1997 Buick Century Owner's Manual - Page 192

Control of a Vehicle You have three systems that make your vehicle gowhere you want it to go. They are thebrakes, the steeringand the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at theplaces where the tiresmeet the road. Braking perception time and reaction time. Braking action involves First, you have to decide topush on the brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you have to bring up your foot and do it.That's reaction time. Average reaction time is about 314 of a second. But that's only an average. It might be lesswith 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 vehicle frustration. But even in 314 of a second, a moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot distance in an 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 of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; thecondition of your brakes; the weight of the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied. Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice,it's easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle. 4-6