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{CAUTION:

Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.

Your reﬂexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and

judgment can be affected by even a small

amount of alcohol. You can have a serious — or

even fatal — collision if you drive after drinking.

Please do not drink and drive or ride with a

driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a

cab; or if you are with a group, designate a

driver who will not drink.

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 are driving on snow or ice, it

is 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 is perception time. Then you have to bring up your

foot and do it. That is reaction time.

Average reaction time is about three-fourths of a

second. But that is 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 three-fourths of a

second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels

66 feet (20 m). 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 is 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.

4-5

Chevrolet Optra 2005 User Manual

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