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Driving and Operating 9-3
The obvious way to eliminate the
leading highway safety problem is
for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.
Medical research shows that alcohol
in a person's system can make
crash injuries worse, especially
injuries to the brain, spinal cord,
or heart. This means that when
anyone who has been
drinking — driver or passenger — is
in a crash, that person's chance of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not
been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems help
to control the vehicle while
driving — brakes, steering, and
accelerator. At times, as when
driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems
than the tires and road can provide.
Meaning, you can lose control of the
vehicle. See StabiliTrak System
on
page 9‑28
.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer
accessories can affect vehicle
performance. See Accessories and
Modifications on page 10‑3.
Braking
See Brake System Warning Light
on page 5‑21
.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding to
push the brake pedal is perception
time. Actually doing it is
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about
three-fourths of a second. But that is
only an average. It might be less
with one driver and as long as two
or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition,
alertness, coordination, and
eyesight all play a part. So do
alcohol, drugs, and frustration. But
even in three-fourths of a second, a
vehicle moving at 100 km/h
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft). That
could be a lot of distance in an
emergency, so keeping enough
space between the vehicle and
others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the
surface of the road, whether it is
pavement or gravel; the condition of
the road, whether it is wet, dry,
or icy; tire tread; the condition of the
brakes; the weight of the vehicle;
and the amount of brake force
applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking.
Some people drive in
spurts — heavy acceleration
followed by heavy braking — rather
than keeping pace with traffic.
This is a mistake. The brakes might
not have time to cool between hard
stops. The brakes will wear out
much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.