1993 GMC Safari Owner's Manual - Page 168

Control of a Vehicle You havethreesystemsthatmakeyourvehiclegowhereyouwantittogo. All threesystemshave Theyarethebrakes,thesteeringandtheaccelerator. to do their work at the places where the tires meet the road. AN409007 Sometimes,aswhenyou'redrivingonsnoworice, it's easy to askmoreof thosecontrolsystemsthanthetiresandroadcanprovide.Thatmeansyou canlosecontrol of yourvehicle. Braking Brakingactioninvolves perceptiontime and reaction time. First,youhavetodecide to pushonthebrakepedal.That's perception time. Thenyouhave to bringup yourfootand do it.That's reactiontime. Average reactiontime is about 314 of asecond.Butthat'sonlyanaverage. It mightbelesswithonedriverandaslongastwoorthreesecondsor morewithanother.Age,physicalcondition,alertness,coordination,and So do alcohol,drugsandfrustration.Buteven in eyesightallplayapart. 314 of asecond,avehiclemovingat 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).That could bea lot of distance in anemergency, so keepingenough spacebetweenyourvehicleandothersisimportant. And,ofcourse, actualstoppingdistancesvarygreatlywiththesurface road (whetherit'spavement or gravel);thecondition of theroad(wet, of yourbrakes. icy);tiretread;andthecondition of the dry, 4-1 2