2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM Owners Manual

Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to get 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.”
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
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.
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.
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The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep
up 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 lane 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
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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.
The exit speed is usually posted. Reduce your speed
according to your speedometer, not to your sense
of motion. After driving for any distance at higher
speeds, you may tend to think you are going slower
than you actually are.
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you’re ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you’re not fresh-such as after a day’s
work-don’t plan to make too many miles that first
part of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes
you can easily drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it’s ready to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting out. Of course,
you’ll find experienced and able service experts
in dealerships all across North America. They’ll be
ready and willing to help
if you need it.
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Here are some things you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the resewior full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a
short time
to avoid a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway
hypnosis”? Or is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel?
Call it highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or
whatever. There
is something about an easy stretch
of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone of the engine, and the rush of the
wind against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t
let
it happen to you! If it does, your vehicle can leave
the road in
less than a second, and you could crash and
be injured.
What can you
do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and
to the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
service or parking area and take a nap, get some
exercise, or both. For safety, treat drowsiness
on the highway as an emergency.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest,
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Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
drivina
w in flat or rollinq terrain.
If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and
also the brakes, tires, cooling system
and transaxle. These parts can work hard on
mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing
to know is this: let your engine do some of
the
slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or lom hill.
If you don’t shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going
down a
hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes
on a steep
downhill
slope.
i
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition
off is dangerous. Your brakes will have
to
do all the work ai siowing down. I ney cwdd
get so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You
would then have poor braking or even none going down a hill. You could crash. Always have your engine running and your vehicle in
I.
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Know how to go uphill. Drive in the highest gear
possible.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or
cut across the center of the road. Drive at speeds
that let you stay in your own lane.
e As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There
could be something in your lane, like
a stalled car or
an accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that
warn of special problems. Examples are long
grades, passing or no-passing zones,
a falling rocks
area or winding roads. Be alert
to these and take
appropriate action.
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your vehicle in good shape for winter.
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You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your trunk.
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supply of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter
outer clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight, a red
cloth and a couple of reflective warning triangles. And,
if
you will be driving under severe conditions, include a
small bag of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of
burlap bags to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your vehicle.
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet
the road probably have good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation.
You’ll have a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to
be very careful.
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What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet
ice can be even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction
of all. You can get wet ice when it’s
about freezing
(32°F; OOC) and freezing rain begins
to fall. Try
to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there.
Whatever the condition
- smooth ice, packed, blowing
or loose snow
- drive with caution.
Keep your Enhanced Traction System on.
It will improve
your ability
to accelerate when driving on a slippery
road. Even though your vehicle has this system, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to the
road conditions. See
Enhanced Traction System (€E)
on page 4-9.
Unless you have the anti-lock braking system, you’ll
want to brake very gently, too.
(If you do have anti-lock,
see
Braking on page 4-6. This system improves your
vehicle’s stability when you make a hard stop on a
slippery road.) Whether you have the anti-lock braking
system or not, you’ll want to begin stopping sooner than
you would on dry pavement. Without anti-lock brakes,
if you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up on the
brakes a little. Push the brake pedal down steadily
to
get the most traction you can.
Remember, unless you have anti-lock,
if you brake so
hard that your wheels stop rolling, you’ll just slide. Brake
so your wheels always keep rolling and you can
still steer.
Whatever your braking system, allow greater
following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine
until you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On
an otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings
or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass
may remain icy when the surrounding roads
are clear. If you see a patch of ice ahead of you,
brake before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and avoid sudden
steering maneuvers.

If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with
your vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near
help and you can hike through the snow. Here are
some things to do
to summon help and keep yourself
and your passengers safe:
@ Turn on your hazard flashers.
* Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you’ve been stopped by the snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
floor mats
- anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
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