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> the emergency braking system kicked in, braking much harder than I would have been able to So this is completely not true. You can brake as hard as any syste

by jjav 3y ago

> the emergency braking system kicked in, braking much harder than I would have been able to So this is completely not true. You can brake as hard as any system can, there's no magic to it. Just press on the brake pedal hard, in any ABS car. Surprisingly, this is something people often don't do. I am an instructor at car control clinics, one of the exercises is panic braking. All you need to do it press on the brake pedal. Easily 50%+ of students struggle with this. Just press hard. That's it. Also, please take car control clinic. It will save your life and those around you.

globular-toast 3y ago
In the UK the driving test includes an emergency stop which means everyone has to learn to do one. It definitely is surprising the first time you do one. It's worrying that there are drivers out there who haven't done one and don't even think they are capable of doing it when necessary.
- jjav 3y ago
  Yes, unfortunately in the US getting a driving license does not include any car control training. It is really criminal negligence by the part of the government/DMV.
Neil44 3y ago
I believe that the statistics are that most people don't brake anywhere near hard enough in accidents, because you're just not used to pushing the pedal that hard.
- jjav 3y ago
  Yes this is what we see in the car control clinics. I've been involved in these since the 90s. Back then the braking exercises were about teaching threshhold braking since most cars didn't have ABS. I speculated that once ABS becomes mainstream we'll need to remove these exercises from the classes since there won't be anything left to teach, just press the brake and the car will do all the work. I never foresaw that "just press the brake" was going to be so difficult for so many people that the braking exercises are still to this day very useful and most people fail badly the first few attempts! For anyone reading, if you've never braked hard, braking hard in an ABS car means push on that brake pedal with the full force of your leg muscles as hard as you possibly can and then keep that pressure on, don't let go. (Also, please sign up for a car control clinic.)

by jjav 3y ago

globular-toast 3y ago

In the UK the driving test includes an emergency stop which means everyone has to learn to do one. It definitely is surprising the first time you do one. It's worrying that there are drivers out there who haven't done one and don't even think they are capable of doing it when necessary.

jjav 3y ago
Yes, unfortunately in the US getting a driving license does not include any car control training. It is really criminal negligence by the part of the government/DMV.

Neil44 3y ago

I believe that the statistics are that most people don't brake anywhere near hard enough in accidents, because you're just not used to pushing the pedal that hard.

jjav 3y ago
Yes this is what we see in the car control clinics. I've been involved in these since the 90s. Back then the braking exercises were about teaching threshhold braking since most cars didn't have ABS. I speculated that once ABS becomes mainstream we'll need to remove these exercises from the classes since there won't be anything left to teach, just press the brake and the car will do all the work. I never foresaw that "just press the brake" was going to be so difficult for so many people that the braking exercises are still to this day very useful and most people fail badly the first few attempts! For anyone reading, if you've never braked hard, braking hard in an ABS car means push on that brake pedal with the full force of your leg muscles as hard as you possibly can and then keep that pressure on, don't let go. (Also, please sign up for a car control clinic.)