1996 BUICK REGAL Owners Manual

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Inding W Driving Through Dc
NOTICE:
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come
in through your
engine’s air intake and badly damage your
engine. Never drive through water that is slightly
lower than the underbody
of your vehicle. If you
can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
iome Other Rainy Weather Tips
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Turn on your low-beam headlamps -- not just
your parking lamps
-- to help make you more visible
to others.
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.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires”
in the Index.) One
of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You’ll want to watch out
for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals.
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Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
0 Know the best way to get to where you are going. Get
a city map and plan your trip into an unknown part
of
the city just as you would for a cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next part, “Freeway Driving.”)
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light
is there because the corner is busy enough to need it.
When a light turns green, and just before
you start
to move, check both ways for vehicles that have not
cleared the intersection or may be running the red light.
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.
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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.
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. Try to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as often as
necessary. Try
to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
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.
Before changing lanes, check your 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.
Once you are moving
on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance. Expect to move
slightly slower at night. When
you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper
lane well
in advance. If you miss your exit, do not,
under
any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive on to
the
next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
The exit speed is usually posted.
Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not
to your sense of motion. After driving for any distance
at higher speeds, you may tend to think you are going
slower than you actually are.
Before Leaving on a - l--b __ - 1-
Make sure you’re ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you’re not fresh
-- such as after a day’s
work
-- don’t plan to make too many miles that first part
of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes you
can easily drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it’s ready
to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting
out. Of course,
you’ll find experienced and able service experts in
Buick dealerships all across North America. They’ll be
ready and willing to help if you need it.
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Here are some things you can check before a trip:
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Windsh.ield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are
the tires all inflated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip
a short
time to avoid a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway hypnosis”?
Or is
it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack
of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch of road with the
same scenery, along with the hum of the tires
on the road,
the drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind against
the vehicle that can make
you sleepy. Don’t let it happen
to you!
If it does, your vehicle can leave the road in less
than
a second, and you could crash and be injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
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Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan
the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
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Hill and Mountain Roads If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning to visit there, here
are some tips that can make
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Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition
off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to
do all the work
of slowing down. They could get so
hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would then
have poor braking
or even none going down a hill.
You could crash. Always have your engine running
and your vehicle in gear when you go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down
to
a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transaxle, and
you can climb the hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay
in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could be
something in your lane, like a stalled car
or an accident.
0 You may see highway signs on mountains that warn of
special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or
no-passing zones, a falling rocks area or winding
roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate action.
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Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Buick in good shape for winter.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your trunk. Include
an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a supply
of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth and a
couple of reflective warning triangles. And, if
you will
be driving under severe conditions, include a small bag
of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you properly secure
these items
in your vehicle.
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Most of the time, those places where your tires meet the
road probably have good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice between your tires and the
road, you can have
a very slippery situation. You’ll have a
lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet
ice can be even more trouble because it may offer
the
least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it’s about
freezing
(32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins to fall.
Try to avoid driving
on wet ice until salt and sand crews
can get there.
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 vehicle’s stability
when you make
a hard stop on a slippery road. Even
though you have the anti-lock bralung system, you’ll
want to begin stopping sooner than you would
on dry
pavement. See “Anti-Lock” in the Index.
0 Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
0 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.
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