1993 GMC Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 177

Defensiwe Driving Thebestadviceanyone can giveaboutdriving is Drive defensively. Please start with a very important safety device in your vehicle: Buckle up. (See "Safety Belts" in the Index.) for anything." On citystreets,rural Defensivedrivingreallymeans"beready roads,orfreeways, it means"alwaysexpecttheunexpected." Assumethatpedestriansorotherdriversaregoing to be careless and make mistakes.Anticipatewhattheymight do. Bereadyfortheirmistakes. Expectchildren to dashoutfrom behind parked cars,oftenfollowedbyother children.Expectoccupants in parked cars to opendoors into traffic.Watchfor movement in parked cars-someonemay be about to opena door. Expectotherdrivers to runstopsignswhenyouare on athroughstreet.Be readytobrake if necessary as you go throughintersections. Youmay not have to use thebrake,but if you do,youwill be ready. If you'redriving through ashoppingcenter parking lotwherethereare well-markedlanes,directionalarrows, and designatedparkingareas,expecr some drivers to ignore all thesemarkings and dashstraighttowardonepart of thelot. Pedestrians can becareless.Watchforthem. In general,youmustgive topedestrianseven if you knowyouhavetheright of way. way Rear-end collisionsareaboutthemostpreventable of accidents. Yet theyare common. Allow enoughfollowingdistance.It'sthebestdefensivedriving in maneuver, in both city and rural driving. You neverknowwhenthevehicle front of you is going to brake or turn suddenly. Here'safinal bit of informationaboutdefensivedriving.Themostdangerous timefordriving in the U.S. is veryearly on Sundaymorning. In fact, GM Researchstudiesshowthatthemost and theleastdangeroustimes fo.r driving,everyweek, fall on thesameday.Thatday is Sunday.Themost is Sundayfrom dangeroustime is Sunday 3 a.m. to 4 a.m.Thesafesttime 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.DrivingthesamedistanceonaSundayat 3 a.m.isn't 10 a.m.It'sabout 134 timesmore justalittlemoredangerousthanitisat dangerous. Thatleads to thenextpart. 4-9