I probably wouldn’t be writing this story if a Toyota Land Cruiser hadn’t saved my life a few weeks ago. Here’s the scenario: I was driving the Land Cruiser on the Interstate, doing about 70 in the left lane. This is on New York’s Thruway, which is mostly only two lanes in each direction. Any Californian reading this probably just had their brain melt. Yes, JUST TWO LANES! But it’s still a highway. I was following in a column of cars doing what they should do in the left lane—passing. Someone was right behind me, and then, out of the blue, a guy in a minivan decided to merge into my path.
- Base Trim Engine
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2.4L Turbo Hybrid
- Base Trim Transmission
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8-speed automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Four-Wheel Drive
- Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
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22/25/23 MPG
- Base Trim Battery Type
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Lead acid battery
There was no place for this driver to go because he was trying to merge directly into the space the Land Cruiser was occupying. I reacted instinctively, first braking as hard as I could, trying to make room for the guy, but not wanting to fully engage a total panic stop, because of the car behind me. He continued to merge directly into me. There was bailout room in the grassy median—but it sloped sharply downhill and off camber. I immediately pictured a 70-mile-per-hour rollover. Not good. Mind you, all of this was occurring in an eye blink.
Obviously, you know the outcome. I didn’t die. I didn’t even trade paint with Mister Minivan. But why? How? After the fact, I put these questions to Tom Kretschmann, a senior planner and a leader in technical education at Toyota. His analysis explained what happened and how I not only avoided an accident, but also what technology was busily saving my bacon. By the way, the TLDR you need to know, regardless of what you drive, is how this tech should influence what you do if you’re stuck in the same no-win scenario.
To provide the most accurate and up-to-date information, this article uses data sourced from various authoritative sources, as well as the writer’s own experience.
This Isn’t Your Dad’s ABS
The Land Cruiser is equipped with antilock brakes. All modern cars are. ABS does what you think it does: it prevents the brakes from locking. But Kretschmann explained that carmakers know that it doesn’t shorten the distance it takes to come to a complete stop. What ABS enables is steering while braking. Most drivers aren’t aware of this, even 30 years into ABS ubiquity.
So when I stood on the Land Cruiser’s brakes to buy more time to evade the merging minivan, I was still able to steer. Full lockup would have put the Toyota into a skid, and that would eliminate the chance to maneuver.
There’s More Tech Beyond ABS In The Land Cruiser
The Land Cruiser has what’s called a stroke sensor. Kretschmann said, “That’s looking for how quickly the brake pedal is being pressed, because you can gradually press, or you can suddenly stab the brakes.” Here’s the problem, however, and why there’s a stroke sensor and another bit of tech, called brake assist, which is also increasingly common:
“There were studies that showed a lot of people who hit the pedal hard enough to actually engage ABS still, unfortunately, got an accident.”—Tom Kretschmann, Senior Planner, Technical Education Leader, Toyota
Brake Assist Does What Humans Fail to Do
Here’s the deal: Most of us don’t brake hard enough. Even in an emergency. Kretschmann said this is only natural; we don’t brake as hard as possible frequently enough to know what that feels like. So brake assist was developed to add muscle that you’re not adding. It’s based on the idea that if the system sees really rapid brake application, it adds more energy to the pedal, “applying the brakes much harder.” That enabled me to do what came next: Steer in a big hurry.
Evasive Steering At Highway Speed Is Terrifying—And This Tech Makes It Possible
EBD, or electronic brake force distribution, studies both the static vehicle load (where the weight is inside the car) and the proportion of braking load on each wheel. Toyota’s Kretschmann explained that this probably became critical when I was trying to avoid an accident in the Land Cruiser, because I was still braking, and then, when the minivan kept coming, I had to make a decision, which was to turn into the lane that their car was departing.
And in a taller vehicle, rollover is going to become a higher risk if you’re slamming on the brakes and turning simultaneously. He said that EBD and ABS are working in tandem to determine the grip of each tire as you’re braking, because in a hard turn, the outside wheels are taking the brunt of the force, and when you introduce braking, you’re increasing that force. Kretschmann believes the system provided extra tire grip by redistributing the braking load—but also that an additional factor came into play as I started to steer into the right-hand lane.
Stability Control Kept All Four Wheels On The Ground
The instant it was clear to me that the merger wasn’t going to stop merging, I had to decide what to do next. I could see that there was a car behind the merger, on my right, but by releasing the brake and steering directly into the spot the minivan had been in, I was able to avoid disaster. Somehow, the driver behind the minivan didn’t hit me, though it was close.
In the background, Kretschmann believes stability control, which can brake each wheel individually, was monitoring the yaw angle of the vehicle—basically, how much it was leaning as I was adding steering input. What I felt was the Land Cruiser tilt over hard as I added a sharp rightward input, and then it felt like some invisible hand settled the rear end, allowing me to yank the Land Cruiser into the right lane.
Advanced Stabilizing Tech Helps Drivers Correct
What I was experiencing was severe understeer, though the yaw sensors can also measure oversteer, as illustrated above. Either way, Kretschmann says the system will intervene to prevent either from happening. And in the process, that correction is also able to prevent such extreme input that would result in most rollovers—obviously, within the limits of physics.
It can calculate how much yaw rate you should have per degree of steering angle. And if you are under that, obviously, you’re understeering. And if you’re beyond that, you’re oversteering. And what it will do is individually apply the brakes, to bring you back in the line you’re intending to go.”—Tom Kretschmann, Senior Planner, Technical Education Leader, Toyota
TopSpeed’s Take: Why/How Drivers Should Test Their Cars’ Systems
None of this technology is new or groundbreaking. In fact, as the videos in this article show, it’s actually all been around for a while. Which is why it’s a bit startling to hear Kretschmann explain that some of it had to be developed because how people drive hasn’t evolved as fast as the technology. This is why almost all carmakers now incorporate automatic emergency braking, too, which will stop your car if you fail to brake in time when someone slams on the brakes ahead of you.
This technology is essential—and so is testing it on your own car. I don’t mean by trying to get into dicey driving situations. But I do suggest you do what test drivers like me do regularly. In an empty parking lot, drive to 30 MPH and then stand on the brakes as hard as possible. Drive around that same lot in figure-eights and try to engage the stability control. And if you have any kids about to drive—or a spouse afraid to experience these thresholds—get them behind the wheel, STAT. You have to know what your car can do in a controlled environment. So when, not if, you have to avoid an accident, you’re ready and able to evade disaster.