoid sliding into the pub on the far side of the road. The ABS activated, but as the ground was so slippy, it was switching on and off so fast that the car did not even slightly slow down and I only recovered by performing a bit of opposite lockery with the steering wheel and throwing the car sideways and then flooring it and hoping the AWD system could get me out of it which it did. Thank God this was all at low speed. My point....when it is extremely slippy and in the middle of the drama, a) the car may not even slow down with ABS, and b) you maybe otherwise occupied and not notice how fast the ABS is switching on and off......so it may in fact have been doing its thing....but to no effect.

As the police Roadcraft book is keen to point out, ABS will not slow you down quicker it merely allows you to steer while breaking.

well having abit to do with abs, it would seem that u either didnt lean on the pedal hard enough or its knacked, it may just be the sensor so dont fret, there is 2 types a voltage generator that acts like a dynamo and when the voltage suddenly drops the computer works out its gonna skid, the other is a frequency generator ,like elctrical pulses, considerable faster and better, determins the slightest drop in freq, and releases the brakes slightly, both systems give max brake without skid. My bet is the scooby has a voltage system, so its all relatvly easy stuff, unless the computer is screwed http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/redface.gif( .

To Martin K,
what you said is not really accurate.
The ABS DOES make the car stop faster in dry, wet, icy and snowy roads.
It DOES NOT make the car stop faster off road and in thick snow simply because when the wheel locks up, it "digs in" the surface of the road and piles up soil in front of the wheel increasing drag drmatically.
In all cases with ABS directionality isn't lost which may be more important than stopping faster, at least in some cases.

Re. does ABS stop you quicker?

I suspect that in slippery conditions the answer is yes for the average driver but no for an expert. I qualify in the former category so for me ABS is better than my half baked version of cadence braking.

For the likes of Damon Hill and Co. I suspect it makes no odds.

To abetts
Even the best driver in the world cannot beat the electronics. No human can check every wheel independently for angular deccelecration or velocity 50 or 100 times a second... The reason they do not have it in Formula 1 is because no electronic aids are allowed. Otherwise they would have it as pilots often lock up their wheels and therefore increase their stopping distance and destroy their tyres.

dmel, the pilots brakes dont lock up before he touches ground coz there is a weight on wheels switch on the brakes system! sorry to be padantic. stu.

Does anyone know if ABS should work in REVERSE. This is NOT a wind up, It happened going up a steep hill, not on a public road and on sheet ice when suddenly all traction was lost and the car, a Legacy, just started to slide backwards and nothing would stop it, until the bottom of the hill was reached. There is more to the story that I will not bore you with. BUT SHOULD IT HAVE WORKED GOING BACKWARDS?

From time to time when I am driving on a very slippery surface and there are no other road users I test my ABS just by stamping on the brake pedal to check it is still working. You usually feel and hear it work. I suggest TC tries this when he gets his car back.