Disabling ABS on my Van

And ABS is a good tool at training in that behavior.

Ok - let me correct my flagrant error to the tests I've seen comparing ABS to non-ABS don't show a significant difference in normal braking conditions.

Therein lies the problem, and it's why I'm against so many "safety" innovations. Attempts to replace driver skill with technology is a questionable benefit at best. Technology breaks and suddenly too many drivers are unable to cope at the minimum level of control. Technology is not all encompassing or fool proof either. Remove those basic driver skills by creating a driving public that relies on technology, and you end up with roads full of incompetent drivers. But - at least they are confident drivers. After all, they have such things as ABS, OnStar and a plethora of other "safety" features in there vehicles.

If you pump the brake peddle on an ABS car, that disables the system, so you are back to manual braking as long as you are pumping the peddle.

Although unusual, it is still possible to lock all 4 with ABS (in that situation, some ABS systems don't realize you're still moving since all four reference points are stopped)

Soon we won't have a choice. Didn't the NHTSA pass a rule last year that all (even the entry-level) cars are mandated to be equipped with stability control by "x" year? (which means ABS since ABS systems are part of any stability control system).

I think I might recall having heard something like that. I won't complain about it if/when it becomes reality, but I think it's a move in the wrong direction for the reasons I stated in the previous post. But... life marches on regardless of my opinions.

As an aside, I had a little fun in the snow tonight. We've been getting hammered in central NY this week and on my way home from an event, I played around a bit with ABS versus pumping the brakes in the snow. Hands down, not even a close match, pumping the brakes gave immensely more steering control than just standing on the brakes and letting ABS do its work. I mean, it wasn't even remotely comparable. ABS was pulsing away and the car had some steering control, while pumping the brakes like we were taught in the old days (and which I still do to this day) gave near complete steering control.

Sheese, you don't always just stomp on them. You use them like normal brakes. They know when they have to work, you don't have to tell them. Your test was not fair if you just put more than needed pressure. The only time you'd ever stand on the brakes is in an emergency stop. Under normal snow and slippery driving, a sensible driver will be going at a speed that should not require full pressure to stop. Under the best of plans, a wheel or two can hit a slick spot and lock up. Then the ABS kicks in and prevents that from happening. That assist from ABS is where they do the most good and keep a driver out of trouble. There is no technology that allows a driver to maintain perfect control when traveling too fast.

Good point - my post was incomplete. I'd been shoveling snow off my roof all afternoon and I was too beat to even type well - hell, to even think well when I posted this. Actually, in playing around I tried all sorts of braking. I did some rather sane approaches to a stop sign type of braking, where the ABS was indeed kicking in and some very aggressive braking. Obviously, where I did very gentle braking the ABS didn't even kick in, so it was not a factor.

Oh - that's correct. The ABS certainly knew when to kick in, but the point is that hands down, a good pumping brake was far more effective than letting ABS work.

Correct - again, my fault for being so brief in my earlier description.

Yes there is. It's called... a snowbank.

That explains a lot. The post was a bit out of character for you as your comments are usually precise and accurate.

We're probably going to set a new record for snowfall this year too, but for having the least of any winter. Only 3.5" so far. Normal is 48" for the years.

We've made the national news with our weather this past week. CNN covered us, the Weather Channel was out here, as well as all of the local network affiliates swarming around the area. We've had roughly 100" this week. We're used to a lot of snow, but that is a huge amount to fall in such a short time. We've been doing nothing but plowing and shoveling roofs.