1993 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 111
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 Corvette: Buckle up.
(See the Index under Safety Belts,)
Defensive driving redy 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.
I68
Expect other drivers to run stop signs
when
you are on a through street. Be
ready to brake if necessary as you gd
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, dectional
arrows, and
designated parking areas, expect some drivers to ignore all these makings 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 lmow 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 kmw.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 &om
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
am. It’s about 134 times more
dangerous!
That leads to the
next section.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
”
..I
Drunken Driving (cam)
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).
I70
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 slrills of many
people are impaired at a BAG
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 BAG 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 pexent, 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine

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
br&i 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 3/4 -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 mQre
with another. Age, physical condition,
alertness, coordination, and eyesight all
play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a
vehicle moving at
60 mph (100 Wh)
travels 66 feet (21) 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 conditian uf the road (wet,
dry, icy); tire tread; arid the. condition of
your brakes.
Most drivers;treat.their brakes with
care. Some, however, overwarlc the
braking system with poor driving habits.
. Avoid needless heavy braking. Some
people. drive in spurts-heavy
acceleration followed.
by heavy
braking-rather- than lreeping pace
with traffic, This.is a mistake. Your
brakes may
not have he 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 hake
pedal while driving.
I“
L

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A,,
“Riding” yom brakes. can
cause them to overheat $u:,~&e
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 bides,. they w3’i
get, suhot they :direquire a bt of
pedal force to slow you down.
Avoid “riding” the’brakes.
INoTIcE .
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 wilI still have
some power brake assist. But you will
use it when you brake. Once the
power assist is used up, it may take
Homgez ta stop and the brake pedal will
be harder to push.
Anti-L~ck Brakes (ABS)
Your Corvette 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.
See the Index under Anti-Lock Brake
System Light.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
L.l
Anfi-Lock Brakes (CONT.)
Here's haw anti-lock works. Let's say
the road is wet. You're driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out in front
of ,you.
You slam on the brakes. ,Here's what
happens with ABS .
A computer senses that wheels are
slowing down. The computer separately
works
the brakesat each front wheel
and at the .rear wheels.
e 74
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 alid road
conditions.
You can steer around the obstacle while
braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps
receiving
updates on wheel speed ad
controls braking pressure accordingly.
CAUTION

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine P TO Use Anti-L.ock:
Don't pump the brakes. Just hold the
brake pedal downand let anti-lock
work for you. You may feel the brake
pedal
vibrate, or you -may notice some
noise,
but thi.s is normal.
When the ABS is active, the ABS
ACTIVE light- conies on to-indicate luw
traction conditions.
Adjust your -driving
accordingly.
When
you start your vehicle and begin
to drive away, you may hear a
momentary motsr Qr .clicking, noise-and
you. my even notice that, yow bmke
pedd -moves a little while this is going
on.
This is the ABS test-ing itself. You-
may also hear and feel this durihg a
hard stop.
Corvette ASR (Acceleration SIip
R.egulati0.n) System
Yo& vehicle has an ASR system that
limits wheel
spin. This is especially
useful in slippery road conditions. The
ASR system works at all speeds. It
limits
wheel spin by reducing englne
torque
by cLusing the throttle and
managing
sp'ark and .applyiag the rear
brakes. You may €&el the system
working., .or
you may notice some noise,
but this is normal.