1993 CHEVROLET CAMARO Owners Manual

V
YIELD
ST0 PI1
E
HOS
Shape of Road Signs
The shape of the sign will tell you
something,
too.
An OCTAGONAL (eight-sided) sign
means STOP.
It is always red with white
letters.
A TRIANGLE, pointed downward,
indicates YIELD.
It assigns the
right-of-way
to traffic on certain
approaches
to an intersection.
BLUE signs with white letters show
motorists’ services.
I
v CANOEING END DIVIDED HIGHWAY
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.
BROWN signs point out recreation areas
or points of historic or cultural interest. A
DIAMOND-shaped sign is a warning
of something ahead - for example, the
end
of a divided highway, a curve, steep
hill,
soft shoulder, or a narrow bridge.
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Your Driving and the Road
KEEP LEFT OR RIGHT TURN
RIGHT THROUGH 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.
NO U TURN BICYCLES NO PARKING NO
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
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.
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REVERSIBLE
LANE ON
ROADWAY MULTI-LANE
Many city roads and expressways, and
2ven bridges, use reversible-lane traffic
control during rush hours. A red
X light
above a lane means no driving
in that lane
at that 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.
NO PASSING ZONE
Pavement Markings
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.”
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.
Turn 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.
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Your Driving and the Road
136
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 Flashers”
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 Chevrolet: 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
:hrough intersections.
You may not have
:o use the brake, but if you do, you will be
-eady.
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.
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?edestrians can be careless. Watch for
hem.
In general, you must give way to
Jedestrians even if you know you have
.he right of way.
Xear-end collisions are about the most
xeventable
of accidents. Yet they are
:ommon.
Allow enough following
listance.
It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver,
in both city and rural driving.
You never know when the vehicle
in front
3f 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
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.
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Your Driving and the Road
... 138
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 much”? 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. 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
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.
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DRlNKlNa THAT Wlll
RESULT IN A BAC OF .O6%
IN THE TIME SHOWN
I
3 HOURS
T
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 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.
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Your Driving and the Road
I
,
I
... 140
There’s something else about drinking
and driving that many people don’t know.
Medical research shows that 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.
IU I I .
urrnKing ana men awing 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 if you
drive after drinking. Please don’t
drink
and drive or ride 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 lo 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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