Forrest Christian wrote:
> With a few exceptions, driving in snow/ice (and I guess normal driving 
> as well) is all about retaining "adhesion" to the road surface.  By 
> adhesion I mean that the tire treads and the road surface are moving 
> together (or I guess opposite to each other).

Better still: not moving at all! (Think about it...)

> Any skid/slide in any direction means you are unadhered to the road.

Yes, and the thing that everyone seems to overlook is that the whole
prinicple behind ABS (and "traction control" when accelerating) is that it
works by detecting wheel skid and then (supposedly) quickly reacting to it
by modulating the brake cylinder pressure. In other words, by the time the
system kicks in, you've already lost adhesion. The system is only helpful
if you're in a situation in which it is indeed possible to reacquire
adhesion by reducing brake pressure.

-- Dave Tweed
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