1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme mirror

Insfrum~e~t Panel hfensity
Control
You can brighten or dim the instrument
panel lights by sliding the control hob
up or down. If you slide the hob all the
way up to
INT your courtesy or interior
lights
will come on. To turn instrument
panel lights on to
full intensity with the
headlights on, slide the control hob
to
MAX.
Fog (OPTION)
Use your fog lights for better vi'sion in
foggy or misty conditions.
To turn fog lights on, push the switch.
Push the-switch again to turn the fog
lights off.
When using fog lights, the parlung
lights or low beam headlights must be on.
The fog lights will go
off whenever the
high beam headlights come on. When
the high beams go
off, the fog lights will^
come on again.
Front ReadinglMap Ljghfs
(OPTION)
These lights are part of the rearview
mirror. They go on when you open the
doors. When the doors are closed, turn
them on
and off with the switch.
To avoid draining your vehicle battery's
power, be sure
to turn off all front and
rear reading lights-when leaving your
vehicle.
79

Features & Controls
80
Dome Reading Lights (OPTION)
These lights are part of your dome light.
Press the switch nearest the light you
want on. Press the switch again to turn
the light
off.
Rear Reading Lights (OPTION)
These lights go on when you open the
doors. To turn on the reading lights
when the doors are closed, push the
button in.
Push the button again to turn
the light
off.
.. .
Inside Manual DaylNight
Rearview Mirror
To reduce glare from lights behind you,
pull the lever toward you to the night
position.

r
Convex Outside Mirror
Your right side mirror is convex. A
convex mirror’s surface is curved so you
can see more from the driver’s seat.
CAUTION
A If you aren’t used to a convex
2 mirror, you can hit another
vehicle.
A convex mirror can make
things (like other vehicles) look
farther away than they really are. If
you cut too sharply into the right
lane, you could hit a vehicle on
your right. Check your inside mirror or glance over your shoulder
before changing lanes.
Manual Adjust Mirror
The passenger side outside mirror
should be adjusted by hand
so that you
just see the side
of your vehicle when
you are sitting in a comfortable driving
position.
Manual Remote Control Mirror
The driver’s side outside mirror can be
adjusted with the control lever on the
armrest
so that you just see the side of
your vehicle when you are sitting in a
comfortable driving position.
d
81

Features & Controls
Power Remofe Control Mirrors
(OPTION)
A selector switch on the driver's door
armrest controls both outside rearview
mirrors. Move the switch to
L to select
the driver's side rearview mirror, or to
R to select the passenger side rearview
mirror. Then press the control pad to
adjust each mirror
so that you just see
the side
of your vehicle when you are
sitting in a comfortable driving position.
To lock the controls, leave the selector
switch in the middle position.
W2163 1
Sun Visors
To block out glare, you can swing down
the visors.
You can also remove them
from the center mount and swing them
to the side.
Visor Vanity Mirrors
Standard Mirror: Open the cover to
expose the vanity mirror.
Lighted Mirrors (Option) : If your
vehicle has the optional lighted vanity
mirrors, the lights come on when you
open the cover. These can even be used
for reading.

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
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. Or,
you can use flash-to-pass. See the
Index under Flash-to-Pass.
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.
I (providing the road ahead is clear).
When it loolts 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 take
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
157

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 rolling),
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.
I .@ i 7“
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 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.
speed roads. Your headlights can light
up only
so much road ahead.
Slow down, especially on higher
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a
safe place and rest.
1
159

Your Driving and the Road
140
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- 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.
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.

Your Driving and the Road
166
Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways (also called
thruways, parkways, expressways,
turnpikes, or superhighways) are the
safest
of all roads. But they have their
own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway
driving is: Keep up with traffic and keep
to the right. Drive at the same speed
most of the other drivers are driving.
Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a
smooth traffic flow. Treat the left lane
on a freeway as a passing lane.
Entering the Freeway
At the entrance there is usually a ramp
that leads to the freeway.
If you have a
clear view of the freeway as you drive
along the entrance ramp, you should
begin to check traffic. Try to determine
where you expect to blend with the
flow. If traffic is light, you may have no
problem. But if it is heavy, find a gap as
you move along the entering lane and
time your approach. Try to merge into
the gap at close to the prevailing speed.
Switch on your turn signal, check your
rearview mirrors as you move along,
and glance over your shoulder as often
as necessary. Try to blend smoothly
with the traffic flow.
Driving on the Freeway
Once you are on the freeway, adjust
your speed to the posted limit or to the
prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay in the
right lane unless you want to pass. If
you are on a two-lane freeway, treat the
right lane as the slow lane and the left
lane as the passing lane.
If you are on a three-lane freeway, treat
the right lane as the slower-speed
through lane, the middle lane as the
higher-speed through lane, and the left
lane as the passing lane.
Before changing lanes, check your
rearview mirrors. Then use your turn
signal. Just before you leave the lane,
glance quickly over your shoulder to
make sure there isn’t another vehicle in
your “blind” spot.