2007 CHEVROLET EXPRESS CARGO VAN Owners Manual

Off-Road Recovery
You may find that your right wheels have dropped
off the edge of a road onto the shoulder while you
are driving.
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 the steering
wheel to go straight down the roadway.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead,
then goes back into the right lane again. A simple
maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a
two-lane highway is a potentially dangerous move,
since the passing vehicle occupies the same
lane as oncoming traffic for several seconds.
A miscalculation, an error in judgment, or a brief
surrender to frustration or anger can suddenly
put the passing driver face to face with the worst
of all traffic accidents — the head-on collision.
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So here are some tips for passing:
•Drive ahead. Look down the road, to the
sides, and to crossroads for situations
that might affect your passing patterns. If you
have any doubt whatsoever about making
a successful pass, wait for a better time.
•Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings,
and lines. If you can see a sign up ahead
that might indicate a turn or an intersection,
delay your pass. A broken center line
usually indicates it is all right to pass, providing
the road ahead is clear. Never cross a solid
line on your side of the lane or a double solid
line, even if the road seems empty of
approaching traffic.
•Do not get too close to the vehicle you want
to pass while you are awaiting an opportunity.
For one thing, following too closely reduces
your area of vision, especially if you are
following a larger vehicle. Also, you will not
have adequate space if the vehicle ahead
suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a
reasonable distance.
•When it looks like a chance to pass is coming
up, start to accelerate but stay in the right
lane and do not get too close. Time your move
so you will be increasing speed as the time
comes to move into the other lane. If the way
is clear to pass, you will have a running
start that more than makes up for the distance
you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel
your pass, you need only slow down and drop
back again and wait for another opportunity.
•If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow
vehicle, wait your turn. But take care that
someone is not trying to pass you as you pull
out to pass the slow vehicle. Remember to
glance over your shoulder and check the
blind spot.
•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
an outside convex mirror makes the vehicle you
just passed seem farther away from you than it
really is.
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•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
flashing, it might 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,
the 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.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off
the accelerator pedal and quickly steer the
way you want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, your vehicle may
straighten out. Always be ready for a second skid
if it occurs.
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Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow,
ice, gravel, or other material is on the road. For
safety, you want to slow down and adjust your
driving to these conditions. It is important to slow
down on slippery surfaces because stopping
distance is longer and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration, or
braking, including reducing vehicle speed by
shifting to a lower gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might not realize the
surface is slippery until your vehicle is skidding.
Learn to recognize warning clues — such as
enough water, ice, or packed snow on the road to
make a mirrored surface — and slow down when
you have any doubt.
Remember: Any Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
helps avoid only the braking skid.Driving at Night
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.
•Drive defensively.
•Do not drink and drive.
•Adjust the inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
•Since you cannot see as well, slow down and
keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
•Slow down, especially on higher speed roads.
Your vehicle’s headlamps can light up only so
much road ahead.
•In remote areas, watch for animals.
•If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe
place and rest.
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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 might 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 are driving, do not
wear sunglasses at night. They might 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 re-adjust
to the dark. When you are faced with severe glare,
as from a driver who does not lower the high
beams, or a vehicle with misaimed headlamps,
slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into
the approaching headlamps.Keep the 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 the headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as the 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 are not even aware of it.
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Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a
wet road, you cannot stop, accelerate, or turn as
well because your tire-to-road traction is not as
good as on dry roads. And, if your tires do not have
much tread left, you will get even less traction.It is always wise to go slower and be cautious if rain
starts to fall while you are driving. The surface may
get wet suddenly when your reflexes are tuned for
driving on dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see.
Even if your windshield wiper blades are in good
shape, a heavy rain can make it harder to see
road signs and traffic signals, pavement markings,
the edge of the road, and even people walking.
It is wise to keep your wiping equipment in
good shape and keep your windshield washer fluid
reservoir filled with washer fluid. Replace your
windshield wiper inserts when they show signs of
streaking or missing areas on the windshield,
or when strips of rubber start to separate from
the inserts.
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{CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They
may not 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 the brake pedal
lightly until the 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 cannot,
try to slow down before you hit them.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can
build up under your tires that they can actually ride
on the water. This can happen if the road is wet
enough and you are going fast enough. When your
vehicle is hydroplaning, it has little or no contact
with the road.
Hydroplaning does not happen often. But it can
if your tires do not have much tread or if the
pressure in one or more is low. It can happen if
a lot of water is standing on the road. If you
can see reflections from trees, telephone poles, or
other vehicles, and raindrops dimple the water’s
surface, there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds.
There just is not a hard and fast rule about
hydroplaning. The best advice is to slow down
when it is raining.
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Driving Through Deep Standing Water
Notice:If you drive too quickly through
deep puddles or standing water, water can
come in through the engine’s air intake
and badly damage the engine. Never drive
through water that is slightly lower than
the underbody of your vehicle. If you cannot
avoid deep puddles or standing water,
drive through them very slowly.
Driving Through Flowing Water
{CAUTION:
Flowing or rushing water creates strong
forces. If you try to drive through owing
water, as you might at a low water
crossing, your vehicle can be carried
away. As little as six inches of owing
water can carry away a smaller vehicle.
If this happens, you and other vehicle
occupants could drown. Do not ignore
police warning signs, and otherwise be
very cautious about trying to drive
through owing water.
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