1993 BUICK RIVIERA Owners Manual

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CANOEING SWIMMING
BROWN signs point out recreation areas or points of
historic or cultural interest.
/
anape VI nvad Signs
The shape of the sign will tell you something, too.
.
"ST0 P~
7
7 iA
1
/
An OCTAGONAL (eight-sided) sign means STOP.
It is always red with white letters.
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'1
A DIAMOND-shaped sign
is a warning of
something ahead
- for
example, a curve, steep
hill, soft shoulder, or a
narrow bridge.
A TRIANGLE, pointed
downward, indicates
YIELD.
It assigns the
right-of-way to traffic on
certain approaches to an
intersection.
.
A TRIANGULAR sign
also is used..on two-lane
roads to indicate
a NO
PASSING
ZONE. This
sign will be on the left
side of the roadway.
't
u
KEEP RIGHT LEFT OR THROUGH
[ ONLY j
RIGHT TURN
ONLY
RECTANGULAR (square or oblong) signs show speed
limits, parking regulations, give directions, and such
information as distances to cities.

Symbols on Road Signs
There are many international road signs in use today.
The basic message
of many of these signs is in pictures
or graphic symbols.
A picture within a circle with a
diagonal line across it shows what
not to do.
Traffic Lights
1
L
'1
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We’re all familiar with traffic lights or stop lights. Often
green arrows are being used in the lights for improved
traffic control. On some multilane roads, green arrows light up, indicating that traffic
in one or more lanes can
move or make
a turn. Green arrows don’t mean “go no
matter what.” You’ll still need to proceed with caution,
yielding the right of way to pedestrians and sometimes
to other vehicles.
Some traffic lights also use red arrows to signify that
you must stop before turning on red.
REVERSIBLE LANE
0.N
LANE
ROADWAY MULTI-
time. A green arrow means you may drive in that lane.
Look for
the signs posted to warn drivers what hours
and days these systems are in effect.
Pavement Markings
NO
PASSING ZONE
I
I
Pavement markings add to traffic signs and signals.
They give information to drivers without taking
attention from the roadway.
A solid yellow line on your
side of the road or lane means “don’t cross.”
I
I
I
Many city roads and expressways, and even bridges, use
reversible-lane traffic control during rush hours.
A red X
light above a lane means no driving in that lane at that

Your Own Signals
Drivers signal to others, too. It’s not only more polite,
it’s safer to let other drivers know what you are doing.
And in some places the law requires driver signals.
urn and lane change signals. Always signal when you
plan to turn or change lanes.
If necessary, you can use hand signals out the window:
Left arm straight out for a left turn, down for slow or
about-to-stop, and up for a right turn.
Slowing down. If time allows, tap the brake pedal once
or twice in advance of slowing or stopping. This warns
the driver behind you.
Disabled. Your four-way flashers signal that your
vehicle is disabled or is a hazard. See “Hazard Warning
Flasher” in the Index.
Traffic Officer
The traffic police officer is also a source of important
information. The officer’s signals govern, no matter
what the traffic lights or other signs say.
The next section discusses some of the road conditions
you may encounter.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with
a very important safety device in your
Buick: 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.
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
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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
Iknow 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:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
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.
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 mucli”? It can be
a lot less than many might think. Although it depends on
each person and situation, here is some general
information on the problem.
148

The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of someone who is
drinking depends upon four things:
0 How much alcohol is in the drink.
0 The drinker’s body weight.
0 The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking.
consume the alcohol.
0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to
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.
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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
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.
DRINKING THAT WILL
RESULT IN A BAC OF .05%
IN THE TIME
.:i= 6 - - ’
I
OF DRINKS (as In picture) 4
‘IOURS
1 HOUR
PI I’
‘t , , -1 ,I !j-/j
1
100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240
BODY WEIGHT 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 t\
o
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.