1993 CHEVROLET TRACKER lights

Because you will be on an unpaved
I
surface, it’s especially important to
avoid sudden acceleration, sudden turns,
or sudden braking.
In a way, off-road driving requires a
different kind
of alertness from driving
on paved roads and highways. There are
no road signs, posted speed limits or
signal lights. You have to use your own
good judgment about what is safe and
what isn’t.
I CAUTION
’ Drinking and driving can be
- very dangerous on any road.
And this is certainly true for
off-road driving. At the very time
you need special alertness and
driving skills, your reflexes,
perceptions and judgment can be
affected by even a small amount
of
alcohol. You could have a serious
- or even fatal - accident if you
drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. (See
“Drunken Driving” in the Index.)
Driving on Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up,
down, or across a hill. Driving safely on
hills requires good judgment and an
understanding of what your vehicle can
and can’t do. There are some hills that
simply can’t be driven, no matter how
well built the vehicle.
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Your Driving and the Road
Ease up on your speed as you
approach the top
of the hill.
Attach a flag to the vehicle to make
you more visible to approaching
traffic on trails or hills.
Sound the horn as you approach the
top of the hill to let opposing traffic
know you’re there.
Use your headlights even during the
day. They make you more visible to
oncoming traffic.
CAUTION
A Driving to the top (crest) of a
hill at full speed can cause an
accident. There could be a
drop-off, embankment, cliff, or
even another vehicle. You could
be seriously injured or killed. As
you near the top of a hill, slow
down and stay alert.
I
Q: What should I do if my vehicle
stalls,
or is about to stall, and I
can’t make it up the hill?
A: If this happens, there are some
things you-should do, and there are
some things you must not do. First,
here’s what you
should do:
Push the brake pedal to stop
the
vehicle and keep it from rolling
backwards. Also, apply the parking
brake.
If your engine is still running, shift
the transmission into reverse, release
the parking brake, and slowly back
down the hill in reverse.
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After Off-Road Driving
Remove any brush or debris that has
collected on the underbody, chassis or
under the hood. These accumulations
can be a fire hazard.
After operation in mud or sand, have the
brake linings cleaned and checked.
These substances can cause glazing and
uneven braking. Check the body
structure, steering, suspension, wheels,
tires, and exhaust system for damage.
Also, check the fuel lines and cooling
system for any leakage.
Your vehicle will require more frequent
service due to off-road use. Refer
to the
Maintenance Schedule for additional
information.
rn Driving at Night
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
“Drunken Driving” in the Index 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, especially 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.
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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.
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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-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 take 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.
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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
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.
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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
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Your Drlvlng and the Road
you are actually blinded, drop back.
Don’t pass until conditions improve.
having an accident.
~ Going more slowly is better than
Use your defogger if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread
depth.
(See “Tires” in the Index.)
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H Driving in Fog, Mist
and Haze
Fog can occur with high humidity or
heavy
fiost. 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
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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
course you want to respect another’s property,
but you might need to put
something between you and moving
vehicles
- space, trees, telephone poles,
a private driveway, anything that
removes you from other traffic.
If visibility
is near zero and you must
stop but are unsure whether you are
away from the road, turn your lights on,
start your hazard warning flashers, and
sound your horn at intervals or when
you hear approaching traffic.
Pass other vehicles
in fog only if you
can see far enough ahead to pass safely.
Even then, be prepared to delay your
pass
if you suspect the fog is worse up
ahead. If other vehicles try to pass you,
make
it easy for them.
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