F150 Accident

[HEMI]

Re: F150 Accident

Never understood the reasoning of measuring skid marks as a few people
know how to properly brake in a panic situation.How do they measure
skid marks from a vehicle equipped with an anti lock brake system?
Just wondering.

[chevy3100]

Re: F150 Accident

For anti-lock skidmarks, well, you need good weather conditions and for the police to be there in a hurry.... We had a demonstration from a cop one day while I was in school, showed up in a Crown Vic that had the anti-lock system rigged in a way that they could turn on and off the anti-lock system, as well as when the brakes were applied a piece of chalk was shot out at the ground from under the rear bumper. He went through exactly how they measure the marks, figure out the coefficient of friction etc. to determine when brakes were applied.

For anti-lock cars - there will be marks, albiet very light and not consistent. He did a demonstration on the road of the skidmarks left with anti-lock and they definitely exist, however he explained that the road has to be very dry & they will not be visible for a long period of time. Sure enough a few hours later traffic on the road and the wind had basically eliminated any chance of seeing them.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: F150 Accident

The initial skid mark will be the longest and probably the darkest before the ABS truely kicks in as well. I've looked at the ABS skid marks our F-250's leave on packed snow roads, looked at the spacing, etc. The first skid is the longest followed by a series of smaller skids. I'm sure the slick surface highlighted the skids more than pavement would (and were longer).

[Eagle Kammback]

Re: F150 Accident

Well, the F150 only has Rear ABS

[yellomalibu]

Re: F150 Accident

Yup, if someone slams on their brakes at pretty much any time and you hit them it's because you were following too close for the attention you were paying to the road/traffic.

The only exception I can think of (and the 18-wheeler drivers know this for sure) is if some one cuts in front of you and immediately slam on their brakes.

Agreed. Defensive driving. Expect people to slam on the brakes when the light turns yellow. Expect people to slam on their brakes because they saw a critter run into the road. In short, expect the unexpected. Use (at least) the two second rule: when the car in front of you passes something stationary, say one thousand one, one thousand two. If you reach the stationary point before you finish counting, you are following too closely.

Unfortunately, accidents are the best way to teach you what you were doing wrong.

Live and learn.