1995 Pontiac Bonneville Owner's Manual - Page 148

Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you have to bring up your foot and do it. That's reaction time. Average reaction timeis about 3/4 of a second.But that's only an average. might be less with one driver It and as long as two or three seconds or more with another. Age, physicalcondition, alertness, coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle m htravels 66 feet (20 m). moving at 60 mph (100 k / ) That could be a lot of distance in 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 pavementor gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy);tire tread; and the condition of your brakes. Avoid needless heavybralung. Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allowrealistic following distances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means better braking and longer brake life. If your engine ever stops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do,the pedal 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 the power assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and thebrake pedal will be harder to push. 4-5