I have the following questions on car safety. 1. I n a high speed emergency situation, can the driver of an ABS-equipped vehicle (but no ESP) confidently apply full braking force midway through a curve? 2. How will an ESP -equipped vehicle perform in the same scenario? Specifically, since ESP works by braking individual wheels, can it perform its magic with the brakes fully engaged? 3. A pplying the concept of relative speed, is it correct to assume that in a head-on collision between a stationary and a speeding car, the occupants of both vehicles experience similar forces? 4. I f one driver manages to come to a complete halt to avoid a head-on collision, and the other driver does not, will the airbags of the stationary vehicle deploy? If they don’t, considering 3 above, should they have done so? (I assume the sensors will detect no deceleration in the stationary vehicle?)
CHILIPI MOGASHA – Botswana
Let’s take your questions in sequence: 1. The latest cars equipped with EBD (electronic brake-force distribution) can be braked midway through a curve without the driver losing control. 2. ESP should be able to take control to restore stability, even during braking, by simply braking the wheels that have been targeted for the corrective action even harder. If the brakes are already at full retardation, one can assume that ESP will not be effective. 3. Both vehicles will experience similar forces. 4. The airbag control system is sensitive to deceleration and not speed, so that the airbags in the stationary vehicle should deploy.