August 13, 2025 • 9 mins
We’re digging into the remarkable story of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) from their unlikely beginnings in aircraft and early prototypes, to the decades of engineering breakthroughs that brought them into every modern vehicle. It’s the tale of an invention that’s not just clever, but life-saving, credited with preventing thousands of accidents and saving countless lives worldwide.
Fuel for the Future is presented by State Farm Insurance and Driven by America's Automotive Trust. www.americasautomotivetrust.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Oh. It happens in a blink.
You slam on the brakes,the wheels lock, the tires scream,
and suddenly you're not driving anymore.
You're sliding.
You might steer, but the car doesn't care.
A few seconds later,maybe you stop safely.
(00:20):
Maybe not.
For most of driving history.
This was the norm.
Before computers.
Before sensors.
Before all the quiet, invisible systems.
We now take for granted.
Braking worked great.
That is right upuntil the moment you've really needed it.
But stopping doesn't have to meanskidding.
(00:42):
And engineershave found a way to help sync physics
just long enough to give drivers backcontrol.
This is the story of anti-lock braking.
A battle between chaos and control.
And how we learned to stop smarter.
This is fuel for the future.
Presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.
(01:03):
I'm Michael May.
In 1886, Karl
Benz patented what's widely regardedas the first automobile as three wheeled,
gasoline powered contraption that lookedmore like a glorified tricycle than a car.
It topped out at ten milesper hour, and its brakes a lever pressing,
a leather covered wooden blockagainst the rear wheels.
(01:27):
Just friction and prayer.
As cars got faster,their brakes didn't always keep up.
By the early 1900s,the world was changing fast.
The Ford Model T, introducedin 1908, made cars
affordable and it made speed accessible.
But even as the model T brought motoringto the masses, it relied on transmission
(01:49):
braking, where the brake acteddirectly on the drive train.
That meant the rear wheelswere doing all the work,
and if those wheels locked up,you were going along for the ride.
Allegedly, Henry Ford was hesitantto adopt more advanced
braking technologieslike hydraulic brakes, and even believed
that front brakes could cause the carto flip during a hard stop.
(02:11):
As a result,early Fords did not have front brakes.
In 1924,
Chrysler introduced mechanicalfour wheel brakes,
which used cables to apply forceto all four wheels.
That was progress, but still crude.
The cables could stretch, snap or freeze,
and none of it prevented the wheelsfrom locking during a hard stop.
(02:34):
Enter hydraulics.
In 1921, engineer Malcolm Lockheeddeveloped the first hydraulic
braking system.
It used fluid pressure to applybraking force evenly, and by the 1920s
it was being used in carslike Duesenberg and Chrysler's Henry Ford.
Still resisted this for years,But by 1939,
even he had to concedehydraulics were the future.
(02:58):
So by the 1940s, brakes were morepowerful.
Roads were smoother, speeds were higher.
But that brought a new problem.
What happened after you slammed the brake?
Locked wheels?
When a car's wheels stop spinning,it loses traction.
And with that, it loses steering.
A locked up wheel doesn't roll.
(03:18):
It skids on wet pavement, snow or gravel.
That could mean the differencebetween a near miss and a fatal crash.
The best a driver could do
was a technique called cadence braking or,as I learned it, pumping the brakes.
When a driver pumps the brakes rapidlyto try to modulate grip.
But let's be honest, in a panic,most people don't tap.
(03:39):
They stomp.
This wasn't just a problem for cars,mind you.
During World War Two, aircraft routinelyovershot runways during hard landings.
Fighter jets would blow tiresand go careening into ditches
because of a locked wheels.
And that's where the first true anti-lockbraking system was born.
Not in a car, but on a British airfield.
(04:01):
In 1952, the Dunlop companyavailed a spinning flywheel to sense
wheel deceleration, and when a wheel beganto lock, the system temporarily
reduced hydraulic pressure to that brake,and the result was smoother stops.
By 1958, the system had made its wayinto test vehicles,
but it was never mass produced for cars.
(04:22):
The system was too bulky, toomechanical, and frankly, too expensive.
Even as more carshit highways faster, heavier and deadlier.
The industry dragged its heels.
Some sayit was the cost, and others feared
that drivers wouldn't trust a systemthat let off the brakes mid stop.
But the real reasonthe brains didn't exist yet.
(04:43):
And when I say brains,I mean computers, sensors and processors.
They were still roomsized and humming away at research labs
and not under the hood of sedans.
And until those tools were ready,anti-lock brakes
would remain just an idea.
But in the background, engineers acrossthe world were quietly working
toward the same goal.
(05:07):
To understand how anti-lock
brakes finally made it out of the laband onto the road.
We need to talk about the Bosch Company,
founded by engineerRobert Bosch in Germany.
The company became one of the world'sfirst suppliers of electrical ignition
systems for gasoline engines,and by the 1960s,
the Bosch company had begun to thinkabout braking differently.
(05:28):
Most of the ABS systems being developedand tested around the world
were mechanical or analog.
They were unreliable, large,and too slow to react in time
on unpredictable road surfaces.
meanwhile, by the 1970s,Bosch had acquired control
of a small Germanelectronics company called Telmex.
Based in Heidelberg,Toto specialized in aviation electronics
(05:52):
and had begun researching anti-skidbraking systems for aircraft
that expertise, combined with Bosch'sknowledge of vehicles,
laid the foundation for the future.
By 1978,
Bosch had developed what it called AB S2,the first truly digital
multichannel anti-lock braking systemsuitable for mass production.
(06:13):
This version included wheel speed sensorsat each corner, an electric control unit,
and hydraulic modulatorscapable of pulsing brake pressure.
Several times per second, Boschthen partnered with Mercedes-Benz
to deploy the ABS too,as an optional extra on the S-Class.
In 1978.
This is the first true modern ABS systemto reach the market.
(06:38):
More importantlythan being the first true modern
ABS system is it worked?
Road tests showed that this reducedstopping distances, especially on wet or
slippery roads, and, crucially, retainedsteering control during hard braking.
And while the system cost roughly$1,000 extra,
which was a lot back then, it markedthe beginning of a revolution.
(07:03):
To be clear, leading up to this release,there were competitors as examples.
In 1971, Chrysler was workingwith the Bendix Corporation
to introduce a system called Shear Brake.
It was marketed as a four wheel computercontrolled anti-lock braking system.
General Motors offered a similar systemcalled Track Master that same year.
(07:24):
But these early American systemshad problems.
They were less accurateand more prone to error than Bosch is.
Later digital version.
In Japan, Nissan offered an anti-skidbraking system in 1971.
It was ahead of its time,
but it was limited to small productionruns and wasn't widely exported.
So yes, othercompanies brought ABS like technology
(07:45):
to the market before 1978,but only Bosch and Mercedes-Benz
delivered a system that set the standardfor what ABS would become.
And they didn't stop there.
By the early 1980s, Bosch had partneredwith BMW, Audi, and Volvo.
By 1985, Japanese makerslike Toyota and Honda had integrated
(08:06):
digital ABS systems into their mid-tierand luxury models.
So the dominoes were falling.
But the 1990s anti-lock brakeshad shifted from a luxury
add on to a standard safety feature.
Before anti-lock brakes.
Everyday driving was a battle.
Locked wheels, loss of steering,increased crash risk and abs change that.
(08:28):
A 2004 study in Australiafound ABS reduced multi-vehicle crash risk
by 18% and otherwise dramatically improvedcontrol and safety in motorcycles.
A 2010 study found ABS reducedfatal crash involvement
by 37% compared to bikes.
Without it.
(08:49):
ABS turned brakesinto intelligent systems,
not just hardware,and it has saved countless lives.
Technological advancements can sometimes
take a long time to perfect and implement.
But it also makes me wonder what's nextin the evolution of automobiles.
(09:10):
Thank you for listening to fuelfor the future,
presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.
Learn more at America's Automotive Trust.
Ford. Know.
Oh. It happens in a blink.
You slam on the brakes,the wheels lock, the tires scream,
and suddenly you're not driving anymore.
You're sliding.
You might steer, but the car doesn't care.
A few seconds later,maybe you stop safely.
(00:20):
Maybe not.
For most of driving history.
This was the norm.
Before computers.
Before sensors.
Before all the quiet, invisible systems.
We now take for granted.
Braking worked great.
That is right upuntil the moment you've really needed it.
But stopping doesn't have to meanskidding.
(00:42):
And engineershave found a way to help sync physics
just long enough to give drivers backcontrol.
This is the story of anti-lock braking.
A battle between chaos and control.
And how we learned to stop smarter.
This is fuel for the future.
Presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.
(01:03):
I'm Michael May.
In 1886, Karl
Benz patented what's widely regardedas the first automobile as three wheeled,
gasoline powered contraption that lookedmore like a glorified tricycle than a car.
It topped out at ten milesper hour, and its brakes a lever pressing,
a leather covered wooden blockagainst the rear wheels.
(01:27):
Just friction and prayer.
As cars got faster,their brakes didn't always keep up.
By the early 1900s,the world was changing fast.
The Ford Model T, introducedin 1908, made cars
affordable and it made speed accessible.
But even as the model T brought motoringto the masses, it relied on transmission
(01:49):
braking, where the brake acteddirectly on the drive train.
That meant the rear wheelswere doing all the work,
and if those wheels locked up,you were going along for the ride.
Allegedly, Henry Ford was hesitantto adopt more advanced
braking technologieslike hydraulic brakes, and even believed
that front brakes could cause the carto flip during a hard stop.
(02:11):
As a result,early Fords did not have front brakes.
In 1924,
Chrysler introduced mechanicalfour wheel brakes,
which used cables to apply forceto all four wheels.
That was progress, but still crude.
The cables could stretch, snap or freeze,
and none of it prevented the wheelsfrom locking during a hard stop.
(02:34):
Enter hydraulics.
In 1921, engineer Malcolm Lockheeddeveloped the first hydraulic
braking system.
It used fluid pressure to applybraking force evenly, and by the 1920s
it was being used in carslike Duesenberg and Chrysler's Henry Ford.
Still resisted this for years,But by 1939,
even he had to concedehydraulics were the future.
(02:58):
So by the 1940s, brakes were morepowerful.
Roads were smoother, speeds were higher.
But that brought a new problem.
What happened after you slammed the brake?
Locked wheels?
When a car's wheels stop spinning,it loses traction.
And with that, it loses steering.
A locked up wheel doesn't roll.
(03:18):
It skids on wet pavement, snow or gravel.
That could mean the differencebetween a near miss and a fatal crash.
The best a driver could do
was a technique called cadence braking or,as I learned it, pumping the brakes.
When a driver pumps the brakes rapidlyto try to modulate grip.
But let's be honest, in a panic,most people don't tap.
(03:39):
They stomp.
This wasn't just a problem for cars,mind you.
During World War Two, aircraft routinelyovershot runways during hard landings.
Fighter jets would blow tiresand go careening into ditches
because of a locked wheels.
And that's where the first true anti-lockbraking system was born.
Not in a car, but on a British airfield.
(04:01):
In 1952, the Dunlop companyavailed a spinning flywheel to sense
wheel deceleration, and when a wheel beganto lock, the system temporarily
reduced hydraulic pressure to that brake,and the result was smoother stops.
By 1958, the system had made its wayinto test vehicles,
but it was never mass produced for cars.
(04:22):
The system was too bulky, toomechanical, and frankly, too expensive.
Even as more carshit highways faster, heavier and deadlier.
The industry dragged its heels.
Some sayit was the cost, and others feared
that drivers wouldn't trust a systemthat let off the brakes mid stop.
But the real reasonthe brains didn't exist yet.
(04:43):
And when I say brains,I mean computers, sensors and processors.
They were still roomsized and humming away at research labs
and not under the hood of sedans.
And until those tools were ready,anti-lock brakes
would remain just an idea.
But in the background, engineers acrossthe world were quietly working
toward the same goal.
(05:07):
To understand how anti-lock
brakes finally made it out of the laband onto the road.
We need to talk about the Bosch Company,
founded by engineerRobert Bosch in Germany.
The company became one of the world'sfirst suppliers of electrical ignition
systems for gasoline engines,and by the 1960s,
the Bosch company had begun to thinkabout braking differently.
(05:28):
Most of the ABS systems being developedand tested around the world
were mechanical or analog.
They were unreliable, large,and too slow to react in time
on unpredictable road surfaces.
meanwhile, by the 1970s,Bosch had acquired control
of a small Germanelectronics company called Telmex.
Based in Heidelberg,Toto specialized in aviation electronics
(05:52):
and had begun researching anti-skidbraking systems for aircraft
that expertise, combined with Bosch'sknowledge of vehicles,
laid the foundation for the future.
By 1978,
Bosch had developed what it called AB S2,the first truly digital
multichannel anti-lock braking systemsuitable for mass production.
(06:13):
This version included wheel speed sensorsat each corner, an electric control unit,
and hydraulic modulatorscapable of pulsing brake pressure.
Several times per second, Boschthen partnered with Mercedes-Benz
to deploy the ABS too,as an optional extra on the S-Class.
In 1978.
This is the first true modern ABS systemto reach the market.
(06:38):
More importantlythan being the first true modern
ABS system is it worked?
Road tests showed that this reducedstopping distances, especially on wet or
slippery roads, and, crucially, retainedsteering control during hard braking.
And while the system cost roughly$1,000 extra,
which was a lot back then, it markedthe beginning of a revolution.
(07:03):
To be clear, leading up to this release,there were competitors as examples.
In 1971, Chrysler was workingwith the Bendix Corporation
to introduce a system called Shear Brake.
It was marketed as a four wheel computercontrolled anti-lock braking system.
General Motors offered a similar systemcalled Track Master that same year.
(07:24):
But these early American systemshad problems.
They were less accurateand more prone to error than Bosch is.
Later digital version.
In Japan, Nissan offered an anti-skidbraking system in 1971.
It was ahead of its time,
but it was limited to small productionruns and wasn't widely exported.
So yes, othercompanies brought ABS like technology
(07:45):
to the market before 1978,but only Bosch and Mercedes-Benz
delivered a system that set the standardfor what ABS would become.
And they didn't stop there.
By the early 1980s, Bosch had partneredwith BMW, Audi, and Volvo.
By 1985, Japanese makerslike Toyota and Honda had integrated
(08:06):
digital ABS systems into their mid-tierand luxury models.
So the dominoes were falling.
But the 1990s anti-lock brakeshad shifted from a luxury
add on to a standard safety feature.
Before anti-lock brakes.
Everyday driving was a battle.
Locked wheels, loss of steering,increased crash risk and abs change that.
(08:28):
A 2004 study in Australiafound ABS reduced multi-vehicle crash risk
by 18% and otherwise dramatically improvedcontrol and safety in motorcycles.
A 2010 study found ABS reducedfatal crash involvement
by 37% compared to bikes.
Without it.
(08:49):
ABS turned brakesinto intelligent systems,
not just hardware,and it has saved countless lives.
Technological advancements can sometimes
take a long time to perfect and implement.
But it also makes me wonder what's nextin the evolution of automobiles.
(09:10):
Thank you for listening to fuelfor the future,
presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.
Learn more at America's Automotive Trust.
Ford. Know.
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