1993 CHEVROLET LUMINA Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
slow vehicle, wait your turn.
But tale
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.
If other cars are lined up to pass a
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.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle
at a time on two-lane roads.
Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
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.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
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.
136
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 Chevrolet’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
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water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
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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

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine -.,.. -
could cause the tires to slide. You may
not realize the surface is slippery until
your 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.
If you have the anti-lock braking
system, remember: It helps avoid only
the braking
skid. If you do not have
anti-lock, then
in a braking skid (where
the wheels are no longer rohg),
release enough pressure on the brakes
to get the wheels rolling again.
This
restores steering control. Push the
brake pedal down steadily when
you
have to stop suddenly. As long as the
wheels are rolling, you will have steering
control. Steer the way you want to
go.
-
X3030 , , -;. - ., ,
Driving. at Might
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.
Drive defensively. Remember, this is
the most dangerous time.
Don’t drink and drive. (See the Index
under Drunken Driving 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, esp.ecially on higher
speed roads. Your headlights can light
up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a
safe place and rest.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
Your Driving and the Road
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the
daytime. But as we get older these
differences increase.
A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as
much light to see the same thing at
night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also
affect your night vision. For example,
if
you spend the day in bright sunshine
you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have
less trouble adjusting to
night.
But
if you’re driving, don’t wear
sunglasses at night. They may cut down
on glare from headlights, but they also
make a lot
of things invisible that
should remain visible-such as parked
cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or even
trains blocking railway crossings.
You
may want to put on your sunglasses
after you have pulled into a brightly-
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lighted service or refreshment area.
Eyes shielded from that glare may
adjust more quickly to darkness back
on the road. But be sure to remove your
sunglasses before you leave the service
area.
You can be temporarily blinded by
approaching lights. It can tale a second
or two, or even several seconds, for
your eyes to readjust to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare (as from
a driver who doesn’t lower the high
beams, or a vehicle with misaimed
headlights), slow down a little. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching
lights. If there is a line
of opposing
traffic, make occasional glances over the
line of headlights to make certain that
one of the vehicles isn’t starting to
move into your lane. Once you are past
the bright lights, give your eyes time to
readjust before resuming speed.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 li@ted objects.
Just as
your headlights should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so
should your eyes be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer
from night
blindness-the inability to see in dim
light-and aren’t even aware
of it. Rain and
wet roads can mean driving
trouble.
Qn 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, ifyour tires don’t have
much tread lea, you’ll get even less
traction.
It’s always wise to go slower and be
cautious
if rain starts to fall while you
are driving. The surface may get 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
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

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ..I
Your Driving and the Road
Driving in the Rain (cow.)
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.
I40
CAUTION
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 Wet brakes can cause
,- accidents. They won’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 a car wash, apply your
brake pedal lightly until your
brakes work normally.
I

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 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 parking lights-to help make you
more visible to others.
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.
Use your defogger if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread
depth. (See the
Index under Tires.)

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Drivi r 2 the
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3 m
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’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. 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.
Don’t use your high beams. The light
will bounce
off the water droplets that
make up fog and reflect back at you.
Use your defogger. In high humidity,
even a light buildup of moisture on the
inside of the glass will cut down on your
already limited visibility. Run your
windshield wipers and washer
occasionally. Moisture can build up on
the outside glass, and what seems to be
fog may actually be moisture on the
outside of your windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency. Try to
find a place to pull off the road. Of