User Guide

Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need to get your foot up to
the brake pedal. If you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, you won’t
have time to apply your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have anti-lock brakes.
To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down and let anti-lock
work for you.
You may feel the brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise,
but this is normal. On vehicles with four-wheel drive, your anti-lock brakes
work at all times
-- whether you are in two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when you need to. With anti-lock, you
can steer and brake at the same time. In many emergencies, steering can
help you more than even the very best braking.
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine stops or the system is
not functioning, you can steer but it will take much more effort.
Steering lips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot
of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on the news happen
on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to the same laws of
physics when driving on curves. The traction
of the tires against the road
surface makes it possible
for the vehicle to change its path when you turn
the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia will keep the vehicle going in
the same direction.
If you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll
understand this.
The traction you can get
in a curve depends on the condition of your tires
and
the road surface, the angle at which the curve is banked, and your
speed. While you’re in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then you suddenly
accelerate. Both control systems
- steering and acceleration - have to do
their work where the tires meet the road. Adding the sudden acceleration
can demand too much
of those places. You can lose control.
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