> What people fail to realize, particularly in slippery conditions, is that it's often much easier to gain speed than to shed it. Modern traction control systems make it more (too) easy to gain speed without equally making it easy to shed speed.

Which raises an interesting question: if a traction control system can detect poor traction conditions and compensate, couldn't it just as easily warn the driver to slow down, just like the backup radar on recent cars warns about pedestrians and cross traffic?

I used to own a VW which would turn on a light indicating a high chance of black ice when the temperature conditions lent themselves to that (black ice can form at several degrees above freezing temperature).

I suspect that a car could warn of low traction and recommend slowing down, but no car offers it because consumers won't buy a car that nags them to slow down, Even if it's for their own safety.