Pontiac Sunbird - Steering in Emergencies

Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be
more effective than braking. For
example, you come over a hill and find a
truck stopped in your lane, or a car
suddenly pulls out from nowhere, or a
child darts out from between parked
cars and stops right in front of you. You
can avoid these problems by braking-if
you can stop in time. But sometimes you
can’t; there isn’t room. That’s the time
for evasive action-steering around the
problem.
Your Pontiac can perform very well in
emergencies like these. First apply your
brakes. It is better to remove as
much
speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the
problem, to the left or right depending
on the space available.
An emergency
attention and a
like this requires close
quick decision.
If you
are holding the steering wheel at he
recommended 9 and 3 o’clock positions,
you can
turn it a full 180 degrees very
quickly without removing either hand.
But you have to act fast, steer quickly,
and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once you have avoided the object. You
must then be prepared to steer back to
your original lane and then brake to a
controlled stop.
Depending
on your speed, this can be
rather violent for an unprepared driver.
This is one of the reasons driving
experts recommend that you use your
safety belts and keep both hands on the
steering wheel.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is a good reason to
practice defensive driving at all times.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find sometime that your right
wheels have dropped
off the edge of a
road onto the shoulder while you’re
driving.
If the level of the shoulder
is only
slightly below the pavement, recovery
should be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then, if there is nothing
in the way, steer so that
your vehicle
straddles the edge of the pavement.
You
can turn the steering wheel up to ?A turn
until the right front tire contacts the
pavement edge. Then
turn your steering
wheel to go straight down the roadway.
If the shoulder appears to be about four
inches
(100 mm) or more below the
pavement, this difference can cause
problems. If there is not enough room
to
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