1993 BUICK SKYLARK ESP

alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries Control of a Vehicle
worse. That’s especially true for brain, spinal cord and
heart injuries. That means that if anyone who has been You have three systems that make
your vehicle go where
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, the you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
than if that person had not been drinking. And we’ve
at the places where the tires meet the road.
already seen that the chance of a crash itself is higher for
drinking drivers. chance
of being
filled or permanently disabled is higher the accelerator. All three Systems have to do their work
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A CAUTION:
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Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, and judgment will be
affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You
could have a serious
-- or even fatal -- accident i 1
you drive after drinking. Please don’t drink an
drive or ride with a driver who has been drinking.
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Ride home in a cab; or if you’re with a group,
designate
a driver who will not drink.
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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So here are some tips for passing:
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“Drive ahead.” Look down the road, to the sides, and
to crossroads for situations that might affect your
passing patterns. If you have any doubt whatsoever
about making a successful pass, wait for a better
time.
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings, and lines. If you can see a sign up ahead that might
indicate a turn or an intersection, delay your pass.
A broken center line usually indicates it’s all right to
pass (providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross
a solid line on your side of the lane or a double solid
line, even if the road seems empty of approaching
traffic.
If you suspect that the driver of the vehicle you want
to pass isn’t aware of your presence, tap the horn a
couple of times before passing.
Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass
while you’re awaiting an opportunity. For one thing,
following too closely reduces your area of vision,
especially if you’re following a larger vehicle. Also,
you won’t have adequate space if the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a reasonable
distance.
0 When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don’t
get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into the
other lane. If the way is clear to pass, you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your turn. But take care that someone isn’t trying to
pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed ‘vehicle to see
its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
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Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a.little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always
possible. The three types
of skids correspond
to your Buick’s
three control systems. In the braking skid your wheels
aren’t rolling.
In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide (as when you- turn a corner
on a wet, snow- or ice-covered road), ease your foot
off
the accelerator pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle start
to slide. Quickly steer the way you want the vehicle to
go. If you start steering quickly enough, your vehicle
will straighten out. As it does, straighten the front
wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel, or other material is on the road. For safety, you’l\
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want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration, or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a lower gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery until your
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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 problems, or by
fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
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0 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’s0 much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull
off the road in a safe place and
rest.

wet suddenly when your reflexes are tuned for driving
on dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your
windshield wiper bladesare in good shape, a heavy rain
can make it harder to see road signs and traffic 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 from a dirty road.
So it is wise to keep your wiping equipment in good
shape and keep your windshield washer 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.
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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 CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. The: ton’t
work well in
a quick stop and may cause pulling
to one side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water or
car wash, apply your brake pedal ligh rtil
your brakes work normally.
Hydroplaning
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 you get hit by a gust of wind. You could suddenly
fiid yourself out of control.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your
tires haven’t much tread or if the pressure in ?ne 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 “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.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
0 Turn on your headlights -- not just your parang
lights
-- to help make you more visible to others.
0 Look for hard-to-see vehicles coming from behind.
You may want to use your headlights even in
daytime if it’s raining hard.
0 Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear room
ahead, and
be prepared to have your view restricted
by road spray.
If the road spray is so heavy you are
actually blinded, drop back. Don’t pass until
conditions improve. Going more slowly is better
than having an accident.
Use your defogger if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See “Tires” in the Index.)
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Driving in Fog, Mist and Haze
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 be
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.
When you drive into a fog patch, your visibility 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 dense fog may extend only for a few feet
(meters) or for miles (kilometers); you can’tyeally tell
while you’re in it. You can only treat the situation with
extreme care.
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.
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. Use your fog lights if your vehicle has them.

remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear. If
you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before you
are on it. Try not to brake while you’re actually on
the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here are some
things to do to summon help and keep yourself and your
passengers .safe: Turn on your hazard flashers. Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that you’ve been
stopped by the snow. Put on extra clothing
or wrap a
blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra
clothing, make body insulators from newspapers, burlap
bags, rags, flsor mats
-- anything you can wrap around
yourself
or tuck under your clothing to keep warm. I
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
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A CAUTION:
dnow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle
This can cause deadly
CO (carbon monoxide)
gas to get inside. CO could overcome you and
kill you. You can’t see
it or smell it, so you might
not know
it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow
from around the base of your vehicle, especia”--
any that
is blocking your exhaust pipe. And
check around again from time to time to be’su
snow doesn’t collect there.
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