CHEVROLET BLAZER 1993 Owners Manual

Your Driving and the Road
CANOEING SWIMMING
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BROWN signs point out recreation areas or points of historic or cultural
interest.
Shape of Road Signs
The shape of the sign will tell you something, too.
ISTOP]
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An OCTAGONAL (eight-sided) sign means STOP. It is always red with white
letters.

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A DIAMOND-shaped sign is a warning of something ahead-for example, the
end
of a divided highway, a curve, steep hill, soft shoulder, or a narrow
bridge.
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A TRIANGLE pointed downward, indicates YIELD. It assigns the right\
-of-way
to traffic on certain approaches to an intersection.
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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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Your Driving and the Road
-
KEEP
RIGHT
LEFT OR
THROUGH
RIGHT TURN
ONLY
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RECTANGULAR (square or oblong) signs show speed limits, parking
regulations, give directions, and such information as distances \
to cities.
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.
NO U
TURN
NO
PARKING NO BICYCLES
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Traffic Lights
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I I
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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
ROADWAY MULTI-LANE
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Many city roads and expressways, and even bridges, use reversib\
le-lane
traffic control during rush hours.
A red X light above a lane means no driving
in that lane at that 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.
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Pavement Markings
NO PASSING ZONE
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Pavement markings add to traffic signs and signals. They give information to
drivers without taking attention from the roadway. A solid yell\
ow 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 part discusses some of the road conditions you may e\
ncounter.
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Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive defens\
ively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your vehicle: 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 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 are\
as, 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 defens\
ive 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
US. 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
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 part.
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Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a nat\
ional 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
Muscular Coordination
4 Vision
Police records show that half of all motor vehicle-related deat\
hs 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.
4 The drinker’s body weight.
The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking.
The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol.
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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.
HOUR
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Your Driving and the Road
The law in most US. 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 p\
erson)
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 alcohol in a person’s syst\
em can make
crash injuries worse. That’s especially true for brain, spina\
l 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 CAUTION
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Your reflexes,
L 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
I group, designate a driver who will not drink.
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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.
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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. Tha\
t means you
can lose control of your vehicle.
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 thre\
e seconds
or
more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordinati\
on, and
eyesight all play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But even in 314
of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 kmlh) 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.
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