1996 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving
is a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor. to ’
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive
a vehicle:
Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness,
Police records show that
almost half of all motor
vehicle-related,deaths involve alcohol.
In most cases,
these deaths
me the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. h recent years, some 18,000 annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use
of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured.
Many adults -- by some estimates, nearly hdf the adult
population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after
drinking. For persons under 21, it’s
against the law in every W.S’. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws. The
obvious way to solve this highway safety problem
is
for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what
if people do? How much is “too much” if the
driver plans to elrive? It’s a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends on each person and situation,
here is some general information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon
four things:
0 The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
The amwnt of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According to the Amefican Medical Association, a
180-lb.
(82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120 ml) glasses
of wine
or three mixed drinks if each had 1 - 1/2 ounces
(45
d) of a liquor me whiskey, gin or vodka.
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It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to
0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower BAC level.
There is
a gender difluence, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since alcohol is carried
in body water, this means that
a
woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a
man of her same body weight when each has the same
number
of drinks.
The law in many U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is 0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower. The BAC limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States
is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over
0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the
drinks, and how
quickly the person
drinks them.
But
the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC
of 0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people aie impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being
in a collision
increases sharply for drivers
who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level
of 0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
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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.
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
~ Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can
be affected by even a small amount
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 *.not drink.
~
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Control of a Vehicle Braking
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where Braking action involves perception
time and
you want it to
go. They are the brakes, the steering and reaction time.
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work First, you have to decide to push on the brake
at the places where the tires meet the road. pedal. That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring
up your foot Ad 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 h/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.
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. i
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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 dill 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 tol 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.
ANTILOCK (a)
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System
Warning Light” in
the Index.
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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.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t cfiange 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’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down I
and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the system
workg, or you may notice some noise, but this is normd.
Traction Control System (Option)
Your vehicle may have a traction con&ol system 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 front wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system works the front brakes and reduces engine power
to limit wheel
spin.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this
is normal,.
If your-vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system. begins
to limit wheel spin, the cruise.
control
will automatically disengage. When road ’
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
reengage the cruise control. (See “Cruise
Control”
in the Index.)
TRACTION
OFF
Men the system is on, this
warning light will come on
to kt
you know if there’s- a
problem with. your traction
control system.
See “Traction Control System
Warning Light’’ in the
Index. When this warning light is on, the system will not
limit wheel
spin. Adjust your driving .., ’. . ~ i 1 accordingly. --- ,.! “ A
. e. -. .l’ i-!
.. . ..
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The traction control 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
traction control 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
TRACTION
CONTROL button located
on the console next to the
gear shift selector.
I I
The traction control system warning light will come on
and stay on. If the 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 longex a current need to limit wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time by pressing
the button again. The traction control system warning
light should
go off.
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.
Magnasteer
Your vehicle is equipped with GM Magnasteer TM , a
steering system that continuously adjusts the effort you
feel when steering.at all vehicle speeds. It provides ease
when parking, yet a firm, solid feel at highway speeds.
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