1996 CHEVROLET CAMARO Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink.
No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “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 even a moderate 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, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person’s chance
of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than
if the person had not been drinking.
A CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
of alcohol. You can have a serious -- or even
fatal
-- collision 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.
~ judgment can be affected by even a small amount
4-4

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and
do it. That’s reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at
60 mph ( 100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).
That could be a lot
of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between your vehicle and others
is important.
And,
of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with
the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; and the condition
of your brakes.
4-5

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time
to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you
do a lot
of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If
you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up, it may take longer
to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder
to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When
you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking
noise while
this
test is going on, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves a little. This is normal.
ABS
INOP
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on or
flash. See “Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light” in the Index.
4-6

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here's how anti-lock works, Let's say the road is wet.
You're driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps
out in
front of you.
You slam
on the brakes. Here's what happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately work the brakes at each front wheel and at the
rear wheels. The
anti-lock system can change the brake pressure faster
than any driver could. The computer is programmed
to
make the most of available tire and road conditions.
You can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance.
If you get too close to the vehicle in
front
of you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’tpump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the
system working, or you may notice some noise, but this
is normal.
LOW TRAC
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid a braking skid,
this light will come on. See
“Low Traction Light” in
the Index.
ASR (Acceleration Slip Regulation) System
(Option:
LTl V8 Engine)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system called
ASR that limits wheel spin. This is especially
useful in
slippery road conditions. The system operates only if
it
senses that one or both of the rear wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system works the rear brakes and reduces engine power
(by closing the throttle and managing engine spark) to
limit wheel spin.
LOW TRAC
This light will come on
when your ASR system is
limiting wheel spin. See
“Low Traction Light” in the
Index. You may feel or hear
the system working, but this
is normal.
The ASR system may operate
on dry roads under some
conditions, and you may notice a reduction in
acceleration when this happens. This is normal and
doesn’t mean there’s a problem with your vehicle.
4-8

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Examples of these conditions include a hard acceleration
in a turn, or an abrupt upshift or downshift. Also, when
the compact spare tire is on the rear axle, the ASR
system will cycle and limit acceleration for about the
first
15 seconds of driving after each engine start.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the ASR system
begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise control will
automatically disengage. When road conditions allow
you to safely use it again, you may re-engage the cruise
control. (See “Cruise Control” in the Index.)
ASR
OFF
The ASR system automatically comes on whenever you
start your vehicle.
To limit wheel spin, especially in
slippery road conditions, you should always leave
the
system on. But you can turn the ASR system off if you
ever need to. (You should turn the system
off if your
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow.
See
“Rocking Your Vehicle” in the Index.)
To turn the system off, press
the button on the console
near the cigarette lighter.
When the system is on, this
warning light will come on
to let you know if there’s a
problem with your ASR
system. See “ASR System
Warning Light” in the
Index. When this warning
light is on, the system will
not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly. The ASR system warning light will come on
and stay
on. If the ASR system is limiting wheel spin when you
press the button, the warning light will come on
-- but
the system won’t turn
off right away. It will wait until
there’s no longer a current need to limit wheel spin.
4-9

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine You can turn the system back on at any time by
pressing the button again. The ASR system warning
light should go off.
If your car is equipped with P245/50ZR16 tires, the
ASR system will automatically turn off at speeds above
108 mph (174 kmh). (The ASR system warning light
will not come on.) When the vehicle speed drops below
103 mph (166 km/h) the system will automatically come
on again.
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.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
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. Both control systems
-- steering and
acceleration
-- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Unless you have ASR and the system is on,
adding the sudden acceleration can demand too much
of
those places. You can lose control.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the
accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way you want it
to go, and slow down.
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.
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 Chevrolet can perform very well in emergencies
like these. First apply your brakes. (See “Braking
in
Emergencies” earlier in this section.) 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.