2002 Mercury Cougar Owner's Manual - Page 118

Driving With the ABS light on, the anti-lock P ! brake system is disabled and normal braking is still effective unless the brake warning light also remains BRAKE illuminated with parking brake released. (If your brake warning lamp illuminates, have your vehicle serviced immediately.) Using ABS • In an emergency or when maximum efficiency from the four-wheel ABS is required, apply continuous force on the brake. The four wheel ABS will be activated immediately, thus allowing you to retain full steering control of your vehicle and, providing there is sufficient space, will enable you to avoid obstacles and bring the vehicle to a controlled stop. • The anti-lock system does not reduce stopping distance. Always leave enough room between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you to stop. • We recommend that you familiarize yourself with this braking technique. However, avoid taking any unnecessary risks. Parking brake Apply the parking brake whenever the vehicle is parked. To set the parking brake, pull the handle up as far as possible. The BRAKE warning lamp in the P ! instrument cluster illuminates and remains illuminated (when the ignition is turned ON) until the BRAKE parking brake is released. The parking brake is not recommended to stop a moving vehicle. However, if the normal brakes fail, the parking brake can be used to stop your vehicle in an emergency. Since the parking brake applies only the rear brakes, the vehicle's stopping distance will increase greatly and the handling of your vehicle will be adversely affected. 118