1996 Buick LeSabre Owner's Manual - Page 161

I , Control of a Vehicle . Braking . . You have threesystems that makeyour vehicle gowhere you want it togo. They are the brakes, the steering and the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at the places where the tires meet the road. Braking action involvesperception time and reaction time. First, you have to decide topush on thebrake pedal. That's perception time.Then you have tobring up your foot and do it.That's reaction time. Average reaction time is about 3/4of a second. But that's only an average. It might be lesswith one driver and as long as twomor three seconds or more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination and and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 h htravels 66 feet (20 m). / ) That could be a lot distance inan emergency, so of keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surfaceof the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the condition the road (wet, dry, icy); tire of tread; and the conditionof your brakes. Sometimes, aswhen you're drivingon snow or ice,it's easy to ask more of those controlsystems than the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle. 4-5