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.
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
(I00
km/h) travels
66
feet
(20
m). That
couid
be
a
lot
of
distance
in
an
eme:~ency,
SG
keepkg
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.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to ask more
of those control systems than the
control
of your vehicle.
Also
see
Traction Control System
(TCS) on page
4-
1
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