Okay, let me rephrase. ABS is designed to let you stop in a shorter distance on slippery surfaces and allow you some steering control while stopping. On dry surfaces, it’s true the distance to stop is longer with ABS. On wet or slippery surfaces, the distance to stop is actually shorter and you have more control while stopping. Anyone that lived in a snowy area before ABS knows that lightly pumping the brakes while stopping was better than a full brake.
Please understand, I’m not talking about normal braking. I’m talking about the “Holy Crap! That semi is stopped dead in front of me and I’d better slam on the freaking brakes” kind of stopping.
With non-ABS brakes and on a wet surface and “slamming” on the brakes, your tires aren’t spinning and the water will build up underneath and create a hydroplane condition. For those that might not understand, this means you are skiing on the surface rather than driving on it.
ABS isn’t perfect, but it’s still better to have in wet or snowy conditions.
