1996 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 172

The traction you can get a curve depends on the in condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at which the curveis banked, and your speed.While you're in a curve, speed the one factor you can control. is I Try to adjust your speed so you can "drive" through the curve. Maintain a reasonable, steadyspeed. Wait to accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then accelerate gently into the straightaway. Suppose' you're steering through a sharp curve. Then you suddenly accelerate. Both control systems steering -and acceleration -- have to do their work where the tires meet the road. Unless you have traction control and the system is on, adding the sudden acceleration can demand too muchof those places. You can lose control. What should youdo if.this ever happens? Ease up on the accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way you wantit to go, and slow down. Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should adjust your speed. Of courqe, the postedspeeds are based on good weather androad conditions. Under less favorable conditions you'll want to go slower. Steering in Emergencies There are times when steering can bemore effective than braking. For example, you come over ahill and find a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between parked cars and stops right front of you. You can in avoid these problems bybraking -- if you can stop in time. But sometimes you can't; there isn't room. That's the timefor evasive action -- steering around the problem. Your Pontiac can perform very well in emergencies like these. First apply your brakes. (See "Braking in Emergencies" earlier in this section.) It is better to remove as much speed as youcan from a possible collision. Then steer around the problem, to the left or right depending on the space available, u ' ..**vu-.. U Y .-. ... --