1998 Chevrolet Astro Owner's Manual - Page 190

Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decide to push onthe 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 3/4 of a second. But that's only anaverage. It might be less withone 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 frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 k m h ) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an emergency, so keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surface of the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; the conditionof your brakes; theweight of the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied. Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- 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 alot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will eliminate alot of unnecessary braking. That means better braking and longer brake life. If your engine everstops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pump yourbrakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is used up, it may takelonger to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push. 4-6