Quote Originally Posted by evillecutter View Post
they made cars without abs for years and they did just fine - BUT they were not controlled by computers
True dat...but a fault condition is a fault condition. Computer control stops and manual (or even table-fed) operation takes over. With brakes, the first thought would be "normal" hydraulic function w/o the possibility of piston flutter.

On a computer controlled engine, a fault mode reverts to a manual, pre-programmed mode. Still not "manual", but independant of some/all sensor feedback. Brakes are a simpler mechanical "system".