CHEVROLET BLAZER 1993 Owners Manual

CAUTION I
If Driving on frozen lakes, ponds or rivers can be dangerous.
-L Underwater springs, currents under the ice, or sudden thaws can
weaken the ice. Your vehicle could fall through the ice and you and
your passengers could drown. Drive your vehicle on safe surfaces
only.
I
t
Driving In Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems. But hea\
vy rain can
mean flash flooding, and flood waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water is before you drive through it. If it’s deep
enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles, or exhaust pipe, don’t try it\
-you
probably won’t get through. Also, water that deep can damage\
your axle and
other vehicle parts.
If the water isn’t too deep, then drive through it slowly. At fast speeds, water
splashes on your ignition system and your vehicle can stall. S\
talling can also
occur
if you get your tailpipe under water. And, as long as your tailpipe is
under water, you’ll never be able to start your engine. When you go through
water, remember that when your brakes get wet,
it may take you longer to
stop.
CAUTION
C
Driving through rushing water can be dangerous. Deep water can \
sweep your vehicle downstream and you and your passengers could\

drown. If it’s only inches deep, it can still wash away the ground
from under your tires, and you could lose traction and roll t\
he vehiclc
over. Don’t drive through rushing water.
I
After Off-Road Driving
Remove any brush or debris that has collected on the underbody\
, chassis, or
under the hood. These accumulations can be a fire hazard.
After operation in mud or sand, have the brake linings cleaned and checked.
These substances can cause glazing and uneven braking. Check th\
e body
structure, steering, suspension, wheels, tires, and exhaust syste\
m for damage.
Also, check the fuel lines and cooling system for any leakage.
Your vehicle will require more frequent service due
to off-road use, Refer to
Section
7 for additional information.
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Driving at Night
me--===
AN450003
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One reason is that some
drivers are likely to be impaired-by alcohol
or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively. Remember, this is the most dangerous time.
Don’t drink and drive (See “Drunken Driving” in the Index for more on
this problem).
Adjust your inside rear view mirror to reduce the glare from \
headlights
behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow down and keep
more space between you and other vehicles. It’s hard to tell how fast
the vehicle ahead is going just by looking at its taillights.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your headlights can light
In remote areas, watch for animals.
up only
so much road ahead.
If you’re tired,
pull off the road in a safe place and rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as we get older
these differences increase.
A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as
much light
to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
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Your Driving and the Road
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night vision. For example, if
you spend the day in bright sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night.
But
if you’re driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may \
cut down on
glare from headlights, but they also make a lot of things invisible that should
remain visible-such as parked cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or e\
ven trains
blocking railway crossings. You may want
to put on your sunglasses after you
have pulled into a brightly-lighted service or refreshment area. Eyes shielded
from that glare may adjust more quickly
to darkness back on the road. But
be sure
to remove your sunglasses before you leave the service area.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching lights. It can take a second or
two, or even several seconds, for your eyes to readjust
to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare (as from a driver who doesn’\
t lower the high beams, or a vehicle with misaimed headlights), slow down a li\
ttle. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching lights.
If there is a line of opposing
traffic, make occasional glances over the line of headlights
to make certain
that one
of the vehicles isn’t starting to move into your lane. Once you are
past the bright lights, give your eyes time to readjust before resuming speed.
High Beams
If the vehicle approaching you has its high beams on, signal by \
flicking yours
to high and then back to low beam. This is the usual signal to lower the
headlight beams. If the other driver still doesn’t lower the beams, resist the
temptation
to put your high beams on. This only makes two half-blinded
drivers.
On a freeway, use your high beams only in remote areas where you w\
on’t
impair approaching drivers. In some places, like cities, using \
high beams is
illegal.
When you follow another vehicle on a freeway or highway, use \
low beams.
True, most vehicles now have day-night mirrors that enable the \
driver to reduce glare. But outside mirrors are not
of this type and high beams from
behind can bother the driver ahead.
A Few More Night Driving Suggesiions
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle clean-inside and out.
Glare at night is made much worse by dirt
on the glass. Even the inside of
the glass can build up a film caused by dust. Tobacco smoke also makes
inside
glass surfaces very filmy and can be a vision hazard if it’s left there.
Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and flash more than clean glas\
s would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly. You might even want
to
4-36

keep a cloth and some glass cleaner in your vehicle if you need to clean
your glass frequently.
Remember that your headlights light up far less of a roadway when you are
in a turn or curve.
Keep your eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly lighted objects.
Just as your headlights should be checked regularly for proper \
aim,
so should
your eyes be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night\
blindness-the inability to see in dim light-and aren’t even aware of it.
Driving in the Rain
AN455012
Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet road y\
ou can’t stop,
accelerate or turn as well because your tire-to-road traction isn’t as good as
on dry roads. And,
if your tires don’t have much tread left, you’ll get even
less traction.
It’s always wise to go slower and be cautious
if rain starts to fall while you
are driving. The surface may get wet suddenly when your reflex\
es are tuned
for driving on
dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even
if your windshield wiper
blades are in good shape, a heavy rain can make it harder to see road signs
and traffic signals, pavement markings, the edge of the road, and even
people walking. Road spray can often be worse for vision than rain,
especially
if it comes from a dirty road.
4-37

So it is wise to keep your wiping equipment in good shape and keep your
windshield washer tank filled. Replace your windshield wiper ins\
erts when they
show signs of streaking or missing areas on the windshield,
or when strips of
rubber start to separate from the inserts,
AN455018
Driving too fast through large water puddles or even going thr\
ough some car
washes can cause problems,
too. The water may affect your brakes. Try to
avoid puddles. But
if you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work well
in a quick
stop
and may cause pulling to one side. You could lose control of
the vehicle.
After driving through
a large puddle of water or a car wash, apply
your brake pedal lightly until your brakes
work normally.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up under your tires that
they can actually ride on the water. This can happen
if the road is wet
enough and you’re going fast enough. When your vehicle is h\
ydroplaning,
it
has little or no contact with the road.
You might not be aware of hydroplaning. You could drive along for some time \
without realizing your tires aren’t in constant contact with \
the road.
You could
find out the hard way: when you have
to slow, turn, move out to pass-or if
you get hit by a gust of wind. You could suddenly find yourself out of control.
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Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your tires haven’t much tread
or
if the pressure in one or more is low. It can happen if a lot of water is
standing on the road. If you can see reflections from trees, \
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops “dimple” the water’s s\
urface, there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens on higher speed roads. There just isn’t a hard
and fast rule about hydroplaning. The best advice is to slow \
down when it is
raining, and be careful.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turn on your headlights-not just your parking lights-to help ma\
ke you
more visible to others.
Look for hard-to-see vehicles coming from behind. You may want to use
your headlights even in daytime
if it’s raining hard.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following distance. And \
be
especially careful when you pass another vehicle. Allow yourself\
more
clear room ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted\
by road spray.
If the road spray is so heavy you are actually blinded, drop back.
Don’t pass until conditions improve. Going more slowly is be\
tter than
having an accident.
Use your defogger
if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See “Tires” in\
the Index.)
4-39

Your Driving and the Road
~~ ~
Driving in Fog, Mist and Haze
1
AN459006
Fog can occur with high humidity or heavy frost. It can be so mild that you
can see through it for several hundred feet (meters). Or
it might be so thick
that you can see only a few feet (meters) ahead. It may co\
me suddenly to
an otherwise clear road. And it can be a major hazard.
When you drive into a fog patch, your visibility will be redu\
ced quickly. The biggest dangers are striking the vehicle ahead or being struck \
by the one
behind. Try to “read” the fog density down the road. If the vehicle ahead
starts to become less clear
or, at night, if the taillights are harder to see, the
fog is probably thickening. Slow down to give traffic behind you a ch\
ance to
slow down. Everybody then has a better chance to avoid hitting the vehicle
ahead.
A patch of dense fog may extend only for a few feet (meters) or for miles
(kilometers); you can’t really tell while you’re in
it. You can only treat the
situation with extreme care.
One common fog condition-sometimes called mist or ground fog-can
happen in weather that seems perfect, especially at night or in the early
morning in valley and low, marshy areas. You can be suddenly enveloped in
thick, wet haze that may even coat your windshield. You can often sp\
ot these
fog patches
or mist layers with your headlights. But sometimes they can be
waiting for you as you come over a hill
or dip into a shallow valley. Start
your windshield wipers and washer to help clear accumulated road dir\
t. Slow
down carefully.
4-40

Tips
You’ll
If you
on Driving in Fog
get caught in fog, turn your headlights on low beam, even in daytime.
see-and be seen-better. Use your fog lights
if your vehicle has them.
Don’t use your high beams. The light will bounce
off the water droplets that
make up fog and reflect back at you.
Use your defogger. In high humidity, even
a light buildup of moisture on the
inside of the glass
will cut down on your already limited visibility. Run your
windshield wiper and washer occasionally. Moisture can build up \
on the
outside glass, and what seems to be fog may actually be moist\
ure on the
outside of your windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency. Try to find a place
to pull off the road. Of
course you want to respect another’s property, but you might\
need to put
something between you and moving vehicles-space, trees, telephone\
poles,
a private driveway, anything that removes you from other traffi\
c.
If visibility is near zero and you must stop but are unsure whet\
her you are
away from the road, turn your lights
on, start your hazard warning flasher,
and sound your horn at intervals or when you hear approaching \
traffic.
Pass other vehicles in fog only
if you can see far enough ahead to pass
safely. Even then, be prepared to delay your pass if you susp\
ect the fog is
worse up ahead.
If other vehicles try to pass you, make it easy for them.
4-41

Your Driving and the Road
City Driving
AN460004
One of the biggest problems with city streets is amount of traffic on them.
You’ll want to watch out for what the other drivers are doing and pay
attention to traffic signals.
Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
e
e
e
e
Know the best way to get to where you are going. Try not to drive
around trying to pick out a familiar street or landmark. Get \
a city map
and plan your trip into an unknown part of the city just as you would for
a cross-country trip.
Try
to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most large cities. Yo\
u’ll
save time and energy. (See the next section, “Freeway Drivi\
ng.”)
Treat
a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light is there because
the corner
is busy enough to need it. When a light turns green, and just
before you start
to move, check both ways for vehicles that have not
cleared the intersection or may be running the red light.
Obey all posted speed limits.
But remember that they are for ideal road,
weather and visibility conditions. You may need to drive below the
posted limit in bad weather or when visibility is especially poor.
Pull to the right (with care) and stop clear
of intersections when you see
or hear emergency vehicles.
4-42

Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways, expres\
sways,
turnpikes, or superhighways) are the safest of all roads. But \
they have their
own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep up with \
traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same speed most of the other drivers are
driving. Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic f\
low. Treat the left
lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
Entering the Freeway
At the entrance there is usually a ramp that leads to the freeway. If you have
a clear view of the freeway as you drive along the entrance ramp, you
should begin to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to blend
with the flow.
If traffic is light, you may have no problem. But if it is heavy,
find a gap as you move along the entering lane and time your approach. Try
to merge into the gap at close to the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn
signal, check your rearview mirrors as you move along, and gla\
nce over your
shoulder as often as necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Driving on the Freeway
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the posted limit or to the
prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay in the right lane unless you want to pass. If
you are on a two-lane freeway, treat the right lane as the slow lane and the
left lane as the passing lane.
If you are on a three-lane freeway, treat the
right lane as the slower-speed through lane, the middle lane as the
higher-speed through lane, and the left lane as the passing la\
ne.
4-43