that advice doesnt sound right to me....most ppl these days dont know what they are talking about....if you are doing 120KM...there is a lot of adrenalin pumping through your blood anyway (provided you r not drunk..lol) and in case you have to brake in an emergency....you will not think twice for a flip second before simply ramming the brake pedal...
let alone to be attentive enough to push it twice...haha...thats mindless.
i think i have discussed this issue in the past with some other members....i did a complete brake upgrade DIY on my brother's corolla in Karachi...here is a quick summary.
The stock tires are alrigth on the XLI, GLI and even on the SE...tires dont affect braking more than the brake setup itself....when i say alright...they are good but not great....so there is no hard need to get newer tires.
secondly...i found the quality of the pad, and the rotor as cheap when i replaced them at only 2000Kms. the pad was thinner than the OEM specs that toyota puts in their corolla internationally. the rotor was almost warped...its made of some cheap quality material..so i had it replaced as well.
the caliper, piston and the brake line was working alright as it is supposed to.
having said all this...nothing beats the capability of the ABS technology but hey....there were cars driven on the road before ABS was introduced.