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Check your vehicle’s mirrors, glance over
your shoulder, and start your left lane
change signal before moving out of the
right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its
front in your vehicle’s inside mirror, activate
the right lane change signal and move
back into the right lane. Remember that,
if your vehicle’s passenger side outside
mirror is convex, the vehicle you just passed
may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a
time on two-lane roads. Reconsider before
passing the next vehicle.
Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too
rapidly. Even though the brake lamps are
not ashing, it may be slowing down or
starting to turn.
If you are being passed, make it easy for
the following driver to get ahead of you.
Perhaps you can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems — brakes,
steering, and acceleration — do not have enough
friction where the tires meet the road to do what the
driver has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to
steer and constantly seek an escape route or
area of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking
reasonable care suited to existing conditions, and
by not overdriving those conditions. But skids
are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your
vehicle’s three control systems. In the braking skid,
your wheels are not rolling. In the steering or
cornering skid, too much speed or steering in a
curve causes tires to slip and lose cornering force.
And in the acceleration skid, too much throttle
causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your
foot off the accelerator pedal.
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Tire Sidewall Labeling
Useful information about a tire is molded into the
sidewall. The following illustrations are examples
of a typical P-Metric and a LT-Metric tire sidewall.
(A) Tire Size:The tire size code is a combination
of letters and numbers used to de ne a particular
tire’s width, height, aspect ratio, construction
type, and service description. See the “Tire Size”
illustration later in this section for more detail.(B) TPC Spec (Tire Performance Criteria
Speci cation):Original equipment tires designed
to GM’s speci c tire performance criteria have
a TPC speci cation code molded onto the sidewall.
GM’s TPC speci cations meet or exceed all
federal safety guidelines.
(C) DOT (Department of Transportation):
The Department of Transportation (DOT) code
indicates that the tire is in compliance with the
U.S. Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards.
(D) Tire Identi cation Number (TIN):The letters
and numbers following DOT code are the Tire
Identi cation Number (TIN). The TIN shows
the manufacturer and plant code, tire size, and
date the tire was manufactured. The TIN is molded
onto both sides of the tire, although only one
side may have the date of manufacture.
Passenger (P-Metric) Tire
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(E) Tire Ply Material:The type of cord and
number of plies in the sidewall and under
the tread.
(F) Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG):
Tire manufacturers are required to grade
tires based on three performance factors:
treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance.
For more information, seeUniform Tire Quality
Grading on page 511.
(G) Maximum Cold In ation Load Limit:
Maximum load that can be carried and the
maximum pressure needed to support that load.
For information on recommended tire pressure
seeIn ation - Tire Pressure on page 500
andLoading Your Vehicle on page 402.
(A) Tire Size:The tire size code is a combination
of letters and numbers used to de ne a particular
tire’s width, height, aspect ratio, construction
type, and service description. See the “Tire Size”
illustration later in this section for more detail.
Light Truck (LT-Metric) Tire
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