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.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving
on
snow or ice, it’s
easy
to
ask
more
of
those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means
you
can
lose
control
of
your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves
perception time
and
reaction
time.
First, you have to decide to push
on
the brake pedal.
That’s
perceptior? time.
Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average
reaction fim.e
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
(I
00
km/h) travels
66
feet
(20
in).
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; and the condition of your brakes.
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
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