Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, 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 are driving on snow or ice,
it is easy to ask more of those control systems than the
tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That is perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a second. But that
is only an average. It might be less with one driver and
as long as two or three 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 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 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 is 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 force applied.
4-6
Summary of Contents for 2004 Envoy
Page 5: ...These are some examples of symbols that may be found on the vehicle v ...
Page 6: ... NOTES vi ...
Page 123: ... NOTES 3 3 ...
Page 124: ...Instrument Panel Overview 3 4 ...
Page 322: ...When you open the hood on the V8 engine you ll see the following 5 14 ...
Page 406: ...L6 Engine 5 98 ...
Page 409: ...V8 Engine 5 101 ...
Page 412: ...Rear Underseat Fuse Block Envoy Envoy 5 104 ...
Page 450: ... NOTES 7 14 ...
