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Car Emergency Braking

Discussions focus on using brakes to override unintended acceleration, the effectiveness of ABS and automatic braking systems, and why drivers should simply apply the brakes in emergencies.

šŸ“‰ Falling 0.4x Hardware
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#3115
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Activity Over Time

2008
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2010
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36
2012
59
2013
128
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82
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105
2016
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2017
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2019
258
2020
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2023
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2026
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Top Contributors

jacquesm (25) sokoloff (20) jjav (20) giantg2 (17) londons_explore (15)

Keywords

AFAIK newsroom.aaa ABS SL en.m volvocars.com EDIT wikipedia.org SLAM IIRC brakes braking brake abs car pedal cars acceleration slam engine

Sample Comments

serge2k ā€¢ Jun 6, 2016 ā€¢ View on HN

why would it not just apply brake?

adrianN ā€¢ Aug 9, 2025 ā€¢ View on HN

AFAIK cars know this and occasionally engage the friction brakes

whimsicalism ā€¢ May 3, 2025 ā€¢ View on HN

? just brake and rely on the abs

brokenmachine ā€¢ Sep 30, 2016 ā€¢ View on HN

Brakes. It should use the brakes.

oneoff786 ā€¢ Mar 16, 2022 ā€¢ View on HN

Iā€™m not convinced the car is capable of not respecting your brake?

fergie ā€¢ Apr 19, 2024 ā€¢ View on HN

Apparently the brake overrides the accelerator, so if you keep your calm, you can come to a stop.

jakeogh ā€¢ Mar 27, 2018 ā€¢ View on HN

Hard to claim complete control if the car is hitting the brakes for you.

formerly_proven ā€¢ Jan 15, 2026 ā€¢ View on HN

iirc some OEMs will automatically apply the brakes lightly during regular driving from time to time to counteract this

Sammi ā€¢ Feb 11, 2025 ā€¢ View on HN

The car doesn't have to SLAM the brakes. It just has to use them a bit like a regular car.

will_hughes ā€¢ May 26, 2016 ā€¢ View on HN

It is, but if when it starts braking you press the brake pedal, it turns off under the assumption that you want to manage braking.