Who brakes better, ABS or a professional driver?

Who brakes better

Can a professional driver beat an ABS system? This is the question they asked themselves on the Youtube Driven Media channel, a question that led to the decision to make a video in the company of professional driver Scott Mansell aboard a Mazda MX-5. For the uninitiated, but I guess this is a very low percentage of users, ABS has been a mandatory system since 2004 on all new production cars, designed to prevent the wheels from locking during the most intense braking, so to reduce the braking distance and make the cars safer.

To make the video even more interesting, the same test was also carried out by a normal driver, so that all those who are not professional drivers can get an idea of ​​how useful ABS really is.

Needless to say, the results have been overwhelming in favor of ABS: with the system active the little MX-5 stopped at 100 km / h at 0 in an average space of 34.73 meters, always obtaining very consistent and similar results (less than a meter of margin between one attempt and another). Once the system was deactivated by removing the correct fuse, the car was handed over to a "normal" driver: in this case the best braking result was 39 meters, while the average distance rose to 42.66 meters. 7.93 meters more average braking distance, and unpredictable and always different braking: not that further confirmation was needed, but ABS is a very important tool for road safety.

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Tech companies hit the brakes as slowdown looms

Tech giants that have often sailed above the economy's turmoil can't escape the current downturn's pain, as this week's earnings reports from the sector's key companies illustrated.

Why it matters: Even as other industries struggled during the pandemic, tech prospered because so much of the economy shifted online. Now they are preparing to take a direct hit.

Driving the news:

Google, Snap, Twitter and Facebook parent Meta all warned in various ways about a sharper than anticipated slowdown in online advertising.

PC chip giant Intel on Thursday posted disappointing numbers, though its troubles are exacerbated by its own execution problems above and beyond a slowdown in PC sales.

Amazon, which also reported results on Thursday, saw sales growth flatten, with online sales actually down year-over-year.

Apple, meanwhile, fared somewhat better in results posted yesterday.

The company, which in April had forecasted component shortages and production issues would dent quarterly revenue by $4 billion to $8 billion, saw a somewhat milder impact, and iPhone sales remained strong.

Yes, but: Even Apple took some hits from the broader economic slowdown, including an impact on revenue from wearables and services.

Apple said it sees the growth of its services business continuing to slow, even as it projects the company's overall revenue will grow faster in the current quarter.

The big picture: Tech companies are hitting the brakes, especially when it comes to hiring. Just a few months ago their biggest challenge was finding enough qualified people to fill open jobs.

While most large companies have stopped short of a full-on hiring freeze, nearly all have said they expect headcount growth to slow.

Even Apple plans to slow its hiring pace. CEO Tim Cook told analysts Apple will continue to hire in key areas, but noted, 'We are being more deliberate in doing so.'

Many startups, meanwhile, are weighing or implementing layoffs in anticipation of a funding drought.

Between the lines: Companies are facing a long list of challenges, from lingering supply chain bottlenecks to inflation to foreign exchange costs.

Be smart: Just planning for a possible economic slowdown can make the slowdown happen.

As companies cut their own advertising budgets and try to do more with less, the rest of the economy feels the bite.

Our thought bubble: No one is happy in this kind of business climate, but the markets appear to be relieved that most of the tech giants avoided big negative surprises.

Also, downturns tend to be good for big companies in the long term, as they are able to use their giant hoards of cash get to keep investing in new products and growth while others are fighting for their lives.

Typically these are also good times to make acquisitions, though that could prove tougher for the large tech companies amid greater antitrust scrutiny.