What is ABS (active breaking system) and why is it necessary in modern cars?
ABS is not necessary, it’s just supposed to be more safe. In cars without ABS, if you apply the brakes and you start sliding, you pump the brakes instead of just stepping on the brake pedal hard to avoid locking up the brakes and sliding. With ABS, the computer pumps the brakes automatically, so no matter how hard you stomp the brake pedal, the computer will pump the brakes automatically rather than lock the brakes up and cause the car to slide. My car has ABS & traction control. Traction control will apply the brakes more to whichever wheel it senses is slipping more. My car is rear wheel drive so to keep my car from fishtailing, in addition to controlling the braking, the computer will also control the accelerator. If it senses i am about to fishtail, it will cut the throttle so no matter how hard i step on the gas pedal it will not let me accelerate say past 40 mph until it senses i have enough traction.
An anti-lock braking system, or ABS is a safety system which prevents the wheels on a motor vehicle from locking up (or ceasing to rotate) while braking. A rotating road wheel allows the driver to maintain steering control under heavy braking by preventing a skid and allowing the wheel to continue interacting interactive with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs. ABS offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and especially slippery surfaces. However, on loose surfaces like gravel and snow-on-pavement, it can slightly increase braking distance while still improving vehicle control. Plus it helps to put peoples mind at ease when they have to do a hard panic stop.
Car brakes work by pressing a brake pad against the wheel which slows it down (like a more complicated version of a bike brake). The harder it presses the faster the wheel slows, which means the car slows faster. However, if the brake is pressed down too hard then the wheel locks up and the tire skids, which vastly reduces the friction and increases the stopping distance; sometimes even totally releasing the brake doesn’t stop the wheel from skidding so you’re in trouble if you brake too hard. That’s why the proper braking technique is to press down on the pedal until it’s just about to lock, release a tiny bit, then push down again, etc. What ABS brakes do is allow you to slam down as hard as you can on the brakes without them locking. It’s a fancy little system using a rotating drum and flywheel that reduces the pressure of the brake pad when the car is going faster. This means you can brake really hard and the car will slow down at the optimum rate, instead of gradually pressing dow
I believe you are actually referring to Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) this is the method in which when the driver depresses th break pedal, rather than breaking continuously, the car will make lots of little breaks (it will “pump” the break”) this reduces skidding and decreases the stopping time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system The phrase “Active Breaking System” tends to be a term used for many braking systems used in a vehicle such as ABS, Crash Avoidance System, etc.
abs will stop the wheels from locking up when you hit the brake pedal, most drivers will stand on the brake pedal in an emergency situation causing the wheels to stop rotating and start sliding due to lack of traction, this will cause the car to become an uncontrollable lump of metal hitting anything in its path.
