1994 GMC Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 165

Sometimes, aswhen you're driving on snow or ice,it's easy to ask more of those control systems than the tiresand road can provide, That means you can lose controlof your vehicle. Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decideto push on the brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you have tobring up your foot and do That's reaction time. it. Average reaction time is about 314 of a second. But that's only anaverage. It might be less with one driverand as long as two or three seconds ormore with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination, eyesight and all play a part.So do alcohol, drugs frustration. But even in 3/4 of a and second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lotof distance in an emergency, so keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. vary And, of course, actual stopping distances greatly with the surfaceof the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the condition the road (wet, dry, of icy); tire tread; and the condition of your brakes. Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in spurts -heavy acceleration followedby heavy braking -rather than keeping pacewith traffic. This is a mistake. brakes may not have time to cool between Your hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you do a lot heavy of braking. If you keep pace with the traffic andallow realistic following of distances, you will eliminate a lot unnecessary braking. Thatmeans better braking and longer brakelife. If your engine everstops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do, thepedal 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 thepower assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the brakepedal will be harder to push. 4-5