Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided
by
appropriate restraints.
@ What are the different types of add-on
A: Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child’s weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will
be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it
will be used.
child restraints?
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It’s an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position
a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant’s head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.
1-33
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Rum
lg (Automatic Transmission Only)
I
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK
(P)
with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could
overheat and even catch fire. You
or others could
be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK
(P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl in
the transmission. You may find it difficult to pull the
shift lever out
of PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out
of PARK (P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,
so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
2-40
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ..
'i
I NOTICE:
~~ ~ ~
Don't lower the top if it is damp or wet. When
the top
is down, trapped water can cause stains,
mildew and damage to the inside
of your vehicle.
Be sure to dry
off the top before you lower it.
I NOTICE: I
It is not recommended to lower the top if the
vehicle
is out in cold weather, 0°F (-18OC) or
lower, or you may damage top components.
NOTICE:
Before lowering the convertible top into the
storage area,
be sure there are no objects in the
way of the folded, stored top. The weight of a
stored top
on items in the storage area will cause
the convertible top back glass to break.
2. Unlock the front of the convertible top by pushing
on the smaller part
of the latch, then pulling down
on the larger
part of the latch. Be sure the hook
on the latch that attaches into the hole at the
windshield releases.
2-66 . --
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 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 drive? 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 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.
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 amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
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!
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.
4-4
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 314 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. 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.
4-6
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine a CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly
CO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you.
You can’t see it or smell it, so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle, especially any
that
is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check
around again from time
to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
Open
a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This will help
keep
CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less fuel for the heat that
you get and it keeps the
battery charged.
You will need a well-charged battery to
restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlamps. Let the heater run for a while. Then,
shut the engine
off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this
only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get
out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
Loading Your Ve’ kle
OCCUPANTS
VEHICLE CAP. WT.
.
TIRE-LOADING INFORMATION
FRT, CTR. RR. TOTAL LBS. KG
MAX. LOADING & GVWR SAME AS VEHICLE
CAPACITY WEIGHT XXX COLD TIRE
TIRE
SIZE SPEED PRESSURE
RTG PSPKPa
FRT.
RR.
SPA.
IF TIRES ARE HOT, ADD 4PSli28KPa
SEE OWNER’S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
4-28
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
found on the rear edge
of the driver’s door tells you the
proper size, speed rating and recommended inflation
pressures for the tires on your vehicle. It also gives you
important information about the number of people that
can be in your vehicle and the total weight that you can
carry. This weight is called the vehicle capacity weight
and includes the weight
of all occupants, cargo and all
nonfactory-installed options.
MFD BY GENERAL MOTORS CORP
DATE GVWR GAWR FRT GAWR ~d
THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLI-
CABLE
U.S. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE
SAFETY, BUMPER, AND THEFT PREVENTION
STANDARDS IN EFFECT ON THE DATE OF
MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE.
The other label, is the Certification label, found on the
rear edge
of the driver’s door. It tells you the gross
weight capacity of your vehicle, called the GVWR
(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).
The GVWR includes the
weight
of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo.
Never exceed the GVWR for your vehicle, or the Gross
Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) for either the front or
rear axle.
And, if
you do have a heavy load, you should spread it
out. Don’t carry more than
100 lbs. (45 kg) in your
rear area.
I
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, or it can change the way your vehicle
handles. These could cause you to lose control.
Also, overloading can shorten the life
of
your vehicle.
4-29