The term anti-lock brakes, or ABS, is one you nearly always see when you read truck reviews and specs. Most drivers know an ABS is a good thing to have, but not everyone understands how it helps keep you safe in tough situations. It's not a bad idea to get familiar with your ABS before you need it, because if you don't know how the system feels when it goes to work, its activation could startle you and cause you to (unintentionally) turn it off. Don't confuse the term with vehicle stability control systems. They're important too, but they help you in a different way.