1993 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine r High Beams
If the vehicle approaching you has its high beams on, signal by flicking
yours to high and then back to low beam. This is the usual signal to lower
the headlight beams.
If the other driver still doesn’t lower the beams,
resist the temptation to put your high beams on. This only
makes two
half-blinded drivers.
- On a freeway, use your high beams only in remote areas where you won’t
impair approaching drivers. In some places, like cities, using high beams
is illegal.
When you follow another vehicle on a freeway or highway, use low
beams. True, most vehicles 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.
-
-
A Few More Night Driving Suggestions
-
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle clean -- inside and
out. Glare at night is made much worse by dirt on the glass. Even the
inside
of the glass can build up a film caused by dust. Tobacco smoke also
makes inside glass surfaces very filmy and can be a vision hazard
if it’s left
there. -
~ Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils
of your eyes contract repeatedly. You might even want
to keep a cloth and some glass cleaner in your vehicle if you need to clean
your glass frequently.
Remember that your headlights light up far less
of a roadway when you
are in a turn or curve.
-
_- Keep your eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly lighted
objects.
Just as your headlights should be checked regularly for proper aim, so
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and aren’t even aware of it.
- should your eyes be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DMNG IN THE MN
Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet road you can’t
stop, accelerate or turn as well because your tire-to-road traction isn’t as
good as on dry roads. And, if your tires don’t have much tread left, you’ll
get even less traction.
It’s always wise to
go slower and be cautious if rain starts to fall while yc.u II
are driving. The surface may get wet suddenly when your reflexes are
tuned for driving on dry pavement.
n
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your windshield wiper
blades are 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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving too fast through large water puddles or even going through some
car washes can cause problems, too. The water may affect your brakes.
them.
--- Try to avoid puddles. But if you can’t, try to slow down before you hit
-I
I A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work well in a quick
I stop and may cause pulling to one side. You could lose control of
the vehicle.
I After driving through a large puddle of water or a car wash,
apply your brake pedal lightly until 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.
_I
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 find
yourself out of control.
Hydroplaning doesn’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 “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
Turn on your headlights -- not just your parlung 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.
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. I
L1
I
Use your defogger if it helps.
0 Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See “Tires” in the Index.)
-
Y
190 I

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DRZKNG IN FOG, MISTAND 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’t really 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.
191

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
---
0
.-._- 0
Know the best way to get to where you are going. Try not to drive
around trying to pick
out a familiar street or landmark. Get a city map
and plan your trip into an unknown part of the city just as
you would
for a cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most large cities. You’ll
save time and energy. (See the next section, “Freeway Driving.”)
Treat a green light as a warning signal.
A traffic light is there because
the corner is busy enough to need it. When a light turns green, and
just before you start to move, check both ways for vehicles that have
not cleared the intersection or may be running the red light.
193

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Obey all posted speed limits. But remember that they are for ideal
road, weather and visibility conditions.
You may need to drive below
the posted limit in bad weather or when visibility is especially poor.
Pull to the right (with care) and stop clear of intersections when you
see or hear emergency vehicles.
FREEWAYDMNG
r
-,
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways, expressways,
turnpikes, or superhighways) are the safest of all roads. But they have
their own special rules. 1
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep up with traffic and -
keep to the right. Drive at the same speed most of the other drivers are d
driving. Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat
the left lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
Entering the Freeway
.-
It
At the entrance there is usually a ramp that leads to the freeway. If you
have a clear view of the freeway as you drive along the entrance ramp,
you should begin
to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to
blend with the flow. If traffic is light, you may have no problem. But
if it is -
heavy, find a gap as you move along the entering lane and time your
approach. Try to merge into the gap at close to the prevailing speed. u
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