1998 Chevrolet Lumina Owner's Manual - Page 168

Average reaction time about 3/4 of a second. But is that's only an average.It might be less with 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. do alcohol, drugs and So frustration. But even in of a second, a vehicle 314 m htravels 66 feet (20 m). moving at 60 mph (100 k / ) That could be lot of distance in an emergency, so a keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surface the road (whether it's pavement or of gravel); the conditionof the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; the condition your brakes;the weight of the of vehicle and the amount brake force applied. of Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice, it's in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy easy to ask more those control systems than the tires braking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This of and road can provide. That means you can lose controlis a mistake.Your brakes may not have time to cool of your vehicle. between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you do a lot heavy braking.If you keep pace of Braking with the traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will eliminate a lot unnecessary braking. That of Braking action involvesperception and time reaction time. means better braking and longer brake life. First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you have to bring up your foot and doit. That's reaction time. 4-6