How to survive a crisis stop and avoid an accident with an antilock brake system (ABS)

Crisis Stop With ABS If your car has ABS and you face a road-blocking emergency, here's what you do:

• Stomp the brake pedal to the floor. Kick it as if you're trying to snap it off.
• Stay hard on the pedal until the car comes to a complete stop. Hold the brake pedal to the floor as if you were pinning the head of an angry rattlesnake.

Practice before the actual emergency: Find a dead-end street or an empty parking lot. Start at a low speed, say, 25 mph. Stomp and Stay. The first time, you will almost certainly not push the brake hard enough, nor will you stay on the pedal until the car comes to a complete stop. The complete stop is important. Do it again at higher speeds. Ignore bad noises. Other than slightly accelerated brake and tire wear, you're not hurting the car.

Accident Avoidance Maneuvers Using ABS There's a third "S" that goes with ABS's "Stomp and Stay." It's Steer (around the obstacle). One of the great benefits of ABS is that it allows you to steer even while pushing hard on the brake. In radically oversimplified terms, it transfers a little bit of the tire's braking power into turning potential.

But a little bit of steering goes a very long way, and many drivers way overdo this part. Numerous students turn the wheel completely in one direction. The problem is that the instant the driver releases the brake pedal, the front tires are relieved of their braking duties and have 100 percent cornering power available, which sends the car into oncoming traffic or off the road.

Here's your parking lot practice mission: Set up a row of water-filled plastic soda bottles perpendicular to your path. If you have ABS, stomp the pedal to the floor, stay hard on the pedal and try to steer around them. It's simple and fun as well.

Courtesy of Edmunds

Image courtesy of mpi.mb.ca