1993 BUICK ROADMASTER Owners Manual

vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning clues -
such as enough water, ice or packed snow on the road to
make a “mirrored surface’’
- and slow .down when you
.have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock braking system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid. Steer the way you want
to
go-
Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason is that some drivers are likely to be impaired
-
by alcohol or drugs, with night vision prob1ems;or by
fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive defensively. Remember, this is the most
dangerous time.
Don’t drink and drive. (See “Drunken Driving.” in
the Index for more on this problem.)
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlights behind you.
Since’ you can’t see as well,
you may need to slow
down and
keep more space between you and other
vehicles. It’s hard to tell how fast the vehicle ahead
is going just
by looking at its taillights,
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlights can light up only
so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull
off the road in a safe place and
rest.
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Night Vision
'No one can see as we11 at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase.
A 50-year-old
driver may require .at least twice as much light
to see the
same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision.
For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses.
Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night.
But'if you're driving, don't wear sunglasses at night.
They.may cut down on glare from headlights, but they
also make a lot
of things invisible that should remain
yisible
- such as parked cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or
even train5 blocking railway crossings. You mzy want to
put on
your sunglasses -after ,you have pulled into a
brightly-lighted service or refreshment area. Eyes shie1ded.from that glare
may adjust.more quickly to
darkne,ss back on the road. But be sure to remove your
sunglasses before
you leave the service area.
When you .follow another vehicle
on a freeway or
highday, use low beams. True, most vehic1e.s now.have,
day-night mirrors that enable the driver to reduce glare.
But outside mirrors are not
of this type and.high beams
from behind can bother the driver ahead.
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Driving in the Rain
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The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. nven if your
windshield wiper blades are in good shape, a heavy rain
,can make it harder to see road signs and traffid. signals, .
pavement markings, the edge of the road, and even
people walking. Road spray can often be worse for
vision than rain, especially if it
comes frum a dirty road.
So it is wise to keep your wiping equipment in good i.
shape and :keep your windshieklwasher tank filled.
Replace
your windshield' wiper inserts when 'they' show
signs
.of streaking-or missing areas on the windshield, or
when strips
of rubber start to separate from the inserts. Driving,
too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems,
too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But
if you can't, try to slow down before you hit them.
A I
,A CA JTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't
work well in a quick stop and may cause pl ng
to one side.
Yo Zould lo! eo - *oI of -- 3
vehicle.
After driving thro
-=-- -i la.,e p-Jdle 0. ,later
a car wash, apply your brake aedal liahtly unt
1 Iur brakes work normal
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Hydroplaning Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride
on the water.
This can happen if the road is wet enough and you’re
going fast enough. When your vehicle’ is hydroplaning,
it has little or no contact with the road.
You might not be aware of hydroplaning. You. could
drive along for some time without realizing your tires
aren’t in constant- contact with the road. You could find
out the hard way: when you have to slow, turn, move out
to pass - or if y-ou get hit by a gust of wind. You could
suddenly find yourself out of control.
Hydroplaning doe.sn’t happen. often. But it can if your
tires haven’t much tread
or if the pressure in one or
more is low.
It- can happen if a lot of water is standing
on the road. If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops
a
“dimple” the water’s surface, there could-be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice is to slow down when it is raining, and be
careful.
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Driving in Fog, Mist and Haze When you drive into a fog patch, your$sibility will be
reduced quickly. The biggest dangers
are striking the
vehicle ahead or being struck by the
one behind. Try to
‘‘read” the fog density down the road.
If the vehicle
ahead starts to become less clear
or, at night; if the
taillights are harder to see,
-the fog is probably
thickening. Slow down to give- traffic behind you. a
chance to slow down. Everybody then has a better chance.to avoid hitting the vehicle ahead.
A patch of derise fog may extend only for a few feet
(meters) or for miles (kilometers); you can’t really tell
while you’re
in it. You can only treat ‘the situation with
extreme tare.
One, common fog condition - sometimes called mist or
ground fog - can happen in weather that seems perfect,
especially at night or in the early
morning in valley and
low, marshy areas. You can be suddenly enveloped
in
thick, wet haze that may even coat ,your windshield. You
can often spot these fog patches .or mist layers with
your
headlights. But sometimes they can be waiting for you
as you come over a hill or dip into a. shallow valley.
Start your windshield wipers and washer, to help clear
accumulated road dirt. Slow down carefully.’
Fog can occur with high humidity or heavy frost. It can
be
so mild that- you can see through it for several
hundred feet (meters). Or-it might
he so thick .that you
can see only
a few feet (meters) ahead. It may come
suddenly
to an otherwise clear road. And it can be a
major hazard.

Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog, turn your headlights on low
beam, even in daytime. You’ll see
- and be seen -
better.
Pass other vehicles in fog only if you can see far enough
ahead to pass safely. Even then, be prepared to delay
your pass if you suspect the
fog.is worse up ahead. If
other vehicles try to pass you, make it easy for them.
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If visibility is near zero and you must stop but are
unsuTe whether you are away
from the road, turn your
lights on, start
your hazard warning flasher, and sound
your
Born at intervals or when you hear approaching
traffic. One
of the
biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic
on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention
to
traffic signals.
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Free-way Driving
Mile €or mile, freeways (also called thruways,
parkways, expressways, turnpikes, or superhighways)
are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own
special rules.
The most important -advice on freeway dJiving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep
to the right. Drive at thesame.
speed most
of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks
a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on
a freeway as a passing lane.
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