ABS is the system that has saved countless lives across the world.
ABS is a safety feature fitted to all new cars that sees the brakes automatically disengage and re-engage at very high speed if the system detects that the wheels are skidding. This helps the car regain traction, giving the driver more control, and a greater ability to steer the car out of harm’s way.
ABS meaning
ABS stands for anti-lock braking system, and while the principles behind it were initially applied to aircraft in the 1920s, ABS first started appearing on cars in the 1970s, before becoming widely fitted in the 1980s, first to high-end cars, and later to pretty much everything on the market.
How does ABS work?
An ABS makes use of a car’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit, or “brain”), which is connected to speed sensors on each wheel.
When one of those sensors returns a speed reading significantly lower than the others, the system assumes that the slower rotating wheel is about to lock, and reacts by releasing braking force before reapplying it in rapid succession – around 15 times a second, until the system determines that traction has been regained.
If an ABS kicks in when you’re driving you will feel a fast pulsing through the brake pedal, together with the noise of the ABS rapidly pump cycling on and off.