1997 Cadillac Eldorado Owner's Manual - Page 191

raking .Youhave three systemsthat make your vehiclego where you want it 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 the road. meet 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 anddo it. That'sreaction time. Average reaction,time is about 314 of a second. But that's only an average. might be less with one driver It and as long as two or three secondsor more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination and eyesightall play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. Buteven in 3/4 ofa second, a vehicle moving at60 mph (100 k / ) m htravels 66 feet (20 m). That couldbe a lot of distance inan emergency, so keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surfaceof the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the conditionof the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; the conditionof your brakes; the weight the of vehicle and the amount brake force applied. of Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice,it's easy to ask more of those control systems than tires the and roadc.an provide. Thatmeans you can lose control of your vehicle.