4-3
To help you learn more about driving in different
conditions, this section contains information about city,
freeway, and off
-
road driving, as well as other hints for
driving in various weather conditions.
Vehicle Design
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation,
utility vehicles have a significantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles. Utility vehicles do have
a higher ground clearance and a narrower track or
shorter wheelbase than passenger cars to make them
more capable for off
-
road driving. Specific design
characteristics like these give the driver a better view of
the road, but also give utility vehicles a higher center of
gravity than other types of vehicles. This means that you
shouldn’t expect a utility vehicle to handle the same way
a vehicle with a lower center of gravity, like a car, would
in similar situations. But driver behavior factors are far
more often the cause of a utility vehicle rollover than are
environmental or vehicle factors. Safe driver behavior
and understanding the environment in which you’ll be
driving can help avoid a rollover crash in any type of
vehicle, including utility vehicles.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See “Safety Belts” in the Index.
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear
-
end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving maneuver, in both
city and rural driving. You never know when the vehicle in
front of you is going to brake or turn suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task
--
such as concentrating on a cellular telephone
call, reading, or reaching for something on the
floor
--
makes proper defensive driving more difficult
and can even cause a collision, with resulting injury.
Ask a passenger to help do things like this, or pull
off the road in a safe place to do them yourself.
These simple defensive driving techniques could save
your life.
Summary of Contents for 2002 Aztek
Page 1: ......
Page 6: ...v These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle...
Page 20: ...1 14 Put someone on it Get it up to speed Then stop the vehicle The rider doesn t stop...
Page 157: ...2 80 The Instrument Panel Your Information System...
Page 390: ...6 59 GM Vehicle Care Appearance Materials...
Page 408: ...Scheduled Maintenance 7 7...
Page 409: ...Scheduled Maintenance 7 8...
Page 426: ...7 25 Maintenance Record DATE ODOMETER READING SERVICED BY MAINTENANCE PERFORMED...
Page 427: ...7 26 Maintenance Record DATE ODOMETER READING SERVICED BY MAINTENANCE PERFORMED...
