1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinlung 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:
0 Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
0 Vision
0 Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half
of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result
of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, over
17,000 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 half 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
U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good
medical, psychological and developmental reasons for
these laws. The obvious way to solve
hs 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 dnve? 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
e The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.
According to the American 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 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
4-3

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 difference, 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 are 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!
4-4

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. 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 will
not drink.
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.
4-5

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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; the condition
of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
4-6

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 (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. 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.
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.
4-7

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
both 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.
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
firmly and let anti-lock work for
you. You may feel the
brakes vibrate, or
you may notice some noise, but this is
normal. On vehicles with four-wheel drive, your
anti-lock brakes work at all times
-- whether you are in
two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive,
Braking in Emergencies
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.
4-8

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. Adding the sudden
acceleration can demand too much of those places. You
can lose control.
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.
4-9

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 vehicle 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. 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.
4-10