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 n~ore
of
those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means
~OLI
can lose control
of
your vehicle.
Braking
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
rem-tion
time.
Average
remtio/1 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
lnph
(
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
tread; and the condition
of
your brakes.
e
(mvel); the condition
of
the road (wet, dry, icy): tire
4-5
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