Owners Manual

Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice, it's 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 action involves perception time and reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake 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 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
h/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 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 faster if you
do a lot of heavy
braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allow realistic following
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