Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to
get your foot up
to
the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance. If you get
too
close
to
the
vehicle in front of you, you won’t have time
to
apply
your brakes
if
that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead
to
stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel a
slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise, but
this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However,
if
you don’t have anti-lock,
your first reaction
-
to
hit the brake pedal hard and
hold it down
-
may be the wrong thing
to
do. Your
wheels can stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can’t
respond
to
your steering. Momentum will carry it in
whatever direction it was headed when the wheels
stopped rolling. That could be
off
the road, into the very
thing you were trying
to
avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control. You can do this by pushing
on the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want
to
squeeze the
brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear or
feel the wheels sliding, ease
off
the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control. If you
do
have
anti-lock, it’s different. See “Anti-Lock Brakes.”
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
Traction Control
System
(TCS)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery
road conditions. The system operates only
if
it senses
that one or both of the front wheels are spinning or
beginning
to
lose traction. When this happens,
the system works the front brakes and reduces engine
power
to
limit wheel spin.
The TRACTION ACTIVE message will come on when
the traction control system is limiting wheel spin.
See
Traction Active Message on page
3-51.
You may
feel or hear the system working, but this is normal.
4-8
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