1993 Cadillac DeVille Owner's Manual - Page 189

Expect other drivers to run stop signs when you are on a through street. Be ready to brake if necessary as you go through intersections. You may not have to use the brake, but if you do, you will be ready. If you're driving through a shopping center parking lot where there are well-marked lanes, directional arrows, and designated parking areas, expect some drivers to ignore all these markings and dash straight toward one partof the lot. Pedestrians can be careless. Watch for them. In general, you must give way to pedestrians even if you know you havethe right of way. Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following distance. It's the best defensive driving maneuver, in both city and rural driving. You never know when the vehicle in front of you is going to brake or turn suddenly. Here's a final bit of information about defensive driving. The most dangerous time for driving inthe U.S. is veryearly on Sunday morning. In fact, GM Research studies show that themost and theleast dangerous times for driving, everyweek, fall on thesame day. That day isSunday. The most dangerous time is Sunday from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. The safest time is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11a.m. Driving the same distance on aSunday at 3 a.m. isn't just a little more dangerous than it is at 10 a.m. It's about 134 times more dangerous! That leads to the next section. DRUNKEN D R M N G Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to thehighway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every year. Alcohol takes away three things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: Judgment 0 Muscular Coordination Vision Police records show that half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol - a driver, a passenger or someone else, such as a pedestrian, had been drinking. In most cases, these deaths are the result of someone 176