A simple illustration showing the effects of ABS and ESP

ABS or Antilock Braking System allows you to stop the car without having to lock the wheels. Which means, you retain steering control while the car is under hard breaking. Needless to say, it will increase breaking distance under normal circumstances but an important safety feature to have.

Traction Control has a different purpose, the idea is to stop the drive wheels from loosing traction on slippery surfaces thus giving you better control over the car. It works by distributing adequate amounts of power to each wheel to retain traction at most times.

ESP or ELectronic Stability Program is something that actually saves your life in case of emergencies. Working with ABS and Traction Control, ESP allows fractional braking on each wheel to reduce the chances of spin and slide. It works by detecting a loss of control of the car, which is then compensated by applying brakes to individual wheels to steer out and regain control. Similarly, it also compensates by increasing power to a wheel if needed.

The link is to a video which illustrates the importance of each, and in fact shows how it’s no use to have ABS and Traction Control without ESP.

Enjoy this. And, it’s on Ice.