1997 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 171

Braking Brakmg action involves perception time and reaction time. First, you have to decideto 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 314 of a second. But that's only an average. It might be less with one driver and as long as two or three secondsor more with another. Age, physical condition,alertness, coordination and eyesight all play a part. So 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 of distance in anemergency, 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; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the vehicle and the amount of brake forceapplied. Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much fasterif 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 better braking and longer brakelife. If your engine ever stops while you're driving, brake normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine stops, you will still have some powerbrake assist. But you will use itwhen you brake. Once the power assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push. 4-6