Originally posted by eagl
Widewing,
I disagree strongly about your statement that stability control is for worst-case drivers.
(snipped)
I drove another 8 hours that night, and didn't encounter another icy patch of road, so my point is that the stability control is there to help out in unexpected situations just as much as it is to save incompetent drivers.
Fair enough. The term worst-case was a bad choice of wording. Clearly, ESP can benefit most people who find themselves in situations for which they are unprepared. Re-thinking my post, I find myself in agreement that most drivers will benefit from Stability Control, just as they have from ABS.
To me, driving is something you do very well or you do it poorly. 99% of drivers you encounter every day drive poorly, but most have convinced themselves that they have good skills. Then they run into a situation where their skills are tested and they flunk. Confidence is a dangerous thing in the absence of serious training. Here in America, we don't train our drivers to do anything but pass the minimal skills road test, and that is reflected in the carnage on our roads. This reality only supports your statement. If it can keep the hooples from rear-ending me at a stoplight... Then it's all good.
I began driving in 1969, in a 1965 Corvair. I've owned Alfas, MGs, a Porsche, several Jeeps (CJ-3 and CJ-5), a 300ZX, a T-Type Regal, a WRX, my current hotrodded Suzuki SX and a much smiled-on Shelby GLHS. To that add several sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs as well as. I have about 600,000 miles of driving and another 70,000 or so on motorcycles (BSA, Suzuki, Yamaha and Triumph). I have somehow managed to avoid having a single road accident. When I think back to some of the crazy things I did on the road and off, I can only wonder how I lived so long.
Like you I was involved in autocross, solo events and attended the Skip Barber school at Lime Rock. Car control skills can only be learned by driving at the limit in a safe environment. Most drivers find the limit only after they have crossed it.
My regards,
Widewing