1993 BUICK PARK AVENUE Owners Manual

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.
Expect children to dash out from behind parked cars,
often followed by other children. Expect occupants in
parked cars to open doors into traffic. Watch for
movement in parked cars
-- someone may be about to
open a door.
Expect other drivers to run stop signs when you are on
a
through street. Be ready to brake if necessary as you go
through intersections. You may not have to use the
brake, but if
you do, you will be ready.
If you’re driving through a shopping center parking lot
where there are well-marked lanes, directional arrows,
and designated parking areas, expect some drivers to
ignore all these markings and dash straight toward one
part of the
lot.
Pedestrians can be careless. Watch for them. In general,
you must give way to pedestrians even if you know you
have the right of way.
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.
Here’s a final bit
of information about defensive driving.
The most dangerous time for driving in the
U.S. is very
early on Sunday morning. In fact,
GM Research studies
show that the most and the least dangerous times for
driving, every week, fall on the same day. That day is
Sunday. The most dangerous time
is Sunday from 3 a.m.
to
4 a.m. The safest time is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11
a.m. Driving the same distance on a Sunday at 3 a.m.
isn’t just a little more dangerous than it is at
10 a.m. It’s
about
134 times more dangerous!
That leads
to the next section.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to the
highway death
toll, claiming thousands of victims every
year. Alcohol takes away three things that anyone needs
to drive a vehicle:
0 Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
0 Vision
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Police records show that half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol
- a driver, a
passenger or someone else, such as a pedestrian, had
been drinking. In most cases, these deaths are the result
of someone who was drinking and driving. Over 25,000
motor vehicle-related deaths occur each year because of
alcohol, and thousands of people are injured.
I
Just how much alcohol is too much if a person plans
to drive? Ideally, no one should drink alcohol and then
drive. But
if one does, then what’s “too much”? It can be 1
a lot less than many might think. Although it depends on
each person and situation, here is some general.
information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
of someone who is
drinking depends upon four things:
How much alcohol is in the drink.
The drinker’s body weight.
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking.
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol. According
to the American Medical Association, a
180-pound (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles
of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC
of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce
(120 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces
(45 ml)
of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
It’s the amount
of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
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BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
slightly lower BAC level.
OF DRINKS
NUMBER (as in piclure) 4 r
1
I
3 HOURS
I - ? HOURS
100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240
BODY WEIQHT IN
POUNDS
The law in most U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of
0.10 percent. In Canada the limit is 0.08 percent, and
in some other countries it’s lower than that. The BAC
will be over 0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one
hour). Of course, as we’ve seen, it depends on how much
alcohol is in the drinks, and how quickly the
person drinks them.
But it’s very important to keep in mind that the ability to
drive is affected well below a BAC
of 0.10 percent.
Research shows that the driving skills
of many people
are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and
that the effects are worse at night. All drivers are
impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent. Statistics
show that the chance of being in an accident increases
sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or
above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent (three
beers in one hour for a 180-pound or 82 kg person) has
doubled his or her chance of having an accident. At a
BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance
of that driver
having an accident is six times greater; at a level of 0.15
percent, the chances are twenty-five times greater! And,
the body takes about an hour to rid itself
of the alcohol
in one drink.
No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers
will speed that up.
“I’ll be careful” isn’t the right answer. What if there’s an
emergency, a need to take sudden action, as when a
child darts into the street?
A person with a higher BAC
might not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.
There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows that
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alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse. That’s especially true for brain, spinal cord and
heart injuries. That means that if anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, the
chance of being killed or permanently disabled is higher
than if that person had not been drinking. And we’ve
already
seen that the chance of a crash itself is higher for
drinking drivers.
/I CAUTION:
Drlnklng and then driving Is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, and judgment wlll be
affected by even a small amount of alcohol. You
could have a serious - or even fatal - accident if
you drive after drinking. Please don’t drink and
drive or rlde with a driver who has been drinking.
Ride home in a cab; or if you’re with a group,
designate a driver who will not drink
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’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.
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Braking
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 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’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; and the condition
of your brakes.
Most drivers treat their brakes with care.
Some,
however, overwork the braking system with poor
driving habits.
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.
0 Don’t “ride’’ the brakes by letting your left foot rest
lightly on the brake pedal while driving.
a==-- . . -.
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1 A CAUTION:
“Riding” your brakes can cause them to overheat
to the point
that they won’t work well. You might
not be able to stop your vehicle
in time to avoid
an accident.
If you “ride” your brakes, they will I
get so hot they will require a lot of pedal force to
slow you down. Avoid “riding” the brakes.
‘I
E:
e brakes weafs them out much faster
You would need costly brake replacement much
sooner than normal, and
it also reduces fuel
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 brake life.
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 power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the
brake pedal will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your Buick has an advanced electronic braking system
that will help prevent skidding.
This light on the instrument panel will
go on when you
start your vehicle.
See “Anti-lock Brake System Warning Light” in the
Index.
ANTI
LOCK ANTI
LOCK
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KK
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet.
You’re driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in
front of you.
You slam
on the brakes. Here’s what happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. The
computer separately works the brakes at each front
wheel and at the rear wheels. You
can steer around the obstacle while braking hard. As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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I CAUTION:
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 ifethat vehicle
suddenly
stows or stops. Always leave enough
room up ahead to stop, even though you have
antblock brakes.
To Use Anti-Lock:
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for
you.
When you start your vehicle and begin to drive away,
you may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise. And
you may even notice that your brake pedal moves a little
while this is going on. This is the ABS system testing
itself. You may also hear this during a hard stop.
Traction Control System (Option)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful
in slippery
road conditions. The traction control system works at
low speeds only, such as when you accelerate from a stop. It
applies brake pressure
to an individual wheel
that the system senses is about to spin.
You may feel the system working, or you may notice
some noise, but this is normal.
TRACTION
OFF
The “TRACTION OFF” warning light lets you know if
your traction control system is not working. See
“Traction Control System Warning Light” in the Index.
Disc Brake Wear Indicators
Your Buick has front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.
Disc brake pads have built-in wear indicators that make
a high-pitched warning sound when the brake pads are
worn and new pads are needed. The sound may come
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