1996 Oldsmobile Aurora Owner's Manual - Page 173

Control of a Vehicle You have three systems that make your vehicle gowhere you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and the accelerator. All three systems have to dotheir work at the placeswhere the tires meet theroad. Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First,'you have to decide to push on the brakepedal. 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 that's only an average. It might be lesswith one driver and as long as two or three seconds or more with another. Age, physicalcondition, alertness, coordination and eyesight all playpart. So do alcohol, drugs and a frustration. But even in of a second, a vehicle 3/4 / ) moving at 60 mph (100 h htravels 66 feet (20 m). That couldbe a lotof 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 surfaceof the road(whether it's pavement or gravel); the conditionof the road(wet, dry, icy); tire tread; and the conditionof your brakes. Sometimes, as when you're drivingon snow or ice,it's easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle. 4-5