2012 Cadillac SRX Owner Manual - Page 282

9-4 Driving and Operating Helpful braking tips to keep in mind include: . Control of a Vehicle Braking, steering, and accelerating are important factors in helping to control a vehicle while driving. Steering Hydraulic Power Steering Your vehicle has hydraulic power steering. It may require maintenance. See Power Steering Fluid on page 10￿20. If power steering assist is lost due to a system malfunction, the vehicle can be steered, but may require increased effort. See your dealer if there is a problem. Keep enough distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. Avoid needless heavy braking. Keep pace with traffic. Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. Deciding to push the brake pedal is perception time. Actually doing it is reaction time. Average driver reaction time is about three-quarters of a second. In that time, a vehicle moving at 100 km/h (60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft), which could be a lot of distance in an emergency. . . If the engine ever stops while the vehicle is being driven, brake normally but do not pump the brakes. Doing so could make the pedal harder to push down. If the engine stops, there will be some power brake assist but it will be used when the brake is applied. Once the power assist is used up, it can take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push.