Why don't all cars have mudguards?

Just wondering, if I had mudflaps, could I attach one of those springy curb feeler things to it?

I miss those.

That's when you repeatedly stamp on the brake pedal (which may be how ABS works).

it is

Before ABS, I learned the practice called "pumping the brakes" when skidding or sliding on ice, etc.

Which you should not do if car has ABS. It does the pumping for you.

Everyone should get a feel for ABS by driving on a loose gravel road, and apply brakes like a panic stop, to get the feel of what ABS does.

Except that humans are much, much, much s l o w e r.

ABS can pulse the brakes at up to 15 times per second. I can't.

I vote for a wet or snowy parking lot.

You'll get a much better feel for the ABS system on a smooth surface without all the noise and unevenness of a loose gravel road. All that you will hear and feel is the ABS.

I miss the days of doing donuts in snow covered parking lots. It's just not the same with FWD or even AWD.

Salt is not used here since the aquifer is only down 25 feet. I put the studs on Thanksgiving weekend and take them off in April, depending. The first icy morning is a learning experience for those who think an AWD can defy the laws of physics.

In my lexicon 'pumping the brakes' was what you did when the seals in the hydraulics were shot and it took a few cycles to build pressure.

When doing that with a foot or so of fresh powder, make sure you know when the damn curbs are.

My last few cars have had ABS brakes (I had the impression that they're more or less standard equipment nowadays).

I have only ever experienced the effect of their operation on one occasion, when, with my foot hard down on the pedal, the brakes were automatically applied in an on/off fashion (faster than I could have pumped the pedal).

Yes, I managed to avoid the idiot who'd pulled out of the side turning.

Considering most of SE Michigan gets its water from Lake St. Clair, you'd think road salt runoff would be a concern. But, no, the voters are not satisfied unless the pavement is dry and salty white all winter long.

IIRC studs were outlawed sometime in the 1960s or early 1970s here. I have a vague memory of my grandfather cursing about it.

Cindy Hamilton

Are there any stats that show that when voters vote for salt, they are also voting against clean/safe drinking water?

IOW, you said "you'd think road salt runoff would be a concern". Do you know if it is actually an *issue*?

And if it's an issue, which issue takes priority: safe roads or the expense of extra water treatment?

Hands up who pronounced that "yo zee might" as a kid. And what about "chick a go"?

You don't need studies for the obvious. Drive behind a car without mudguards on a very wet day and they're throwing water everywhere, a fine mist that floats about for a long time.

Didn't help me when a rock fell off the back of one :-( I should have chased him and smashed his windscreen with it.

The steel one will take 50 times more force than hollow plastic.

Nope, a seatbelt protects you, a mudflap protects those behind you.

Then you're not using your car to its full extent.

I've driven with no brakes at all, the parking brake and the gears was enough.

If it juddered, it sensed you were already skidding. It has seen one wheel travelling slower than the other. You would have skidded without it.

Why would a slight vibration scare you?

What a safety conscious wimp.

ABS is automatic, you don't need to know anything about it.

Never had any car trigger it incorrectly, apart from one with a sensor failure. And that had the warning light on.