1995 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 156

Control of a Vehicle You have three systems that make your vehicle where go you want it to go. They are brakes, the steering and the the accelerator. All three systems have do their work to at the places where the tires meet the road. Braking Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decide to push onthe brake pedal. That's perception time. Then you haveto bring up your foot anddo it. That'sreaction time. Average reaction timeis about 3/4 of a second.But that's only an average. It might be less withone driver and as long as two three secondsor more with or another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination, and eyesight all play a part. do alcohol, drugs and So frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance inan emergency, so keeping enoughspace between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surface the road (whether it's pavement of or gravel); the conditionof the road (wet, dry,icy); tire tread; and the condition your brakes. of Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or it's ice, easy to ask more ofthose control systems than the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose control of your vehicle.