[Tommy]

My non-expert opinion is that the criss-cross arrangement makes a lot of sense for a car with anti-lock brakes, as all modern cars have. But on a car like my Cobra without antilock brakes, its not as good a choice. If either system failed on my car, the weight on the remaining two tires would remain close to the same during hard braking, so it's unlikely that I would lock up just one of the remaining tires. However, if I had criss cross plumbing with one system failed, I'd likely lock up the brake on the one good rear tire leaving me with only one effective tire for braking. That would also make steering difficult. ... At least thats what I think until someone offers a better explanation.