1995 Pontiac Sunfire Owner's Manual - Page 142

Braking Braking action involves perception timeand reactzon time. First, you have to decide to push on thebrake pedal. 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 less with one driver and as long as two or three seconds ormore with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But even in 314 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 k d h ) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of 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 surface 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. Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- rather than keepingpace with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between hard stops. Your brakes will wearout much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means betterbraking and longer brake life. If your engine everstops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pumpyour brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push. 4-5