1993 GMC Sonoma Owner's Manual - Page 176

Your Driving and the Road Don'tovertakeaslowlymovingvehicle too rapidly.Eventhough the brakelightsarenotflashing,itmaybeslowingdown or startingtoturn. If you're being passed,make it easyforthefollowingdrivertogetahead of you.Perhapsyoucaneasealittle to theright. Loss of Control Let'sreviewwhatdrivingexpertssayaboutwhathappenswhenthe controlsystems(brakes,steeringandacceleration)don'thaveenoughfriction wherethetiresmeettheroad to dowhatthedriverhasasked. In anyemergency,don'tgiveup.Keeptrying escaperouteorarea of lessdanger. three to steer, and constantlyseekan Skidding In askid,adrivercanlosecontrol of thevehicle.Defensivedrivers avoid mostskidsbytakingreasonablecaresuitedtoexistingconditions, and bynot "overdriving"thoseconditions.Butskids are alwayspossible. The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle's three control systems. In thebrakingskid,yourwheelsaren'trolling. In thesteeringorcornering skid, too muchspeedorsteeringinacurvecausestirestoslipand lose corneringforce.And in theaccelerationskid, too muchthrottlecauses the driving wheelstospin. A corneringskidand an acceleration skid arebesthandledbyeasingyour foot off theaccelerator pedal. Ifyourvehiclestartstoslide(aswhen you turn acorner on awet,snow-orice-coveredroad),easeyourfoot off the acceleratorpedalassoonas you feel the tiresstart to slide.Quicklysteer the way you wantthevehicletogo. If you startsteeringquicklyenough,your vehiclewillstraightenout. As it does,straightenthe front wheels. or othermaterial is on the road.Forsafety,you'llwant to slowdown and adjustyour driving to these conditions.Itisimportant to slowdown on slipperysurfaces because stoppingdistancewill be longerandvehiclecontrolmorelimited. Whiledrivingonasurfacewithreducedtraction,tryyourbestto avoid suddensteering,acceleration,or braking (includingenginebrakingby shifting to a lowergear).Anysuddenmove could causethe tires to slide. You may notrealize the surface is slippery until yourvehicle is skidding. Learn to recognizewarningclues-suchasenoughwater,iceorpackedsnow on the road tomakea"mirroredsurface"-andslowdownwhenyouhaveany doubt. O course,tractionisreducedwhenwater,snow,ice,gravel, f 4-22