DRIVER EXPERIENCE WITH ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEMS

Antilock brakes provide the capability for shorter stopping distances and the ability to steer and maintain control during hard braking, esp ecially on wet and slippery surfaces. Owners of late model cars equipp ed with antilock brakes were surveyed in North Carolina and Wisconsin regarding their experiences with antilocks. The survey results indicat ed that more than 50% of the drivers in North Carolina and 40% in Wisc onsin incorrectly indicated how to brake a car in an emergency situati on on wet and slippery pavements in a way that will effectively activa te the antilock feature. More drivers in Wisconsin than in North Carol ina reported that their cars' antilock feature had been used, but more than 33% of the Wisconsin drivers and 62% of North Carolina drivers s aid they had never used the antilock feature of their cars' brakes.