1993 PONTIAC GRAND-AM steering

“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.
I
i Drinking and then driving is L b 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
rn 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.
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Brake Aflustment
Every time you make a moderate reverse
brake stop, your brakes adjust for wear.
If you rarely make a moderate or
heavier stop, then your brakes might not
adjust correctly. If you drive
in that way,
then-very carefully-make a few
moderate brake stops about every
1,OOO
miles (1 600 km), so your brakes will
adjust properly.
If your brake pedal goes down farther
than
normal, your rear drum brakes may
need adjustment. Adjust them by
backing up and
firmly applying the
brakes a few times.
Braking In Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when
you need to. With anti-lock, you can
steer and brake at the same time. In
many emergencies, steering can help
you more than even the very best
braking.
Power Steering -
If you lose power steering assist because
the engine stops or the system fails to
function, you can steer but it will
take
much more effort.
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Your Driving and the Road
Variable Effort Steering (omoN)
This steering system provides lighter
steering effort for parking and at low
vehicle speeds. Steering effort will
increase at higher
speeds for improved
road feel.
Steering Tips-Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control”
accidents mentioned on the
news happen
on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each
of
us is subject to the same laws of physics
when driving on curves. The traction of
the tires against the road surface makes
it possible for the vehicle to change its
path when you
turn the front wheels. If
there’s no traction, inertia will keep the
vehicle going in the same direction. If
you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on
wet ice, you’ll understand this. The traction
you
can get in a curve
depends on the condition of your tires
and the road surface, the angle at which
the curve is banked, and your speed.
While you’re
in a curve, speed is the
one factor you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through
a sharp
curve. Then you suddenly accelerate. Those
two control systems-steering
and acceleration-can overwhelm those
places where the tires meet the road and make you lose control.
What should you do if this ever
happens? Let up on the accelerator
pedal, steer the vehicle the way you
want it to go, and slow down.
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Speed limit signs near curves warn that
you should adjust your speed. Of
course, the posted speeds are based
on
good weather and road conditions.
Under less favorable conditions you’ll
want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can
“drive” through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until
you are out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
When
you drive into a curve at night,
it’s harder to see the road ahead of you
because it bends away from the straight
beams of your lights. This is one good
reason to drive slower.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more
effective than braking. For example, you
come over a hill and find a truck stopped
in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out from
between parked cars and stops right in
front of you.
You can avoid these
problems by braking-if
you can stop in
time. But sometimes you can’t; there
isn’t
room. That’s the time for evasive
action-steering around the problem.
Your Pontiac can perform very well in
emergencies like these. First apply your
brakes. It is better to remove as much
speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the
problem, to the left or right depending
on the space available. An emergency like this requires
close
attention and
a quick decision. If you
are holding the steering wheel at the
recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions,
you can turn it a
full 180 degrees very
quickly without removing either hand.
But
you have to act fast, steer quickly,
and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once
you have avoided the object. You
must then be prepared to steer back to
your original lane and then brake to a
controlled stop.
Depending on your speed, this can
be
rather violent for an unprepared driver.
This is one of the reasons driving
experts recommend that
you use your
safety belts and keep both hands on the
steering wheel.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is a good reason to
practice defensive driving at all times.
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Your Driving and the Road
Off-Road Recovery
You may find sometime that your right
wheels have dropped off the edge of a
road onto the shoulder while you're
driving.
If the level of the shoulder is only
slightly below the pavement, recovery
should be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then, if there is nothing
in the way, steer
so that your vehicle
straddles the edge of the pavement. You
can turn the steering wheel up
to 94 turn
until the right front tire contacts the
pavement edge. Then turn your steering
wheel to go straight down the roadway.
If the shoulder appears
to be about four
inches
(100 mm) or more below the
pavement, this difference can cause
problems.
If there is not enough room to pull
entirely onto the shoulder and stop,
then follow the same procedures. But
if
the right front tire scrubs against the
side of the pavement, do
not steer more
sharply. With too much steering angle,
the vehicle may jump back onto the road
with
so much steering input that it
crosses over into the oncoming traffic
before you can bring
it back under
control. Instead, ease off again on the
accelerator and steering input, straddle
the pavement once more, then try again.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass
another on a two-lane highway waits for
just
the right moment, accelerates,
moves around the vehicle ahead, then
goes back into the right lane again.
A
simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle
on a two-lane highway
is a potentially
dangerous move, since the passing
vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming traffic for several seconds.
A
miscalculation, an error in judgment, or
a brief surrender to frustration or anger
can suddenly put the passing driver face
to face with the worst of all traffic
accidents-the head-on collision.
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Your Driving and the Road
Passing (CONT.)
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.)
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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
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.
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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 Pontiac’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
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
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 change 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.
Remember: Any anti-lock braking
system
(ABS) helps avoid only the
braking skid.
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Whatever the condition-smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow-drive with caution. Accelerate gently. Try not
to break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface under the
tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your
ability
to make a hard stop on a slippery
road. Even though you have the anti-
lock braking system, you’ll want to
begin stopping sooner than you would on dry pavement. See the
Idex under
1 Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).
Allow greater following distance on
any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road
might be fine until you hit a spot that’s
covered with ice. On an otherwise
clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the
sun can’t
reach: around clumps of trees, behind
buildings, or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear. If you see
a patch
of ice ahead of you, brake
before you are on it.
Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation.
You
should probably stay with your vehicle
unless you know for sure that you are
near help and you can hike through the
snow. Here are some
things to do to
summon help and keep yourself and
your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard flashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert
police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
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