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 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
(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’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.
4-5
To Next Page
Loading...
