BUICK REGAL 1993 Owners Manual

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RAILROAD ADVANCE
CROSSING NARROW
BRIDGE LOW
SHOULDER
Y
FLAGGER
AHEAD
/
WORKERS AHEAD
YELLOW indicates a general warning. Slow down and ORANGE indicates road construction or maintenance.
be careful when you see a yellow sign. It may signal a You’ll want to
slow down when you see an orange sign,
railroad crossing ahead,
a no passing zone, or some as part of the road may be closed off or torn up. And
other potentially dangerous situation. Likewise, a yellow there
may be workers and maintenance vehicles around,
solid line painted on
the road means “Don’t Cross.” too.
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1 SMALLTO
EXIT 1
GREEN is used to guide the driver. Green signs may
indicate upcoming freeway exits or show the direction
you should turn to reach a particular place.
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BLUE signs with white letters show motorists’
services.
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CANOEING SWIMMING
BROWN signs point out recreation areas or points of
historic or cultural interest.
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Shape of Road Signs
The shape of the sign will tell you something, too.
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An OCTAGONAL
(eight-sided) sign
means STOP. It
is
always red with
white letters.
I'
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A DIAMOND-shaped
sign is a warning
of
something ahead - for
hill, soft shoulder, or a
. example, a curve, steep
b narrow bridge.
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40
I PASSING
A TRIANGLE, pointed
downward, indicates
YIELD. It assigns the
right-of-way to traffic on certain approaches
to an intersection.
A TRIANGULAR
sign also is used on
two-lane roads to
indicate a
NO
PASSING ZONE.
This sign will be on
the
left side of the
roadway.
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KEEP RIGHT LEFT OR THROUGH RIGHT TURN
ONLY
RECTANGULAR (square or oblong) signs show speed
limits, parking regulations, give directions, and such
information
as distances to cities.
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Symbols on Road Signs
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There are many international road signs in use today.
The basic message of many
of these signs is in pictures
or graphic symbols.
A picture within a circle with a
diagonal line across it shows what
not to do.
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Traffic Lights
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We’re all familiar with traffic lights or stop lights. Often
green arrows are being used in the lights for improved
traffic control.
On some multilane roads, green arrows
light up, indicating that traffic in one or more lanes can
move or make a turn. Green arrows don’t mean
“go no
matter what.” You’ll still need to proceed with caution,
yielding the right of way to pedestrians and sometimes
to other vehicles.
Some traffic lights also use red arrows to signify that
you must stop before turning
on red.
REVERSIBLE
LANE ON
LANE
ROADWAY
NIULTI-
Many city roads and expressways, and even bridges, use
reversible-lane traffic control during rush hours.
A red X
light above a lane means no driving in that lane at that
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time. A green arrow means you may drive in that lane.
Look for the signs posted to warn drivers what hours
and days these systems are in
effect.
Pavement Markings
NO
PASSING
ZONE
Pavement markings add to traffic signs and signals.
They give information to drivers without taking
attention from the roadway.
A solid yellow line on your
side of the road or lane means “don’t cross.”
Your Own Signals
Drivers signal to others, too. It’s not only more polite,
it’s safer
to let other drivers know what you are doing.
And in some places the law requires driver signals.
Turn and lane change signals. Always signal when
you
plan to turn or change lanes. If
necessary,
you can use hand signals out the window:
Left arm straight out for a left turn, down for slow or
about-to-stop, and up for
a right turn.
Slowing down. If time allows, tap the brake pedal once
or twice in advance of slowing or stopping. This warns
the driver behind you.
Disabled. Your four-way flashers signal that your
vehicle is disabled or
is a hazard. See “Hazard Warning
Flasher”
in the Index.
Traffic Officer
The traffic police officer is also a source of important
information. The officer’s signals govern,
no matter
what
the traffic lights or other signs say.
The next section discusses some of the road conditions
you may encounter.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
Buick: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts” in
the Index.)
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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 their mistakes.
Expect children to dash out from behind.parked cars, often followed by other children. Expect occupants in
parked cars to open doors into traffic. Watch for
movement in parked cars
-- someone may be about to
open a door.
Expect other drivers to run stop signs when you are on a
through street. Be ready to brake if necessary as
you go
through intersections. You may not have to use the
brake, but if you do, you will be ready.
If you’re driving through a shopping center parking lot
where there are well-marked lanes, directional arrows,
and designated parking areas, expect some drivers
to
ignore all these markings and dash straight toward one
part
of the lot.
Pedestrians can be careless. Watch for them. In general,
you must give way to pedestrians even if
you know you
have the right of way.
Rear-end collisions are about
the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following distance.
It’s the best 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.
Here’s a final bit
of information about defensive driving.
The most dangerous time for driving in the
U.S. is very
early
on Sunday morning. In fact, GM Research studies
show that the most and the least dangerous times for
driving, every week, fall on the same day. That day is
Sunday. The most dangerous time is Sunday from
3 a.m.
to
4 a.m. The safest time is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11
a.m. Driving the same distance
on a Sunday at 3 a.m.
isn’t just a little more dangerous than
it is at 10 a.m. It’s
about 134 times more dangerous!
That leads to the next section.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national, tragedy. It’s the number one contributor
to the
highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every
year. Alcohol takes away three things that anyone needs
to drive a vehicle:
Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
0 Vision
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Police records show that half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol
- a driver, a
passenger or someone else, such as
a pedestrian, had
been drinking. In most cases, these deaths are the result
of someone who was drinking and driving. Over 25,000
motor vehicle-related deaths occur each year because of
alcohol, and thousands of people are injured.
Just how much alcohol is too much if
a person plans to
drive? Ideally, no one should drink alcohol and then
drive. But if one does, then what’s “too much”? It can be
a lot less than many might think. Although
it depends on
each person and situation, here
is some general
information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of someone who is
drinking depends upon four things:
How much alcohol is in the drink.
0 The drinker’s body weight.
0 The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking.
0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume
the alcohol. 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
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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.
OF DRINKS (as In plcture) 4
3
I IG THAT WILL
RE! LI IN A BAC OF .05%
IN THE TIME SHOWN
1
3 HOURS
23 1 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240
BODY WEIGHT IN POUNDS
rn 2 HOURS
1 HOUR
The law in most U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In Canada the limit is
0.08 percent, and
in some other countries it’s lower than that. The BAC
will be over
0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one
hour).
Of course, as we’ve seen, it depends on how
much alcohol is in the drinks, and how quickly the
person drinks them.
But it’s very important to keep in mind that the ability to
drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent.
Research shows that the driving skills of many people
are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and
that the effects are worse at night. All drivers are
impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent. Statistics
show that the chance of being in an accident increases
sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or
above. A driver with a BAC level
of 0.06 percent (three
beers in one hour for a 180-pound or 82 kg person) has
doubled his or her chance of having
an accident. At a
BAC level
of 0.10 percent, the chance of that driver
having an accident
is six times greater; at a level of 0.15
percent, the chances are twenty-five times greater! And,
the body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up.
“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 don’t know. Medical research shows that
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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.
I A CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, and judgment will be
affected by even
a small amount of alcohol. You
~ could have a serious -- or even fatal -- accident 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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