steering GMC SAFARI 2003 User Guide

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-2
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-5
Braking.........................................................4-6
Locking Rear Axle..........................................4-8
Steering........................................................4-9
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-11
Passing
.......................................................4-11
Loss of Control
.............................................4-13
Driving at Night
............................................4-14
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
..................4-15City Driving..................................................4-18
Freeway Driving...........................................4-19
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-20
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-21
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-22
Winter Driving..............................................4-24
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow........4-28
Towing..........................................................4-28
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-28
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-29
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-29
Towing a Trailer
...........................................4-31
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
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There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows
that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash
injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal
cord or heart. This means that when anyone who
has been drinking—driver or passenger—is in a
crash, that person’s chance of being killed or
permanently disabled is higher than if the person had
not been drinking.
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol.You can have a serious—or
even fatal—collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking.Ride home in a
cab; or if you’re with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
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.
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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. This can help you 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 or always
decrease stopping distance. 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.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
the brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise, but
this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Locking Rear Axle
If your vehicle has this feature, your locking rear axle
can give you additional traction on snow, mud, ice, sand
or gravel. It works like a standard axle most of the
time, but when one of the rear wheels has no traction
and the other does, this feature will allow the wheel with
traction to move the vehicle.
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Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the“driver lost control”accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves.
The traction of the tires against the road surface makes
it possible for the vehicle to change its path when
you turn the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia
will keep the vehicle going in the same direction. If
you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll
understand this.The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at
which the curve is banked, and your speed. While you’re
in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then you
suddenly accelerate. Both control systems—steering
and acceleration—have to do their work where the tires
meet the road. Adding the sudden acceleration can
demand too much of those places. You can lose control.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on
the accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way
you want it to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds
are based on good weather and road conditions. Under
less favorable conditions you’ll want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed so you can“drive”through the
curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then
accelerate gently into the straightaway.
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Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective than
braking. For example, you come over a hill andnd 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 vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes.
SeeBraking on page 4-6. 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 like this requires close attention and a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at
the 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.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving
at all times and wear safety belts properly.
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Off-Road Recovery
You maynd 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
one-quarter turn until the right front tire contacts
the pavement edge. Then turn your steering wheel to go
straight down the roadway.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then
goes back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming
traffic for several seconds. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger
can suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all traffic accidents—the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
“Drive ahead.”Look down the road, to the sides
and to crossroads for situations that might affect
your passing patterns. If you have any doubt
whatsoever about making a successful pass, wait
for a better time.
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and
lines. If you can see a sign up ahead that might
indicate a turn or an intersection, delay your pass.
A broken center line usually indicates it’s all
right to pass (providing the road ahead is clear).
Never cross a solid line on your side of the lane or
a double solid line, even if the road seems empty
of approaching traffic.
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Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not“overdriving”
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much
throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration
or braking (including engine braking by shifting to a
lower gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery
until your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues—such as enough water, ice or packed snow
on the road to make a“mirrored surface”—and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
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What’s the worst time for this?“Wet ice.”Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet
ice can be even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it’s
about freezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins
to fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there.Whatever the condition—smooth ice, packed, blowing
or loose snow—drive with caution.
Accelerate gently. Try not to break the fragile traction. If
you accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin and
polish the surface under the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on a slippery road.
Even though you have an anti-lock braking system,
you’ll want to begin stopping sooner than you would on
dry pavement. SeeBraking on page 4-6.
Allow greater following distance on any
slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might bene
until you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On
an otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass
may remain icy when the surrounding roads
are clear. If you see a patch of ice ahead of you,
brake before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually on the ice, and avoid sudden
steering maneuvers.
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If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you don’t want to spin your
wheels too fast. The method known as“rocking”can
help you get out when you’re stuck, but you must
use caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they
can explode, and you or others could be
injured. And, the transmission or other parts of
the vehicle can overheat. That could cause an
engine compartmentfire or other damage.
When you’re stuck, spin the wheels as little as
possible. Don’t spin the wheels above 35 mph
(55 km/h) as shown on the speedometer.
Notice:Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of
your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the
wheels too fast while shifting your transmission
back and forth, you can destroy your transmission.
For information about using tire chains on your
vehicle, seeTire Chains on page 5-64.
Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. Then shift back
and forth between REVERSE (R) and a forward gear,
spinning the wheels as little as possible. Release
the accelerator pedal while you shift, and press lightly
on the accelerator pedal when the transmission is
in gear. By slowly spinning your wheels in the forward
and reverse directions, you will cause a rocking
motion that may free your vehicle. If that doesn’t get
you out after a few tries, you may need to be towed out.
If you do need to be towed out, see“Towing Your
Vehicle”following.
Towing
Towing Your Vehicle
Consult your dealer or a professional towing service if
you need to have your disabled vehicle towed. See
Roadside Assistance Program on page 7-6.
If you want to tow your vehicle behind another vehicle
for recreational purposes (such as behind a motorhome),
see“Recreational Vehicle Towing”following.
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Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up ahead when
you’re towing a trailer. And, because you’re a good deal
longer, you’ll need to go much farther beyond the
passed vehicle before you can return to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand.
Then, to move the trailer to the left, just move that hand
to the left. To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand to the right. Always back up slowly and, if possible,
have someone guide you.
Making Turns
Notice:Making very sharp turns while trailering
could cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns
than normal. Do this so your trailer won’t strike
soft shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees or other objects.
Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well in
advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has to have extra
wiring (included in the optional trailering package).
The arrows on your instrument panel willash whenever
you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up,
the trailer lamps will alsoash, telling other drivers
you’re about to turn, change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel willash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the
transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower gear
selection if the transmission shifts too often (e.g.,
under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).
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