1997 Pontiac Bonneville Owner's Manual - Page 179

Control of a Vehicle You have t h e e systems that make your vehicle go where you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and the aclcelerator.All three systems have to dotheir work at the places where the tires meet the xoad. Braking Braking action involvesperception 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 time is about 3/4 of a second. But driver that's only an average. It might be less with one and as long as 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 mph (100 W h ) travels 66 feet (20 m). 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 pavement or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight o f the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied. Sometimes, aswhen you're driving on snow or ice, it's easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires and roadcan provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle.