> I wonder how many drivers realise that a modern high end car with good brakes will stop in a fraction of the time of a 20 year old Escort with barely legal ty

> I wonder how many drivers realise that a modern high end car with good brakes will stop in a fraction of the time of a 20 year old Escort with barely legal tyres? Guess what? That is false. Car braking doesn't work the way you seem to think. Assuming the brakes take hold and the wheels aren't turning, a small, light car with four skinny tires, and a very large truck with 18 large tires, stop in the same distance. When police investigate an accident, they have one braking-distance list that assumes level, dry pavement, but doesn't care about vehicle weight, tire size, number of tires, or anything else -- all those factors cancel out. Wet pavement, pavement not level, yes, those are factors. Car size and weight, wheel count and tire area, not relevant.