1994 Cadillac Fleetwood Owner's Manual - Page 185

$RAKING Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you haveto decide to push on thebrake pedal. That's perception time. Then you haveto bring up your foot and do it. That's reaction time. Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a second. But that's onlyan two average. It might be less withone driver and as long as or three seconds or more with another. Age, physicalcondition, alertness, coordination, and eyesight all play part. So do alcohol, drugs and a 3/4 frustration. But even in of a second, a vehicle movingat 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an emergency, so keeping enough space between your vehicleand others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with surface of the the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread;and the condition of your brakes. Avoid needless heavy braking.Some people drive inspurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavybraking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.That means better braking and longer brake life. If your engine ever stops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder topush down.If your engine stops, you willstill havesome power brake assist. But you will use it when youbrake. Once the power assist is used it may take up, longer to stopand the brake pedal will be harder to push. 172