1993 CHEVROLET CAVALIER Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine REVERSIBLE LANE ON MULTILANE ROADWAY
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 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.
Mur 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.
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 the
Index under Hazard
Warning Flashers.
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.
I27

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
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 the
Index under Safety Belts.)
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.
213
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 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 know 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 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 E-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% 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.
I29 I..

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Drunken Driving (CONI)
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).
3 HOURS
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
I 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.
I30

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine “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.
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.
CAUTION I
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
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.
I Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your
vehicle go where you want
it to 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.
I31

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Braking
Braking action involves perception time
and reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the
brake pedal. That’s
perception time.
Then you have to bring up your foot and
do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 34 of a
second. But that’s only an average. It
might be less with one driver and as
long as two
or three seconds or more
with another. Age, physical condition,
alertness, coordination and eyesight all
play
a part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
% of a second, a
vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h)
travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a
lot
of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between your
vehicle and others is important. And,
of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the surface
of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of the road (wet,
dry, icy); tire tread; and the condition
of
your brakes.
Most drivers treat their brakes with
care. Some, however, overwork the
braking system with poor driving habits.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some
people drive in spurts-heavy
acceleration followed by heavy
braking-rather than keeping pace
with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your
brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will
wear out much faster if you do
a lot of
heavy braking.
Don’t “ride” the brakes by letting your
left
foot rest lightly on the brake pedal
while driving.
I32

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine “Riding” your brakes can
cause them to averheat to the
point that they won’t work well.
You
might not be able to stop your
vehicle
in time to avoid an
accident. If you “ride” your
brakes,
they will get so hot they
slow you down. Avoid “riding” the
brakes.
I
will require a lot of pedal force to
‘‘Riding” the brakes wears them
out much faster. You would neec
costly brake replacement much
sooner than normal, and it also
reduces fuel economy.
If you keep pace with the traffic and
allow realistic following distances, you
will eliminate a lot of unnecessary
braking. That means better braking
and
longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re
driving, brake normally but don’t
pump your brakes.
If you do, the pedal
may get harder to push down.
If your
engine stops, you will still have some
power brake assist.
But you will use it
when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up,
it may take longer to
stop and the brake pedal will be
harder to push.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your Chevrolet has an advanced
electronic braking system that will help
prevent skidding.
This light
on the instrument panel will
go
on when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle and begin
to drive away you may hear a
momentary motor or clicking noise and
you may even notice that your brake
pedal moves a little while this is going
on. This is the ABS system testing itself.
If you have your foot on the brake pedal,
this check won’t happen
until the vehicle
goes about
4 mph (6 km/h) or until you
take your foot
off the brake pedal. After an
ABS stop,
you may hear a
clicking noise the next time the vehicle
goes about
4 mph (6 km/h).
If there’s a problem
with the anti-lock
brake system, the anti-lock brake system warning light will stay on or flash.
See
the Index under Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light.
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say
the road is wet. You’re driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out
in front
You slam
on the brakes. Here’s what
happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are
slowing down. The computer separately
works the brakes at each front wheel
and at the rear wheels.
The anti-lock
system can change the
brake pressure faster than any driver
could. The computer is programmed to
make the most of available tire and road
conditions.
of you.
134