1995 Oldsmobile Aurora Owner's Manual - Page 169

Control of a Vehicle You have three systems that make your vehicle go where you want i t to go. They are the brakes, the steering and the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at the places where the tires meet the road. Braking First. you have to decide t o push on the brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you have to bring up your foot and do it. That's rem-tion time. Average remtio/1 timeis about 3/4 of a second. But that's only an average. It might be less with one driver and as long a s 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 lnph ( 100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance i n 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 e (mvel);the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy): tire tread; and the condition of your brakes. Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice, it's easy to ask n~ore those control systems than the tires of and road can provide. That means ~ O Lcan lose control I of your vehicle. 4-5