With drier rotors when the driver does apply the brakes, the system operates more effectively with likely shorter stopping distances on wet roads.
Once you add computer-controlled hardware to an automobile, the possibilities presented by sophisticated programming are numerous. However, just because you can theoretically do something with software, increased memory and processing speed, doesn’t necessary mean that you should.
Automakers are finding this out the hard way as customer satisfaction scores drop because of overly complex electronic systems that are difficult and cumbersome to operate, and unreliable to boot, or is that reboot? Ford’s Sync, which caused an above average satisfaction rate at the company to drop below average, is just the latest notorious example going back to BMW’s infamous first generation I-drive, which required hours of instruction to learn how to operate what used to be common and intuitive vehicle functions such as climate control or radio operation. (Quality Drops Drastically as Automakers Introduce New Models)
On the other side of this trend is the fact that electronics, when they work properly, have made vehicles safer as the stunning drop in SUV rollover deaths proves after electronic stability control (ESC) was added. (See SUVs Now Among the Safest as Electronics Stop Rollovers)
Building on ESC technology, Cadillac has announced that 2012 SRX SUVs will use its electronic stability control (StabiliTrak) to automatically dry wet brakes. This is not as frivolous as it may seem on first glance: with data that predates Hurricane Irene, the U.S. Department of Transportation says 620,000 crashes on the nation’s roadways in 2009 or 10% occurred in the rain.
The so called “auto dry brakes” work with SRX’s automatic windshield wiper system or when the standard windshield wipers are operating and the SRX has been traveling over 20 mph continuously for more than four miles without using the cruise control. A slight amount of hydraulic pressure is generated by the software, which pulses pressure to the SRX’s brake calipers at intervals to dry wet brakes while the car is moving.
With drier rotors when the driver does apply the brakes, the system operates more effectively with likely shorter stopping distances on wet roads.
The wet brake feature of the software is designed to apply pressure to all four of the SRX’s disc brakes at roughly six kilometer intervals while the accelerator is applied. Cadillac says the system works seamlessly with StabiliTrak, anti-lock brakes and traction control without the driver knowing anything is happening.
(See also Cell Phones Prevail as Dominant U.S. Electronic Device. Distracted Driving Enabler Now Owned by 85% of Adults and Vehicle Dependability at Record, but Electronic Problems Grow)
