1993 Pontiac Sunbird Owner's Manual - Page 105

Your Driving and the Road true for brain, spinal cord and heart injuries. That means that if anyone who has been drinking -driver or passenger - is in a crash, the chance of being killedor permanently disabled is higher than if that person hadnot been drinking. And we've already seen that the chance of a crash itself is higher for drinking drivers. Braking 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 haveto bring up your foot and do it. That's reaction time. Average reaction timeis about 3/4 of a second. Butthat's only an average. It might be less with one driver as and long as two orthree 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 % of a second, a vehicle movingat 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m) . That could be 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 surface the of the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; and the condition of your brakes. 3 Contvol of a Khicle You have three systems that make your vehicle gowhere you want it to go. They are thebrakes, the steering and the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at the places where the tires meet the road. Sometimes, as when you're drivingon snow or ice, it's easy to ask more of those control systems than thetires and road can provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle. . . I 104