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. Also see
Traction Control System
(TCS) on page
4-8.
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.
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 do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot
of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If
your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down.
If
your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
4-6
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