(dated: 9/27/95)
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	"FEDS ASK WHY ANTI-LOCK BRAKES HIT THE SKIDS"
		by James R. Healey and Jayne O'Donnell
		USA TODAY, September 27, 1995

	Federal safety officials are investigating huge numbers of 
complaints about, and accidents involving, anti-lock brake systems,
suggesting widespread problems with ABS.
	The biggest probe: 1.9 million 1991-'94 Chevrolet and GMC compact
pickups and sport-utility vehicles.
	Also significant:   ABS complaints involving Chrysler's '91-'93
Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth minivans.
	The GM trucks have generated 5,605 complaints involving 1,402
accidents and 436 injuries--most of any active NHTSA probe.  Chrysler
minivan tally: 1,374 complaints, 55 accidents, 29 injuries.
	The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration typically gets
dozens or hundreds---not thousands--of complaints.  The ABS numbers are
"very large, many more than we usually have," says chief investigator
Michael Brownlee.
	NHTSA has been investigating the GM and Chrysler vehicles more than
a year and hopes to finish in "the next several months," he says.
	The Associated Press reported Tuesday that there have been more than
120,000 warranty claims for repair or replacement of ABS on the compact
GM trucks.  The AP said the system is made by Kelsey-Hayes, which did not 
return phone calls seeking comment.
	NHTSA and automakers suggest drivers could be partly at fault.  
Driver error vs. mechanical failure "are always issues in brake
investigations," Brownlee says.
	"We find, in general, a lot of people don't know how ABS is supposed
to work," says GM's spokesman Ed Lechtzin.  "There are a lot of people to
whom ABS is still new."
	ABS is designed to stop quickly on slick roads by automatically
pumping the brakes.  ABS also allows drivers to keep steering during
panic stops because the wheels don't skid.
	But for ABS to work correctly, drivers must slam on the brakes and
hold them.  Doing that causes the brake pedal to vibrate--sometimes so
violently that drivers are frightened and let up on the brakes.  Too, many
drivers have been taught to pump brakes, negating ABS' advantages.
	"We don't believe there's a malfunction," Lechtzin says.  "We're
confident this investigation will end, be closed, and that will be it."
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