1995 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual - Page 148

Control of a Vehicle You have three systems that make your vehiclewhere go you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and the accelerator. All three systems have do their work to at the places where the tires meet the road. Braking Braking action involves perception timeand reaction time. First, youhave to decideto push onthe brake pedal. That's perception time.Then you haveto 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. might be less with one driver It and as long as two or three seconds or more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination, So and eyesight all play a part. do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot distance in an emergency, so of keeping enough space between your vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly with the surface of the road (whether it's pavement or gravel); the conditionof the road (wet, dry,icy); tire tread; andthe condition of your brakes. Sometimes, as when you're driving snow or ice, it's on easy to ask more of thosecontrol systems than the tires and road can provide. That means you can control lose of your vehicle. 4-5