1996 PONTIAC PONTIAC light

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. 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’t pump 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
“Anti-Lock Brake System
Active
Light” in the Index.
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Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However,
if you don’t have anti-lock, your
first reaction
-- to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it
down
-- may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheels can
stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can’t respond to
your steering. Momentum will
carry it in whatever
direction it was headed when the wheels stopped rolling.
That could be off the road, into the very thing you were
trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use
a “squeeze” braking
technique.
This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control. You do this by pushing on
the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze the
brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear or
feel the wheels sliding, ease
off the brake pedal. This
will help you retain steering control. (If you
do have
anti-lock, it’s different: see “Anti-Lock Brakes” in
the Index.)
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.
Variable Assist Steering
This steering system provides lighter steering effort for
parking and when driving at low 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 gqing in the same direction. If you’ve ever
. . ,,: ., .. %
A,. .c .. j: tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll understand this.
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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.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving at
all times and wear safety belts properly.
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.
OFF-ROAD
.
t- - LEFT APPROX. r-
QUARTER TURN
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 one-quarter turn until the
right front tire contacts the pavement
edge. TRen turn your
steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
0 Drive defensively.
0 Don’t drink and dnve.
0 ,Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow
glare from headlamps behind you.
down and ke,ep more space between you and
other vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
0 If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
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 headlamps, but they
also make a lot
of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. 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 headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and
all the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt
on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build
up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light
up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren’t even aware
of it.
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A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work
well in
a quick stop and may cause pulling to one
side. You could lose control
of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle
of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.
Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes.
Try to avoid puddles.
But if
you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
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Hydroplaning . ., ... 1, , , 2 ,2-,a7:-~+.,: <. .:< ’. -- ’.
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your’tires that they can actually ride
on the water.
This can happen if the road is wet enough and you’re
going fast enough. When your vehicle
is hydroplaning,
it has little or no contact with the road.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can
if your
, tires haven’t much tread or if the pressure in one or
more is low.
It can happen if a lot of water is standing on
the road. If you can see reflections from trees, telephone
poles or other vehicles, and raindrops “dimple” the
water’s surface, there could be hydroplaning,
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t
a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice is to slow down when
it is raining.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
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.
S,ome Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turri 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.)
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City Driving Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to ge! 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.”)
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.
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
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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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 mwt important advice on freeway hving is: Keep
rap 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 line 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.
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