CADILLAC ELDORADO 1994 10.G Owners Manual

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NOTICE:
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YOUR DRIVING AND THE ROAD
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Here you’ll find information about driving on different kinds of roads and
in varying weather conditions. We’ve also included many other useful tips
on driving.
DEFENSIVE DRIVTNG
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your Cadillac: Buckle
up. (See “Safety Belts” in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.” On city streets,
rural roads, or freeways, it means “always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be careless and
make mistakes. Anticipate what they might do. Be ready for the\
ir
mistakes.
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Rear-end collisions are qbrrJt.;the m~$t puwentable .oS_aqidents. Yet they:
are common.
Allow enough foll&g!disiance. It s ,the’be$t defensive
driving maneuver, in both city and
rural driving. You never know when
the vehicle in front
of you is going to brake or turn suddenly.
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The Blood AlcohoKontent (BAC) of someone who is drinking..depends
upon four things:
0 How much alcohol is in the drink.
0 The drinker’s body weight.
The amount of food th,at is consumed before and during drinking.
0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine According to the American Medical Association, a 180-pound (82 kg)
person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will
end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three
mixed drinks
if each had 1-1/2 ounces (45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin
or vodka.
It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example,
if the same person
drank three double martinis
(3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) within an
hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking
will have a slightly lower
BAC level.
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OF DRINKS
NUMQER [as in picture)
HOURS
HOURS
HOUR ._.
100 120 140 160 180 200 2M 240
800Y WEIGHT-
IN POUNDS

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine “I’ll be careful” isn’t the right answer. What if there’s an emergency, a
need to take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street? A
person with a higher BAC might not be able to react quickly enough to
avoid the collision.
There’s something else about drinking and driving that many people
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don’t know. Medical research shows that alcohol in a person’s system can
make crash injuries worse. That’s especially true for brain, spinal cord
and heart injuries. That means that
if anyone who has been drinking --
driver or passenger -- is in a crash, the chance of being killed or
permanently disabled is higher than if that person had not been drinking.
And we’ve already seen that the chance of a crash itself is higher for
drinking drivers.

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You have three systems that make your vehicle go where youwant it to
go. They .are the brakes, the. steering and the accelerator. All three
systems haveto do. their work at the places where the tires meet the road.
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Sometimes, as when you're driving on snow or ice, it's easy to-ask more of
those control systems thanthe tires and.road can provide. That. means
you can.lose control
of your vehide.. .
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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; and the condition
of your brakes.
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.
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Anti=Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your Cadillac has an advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent skidding.
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ANTI-
LOCK (@)
This light on the
instrument panel will
go on when you start
.. your vehicle. ,, .. v I- I‘ 1
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When you start your vehicle and begin to drive away, you may hear a
momentary motor or clicking noise, And you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves a little while this is going on. This is the
ABS system
testing itself.
If there’s a problem with the anti-lock brake system, the
anti-lock brake system warning light
will stay on.
See “Anti-lock Brake System Warning Light” in the Index.
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Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet. You’re driving
safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in front
of you.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine You slam on the brakes. Here’s what happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one of the wheels is
about to stop rolling, the computer will separately work the brakes at
each front
wheel and at the rear wheels.
The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure faster than any driver
could.
The computer is programmed to make the most of available tire
and road conditions.
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fou can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on wheel speed and
controls braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need to get your
foot
up to the brake pedal. If you get too close to the vehicle in front of you,
you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or
stops. Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
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To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down and let anti-lock
work for you. You may hear the anti-lock pump or motor operate, and
feel the brake pedal pulsate, but this
is normal.
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