1997 GMC SIERRA light

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 (ABS)
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 and 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. This is normal.
ANTI -
LOCK
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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Off-Road Recovery
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. You may
find sometime that your right wheels have
dropped off
the edge of a road onto the shoulder while
you’re driving.
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edge of paved surface
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. Then
turn your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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When you drive over obstacles or rough terrain, keep a
firm grip
on the steering wheel. Ruts, troughs or other
surface features can jerk the wheel
out of your hands if
you’re not prepared.
When you drive over bumps, rocks, or other obstacles,
your wheels can leave the ground. If this happens, even
with one or two wheels, you can’t control
the vehicle as
well or at all.
Because you will be
on an unpaved surface, it’s
especially important to avoid sudden acceleration,
sudden turns or sudden braking.
Driving on Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up, down or across a
hill. Driving safely on hills requires good judgment and
an understanding
of what your vehicle can and can’t do.
There are some hills that simply can’t be driven, no
matter how well built the vehicle.
In
a way, off-road driving requires a different kind of
alertness from driving on paved roads and highways.
There are no road signs, posted speed limits or signal
lights.
You have to use your own good judgment about
what
is safe and what isn’t.
Drinking and driving can be very dangerous on any
road. And this is certainly true for off-road driving. At
the very time you need special alertness and driving
skills, your reflexes, perceptions and judgment can be
affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You could
have a serious
-- or even fatal -- accident if you drink
and drive or ride with
a driver who has been drinking.
See “Drunken Driving” in the Index.
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Many hills are simply too steep for any vehicle.
If you drive up them, you will stall. If you drive
down them,
you can’t control your speed. If you
drive across them, you will roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed. If you have any doubt
about the steepness, don’t drive the hill.
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Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you 11 want to
consider
a number of things:
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs?
What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
vehicle control?
Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Boulders?
creek bank or even a river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
they won’t have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
I a CAUTIO, .:
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Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade. This could
cause loss of control and
a serious accident.
Apply the brakes lightly when descending a
hill and use a low gear to keep vehicle speed
under control.
&: Are there some things I should not do when
A: Yes! These are important because if you ignore them
driving down a hill?
you could lose control and have a serious accident.
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline
of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if you don’t drive straight down.
Never
go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL
(N), or with the clutch pedal depressed
in a manual shift. This is called “free-wheeling.”
Your brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
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Driving in Mud, Sand, Snow or Ice
When you drive in mud, snow or sand, your wheels
won’t get good traction.
You can’t accelerate as quickly,
turning is more difficult, and you’ll need longer
braking distances.
It’s best
to use a low gear when you’re in mud -- the
deeper the mud, the lower the gear.
In really deep mud,
the idea is to keep your vehicle moving
so you don’t
get stuck.
When you drive
on sand, you’ll sense a change in wheel
traction. But it will depend upon how loosely packed the
sand is.
On loosely packed sand (as on beaches or sand
dunes) your tires will tend
to sink into the sand. This has
an effect on steering, accelerating and braking. You may
want to reduce the air pressure in your tires slightly
when driving on sand. This will improve traction.
Hard packed snow and ice offer the worst tire traction.
On these surfaces, it’s very easy to lose control. On wet
ice, for example, the traction is
so poor that you will
have difficulty accelerating. And
if you do get moving,
poor steering and difficult braking can cause you to slide
out of control.
Driving on frozen lakes, ponds or rivers can be
~ dangerous. Underwater springs, currents under
the ice, or sudden thaws can weaken the ice. Your
vehicle could fall through the ice and you and
your passengers could drown. Drive your vehicle
on safe surfaces only.
Driving in Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems.
But heavy rain can mean flash flooding, and flood
waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep
the water is before you drive through
it.
If it’s deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or
exhaust pipe, don’t try it
-- you probably won’t get
through. Also, water that deep can damage your axle
and other vehicle parts.
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Driving at Night
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Night driving is more dangerous than day driving.
One reason is that some drivers are likely to be
impaired
-- by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue. Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive
defensively.
Don't drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since
you can't see as well, you may need to slow
down and keep 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.
If you're tired, pull off the road in
a safe place
and rest.
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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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I A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't work
as 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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