CHEVROLET S10 1997 2.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine It% the- amount of alcohol that counts For. example, if
the same person drank three double martiriis (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
somewhat lower BAC level.
There
is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since
alcohol
is carried in body water, this rneansIthat a
woman gerieitally will reach a higher BAC level tlia a
man of her s:ame body weight when each has the.sa-me
-number of drinks.
The law in many U.S. states sets the legal lim.it at P BAC
of 0,l-0 percent. In a growing number af US. stsltes, and
throughout Canada, the limit is 0.08 percent. In surne
other countries,
if's even lower. The BAC limit for? all
commercial drivers
in the United-States is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over 0.1'0 percent after three to six
.drinks (in one hour). Of co.urse, as wek seen, it
depe.nds on haw muGh alcoho1.k in the &irk,. ana-how
quickly the person
drinks hem.
But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving, skills of
many peep-le are impaired at a BAC .approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are wo1s.e af night. All:
'drivers are impaired at BAC-levels above 0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance
of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have
a BAC of
0.05 ',percent or above. A driver with. a'BAC level of
:0.06 percent- has doubledhis or her chance of haying- a
cdolli&on. At a.BAC level of 0...10 percent? the chance of
this drives having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of 0. I5 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
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. . ..

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amouht of coffee or number of cold
,showers will speed that up. “I’ll be. careflul” isn’t the
Tight
answer. What if $here’s an emergency,-.a-n.eed to
$&e -sudden action, as when .a .child darts into.. the =strG,e.t?
:A p-~rsori with even, a .mderate B.AC mi,ght not’be able
:Xo react quickly e~~augh to avoid the collision.
There’s something-else ab.0u.t drinking ,and driving that
‘mmy people don’t know. MediGal rese’aPch showsthat
l%ak-cihol in:a pefsun’s system: can make .crash injuries
worse, especi-ally injuries to the brain, spinal e-md or
he-art. This mearis that when anyone who has been
drinking --- driver or passenger -- is- ill a ci-ash, that
person’s. ch:ance: of ‘being lulled or permanently di:sabled
is.hi@her tk ~ if the ,person had-mt been drinking.
Drinking and then driving is. very dangerous.,
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
j-udg:me.nt can be affected by ‘even a sman amount
of alcohol. You can have a.serious -- or even
fatal
--- collision if you drive after drinkhg.
Please
don’t-drink md drive or ride with a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in a cab; or if-
you’re with a group, designates driver who dl
not drink.
4-5.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. Braking action involves
perception
time and reaction time
First, you have to decide to push ob 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 me driver
and
as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age., physical condition, alertness, co.ordinati.on
and eyesight
all play a part. So do aIcohol, drugs and
frustration.
But even in 314 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; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount
.of brake force applied.
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 lase c.ontrol
of
your vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock bmk& (ABS). ABS is an
advanced .electronic braking systeni that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
your-anti-lok
brake system will check. itself. Yau may
hear
a rnsrnentary motor or clicking-noise, w-file this ‘test
is going on. This is normal.
If your-engine ever stqs while you’se driving, brake
normally
but do;n’:t pul~ip your brakes. Ifyou do, th-e
,p%ed-al may get hard-er-to puGh .down. If -your.engi-ne
‘stops, you will-s~tal have some power assist. B:ut
you will a-se it when you brake; Once the power.asskt is
used up, it may take long-er to stop afid thelljrake pedal
will
.be .harder to zrush.
ANTI - LOCK
If there’s a problem with the.
anti-lock brake system, -this
war‘i&g.Iight will stay an.
See. “Anti-Lo& Brake
System
Warning Light” in
th.e Index.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
1 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 em change the brake p~essure faster
than any driver could. ?%e computer is programmed to
make the most of available tire and road tronditions.
You cansteer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates- on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Remember: Anti-lock dsesn’t change tbc- -time y.ou :need
:to get yo.ur fo~t up to .the brake ped,ai or always decrease
stopping
diskan&. If.you get-to6 cl~,se to thcvehicle in
front of YOU; you won’t have time to apply your brzikes
If.th:at vehicle suddelily .slows or siop-s. Always i-eave
e.nough mom up ahead to si.op, even though you have
anti-lockrbpkes.
U.s,ing.Anti.-LthA
Don’t pump the’bisakes. Just hdd the brake pedzl down
and let anti-lock wark..fox you. You ‘may feel the brake.$
vibrate., or you-may notice som-e noise, but this is-
::normal. Ofi vehicles Mth-four-wheel drive, your
;anti-lockbrakes work at all times- -- whether ,you are in
two-wheel driveor fuur-wheel:&.ive.
Braking in Emergencies,
With m-ti-lock, you can steer and brake at thc same
.time-. In many emergencies., st.eering can kip, you more
than even the very $est braking.
Power Steering
If you lose p~wer steeringatssist because the e.ngine
stop;s or the system is not fiw.dt?orriag, you can ste.er .but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
It’s important to take c.urv.es at a reasonable sp-eed.
A lot of the “drivet lo‘st ci3ntml”‘accidents meritionedl ~li
the slews happen on curves. Here’-s why

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What shoula-you do if this ever nappens? E,as,e up on the
.acceIerator.pedd, steer the vehicle .the way y~u. want it
to go, .md:&xv down.
Stea3n.g in Em
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine An eri~rgency like this requires t10 ,attintion .arid a
quick decision. 1fy.0~1 are. holding the steering wheel at
the rec,omme,nded-9 and
3 o’elock-..positims, you can
turn it a full 180 de,grees. very quickly without removing
eith.er
hand. But you have tomt hst, ste,er quickly, and.
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object..
The fact that such emergency situations ..me always
possible
is a-goD.d reason to pmctice. defensive driving at
all times and wexr safety b.elts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find soriletime that your right wheels have
dropped off the. edge of a road onto the shoulder while
y~i’re
driving.
Tf the level of .the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavemefit, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off tlie
accelerator
and then, if there is nothing in the way7 steer so.
that your-vehicle straddies the edge of the pavement. You-
cm turn the st.eering wheel up taone-quarter turn until the
right front tire contacts -the pavement edge. Then turn your
steering wheel to’ go straight dawn the roadway,

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Pas.sin.g
The fiver.of-a vehicle-about to pass another on a
two-lane highway wahs for just the-fiight moment,
acceIerates,
moves around the vehicle ahead, thmgaes
back inta the right-lane- again. A simple mamuver?
Not
necessaiIy! Passiixg amther vehicle on a twa-law
highway is a potentixlly dangerous rno.ve, since the
p&sing;vkhicle occupl& .the same lane as oncoming
traffic fbr several secands. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or zbrief’surrend.a to frustration or anger cas
suddenly put the pas-sing driver face to faice with the
worst
of all triffic -accidefiTs -- the head-on c.o:Uision.
Zio~here ,me some .tip fur-passing:
“%>sive ahead.” Look down the mad, to the sides and to
crossroad8 far situations ,that might affee.t your passing
pattans. E you have any doubt whatsoever about
-making a.successfu1 p-ass, wait for a better .ti.me.
9 Do not ge.t too c-lose to the vehicle you-want to
pass while you’re: awai,ting .an opportunity. For ode
thing; following t0.0 closely redu.c:es your area of
vision, espec:ially if you’re fo1lo.win.g a larger-
vehicle. Also, ydu won’t have. adequate space if the
vehicle ahead suddenly.Slciws or stops. Keep back 8
reasondble .distance;

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine * Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder and.
start your left lane change
signal before-moving out
of the right.lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead
of the passe.d vehicle to see its front in your
inside -01, activate your right lane change sigmd
and-move back into the.
ri,ght lane. (Remember that
your-right outside ,mirror is convex. The vehicle you
juslpassed may
seem to be farther away from y6u
than it really is.)
Tfy not co p.ass mufe ,than one vehicle ,at a time
on two-lane’roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
D.on’:t overtake-.a slowly moving vehi-de too rapidly.
Even though
the brake -1amp.s are not flashing, it m.a.y
be slowing down or starting to, turn.
Qi If+ you’re being .passed, make it easy- for the
fallowing driver to
get..ahead .of you. Perh,aps you
can ease.&
little to the right.
Let’s review what driving expmts s-ay about what
happens when the thre.e
con.trol systems- (brakes., steering,
and,acceleration) don’t
have enough friction where the
tifes ”meet the road to do what the drivt?r has asked..
In any emergency, don’t give up Keep trying to
steer and constantly seek
an escape route-or aea of
less danger.
In a. skid, a driver cn lose control of .the vehicle, Defensive
drivers .avoid
most skids by taking reasonable care suited t9
existing conditiolrs, and by not “overdriving” those
conditions.. But- ,&ids
are always -pa.ssible.
The three typcis of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three
c’0ntro1 syst,erns. In. the. brakifig skid, y0.m whe.eIs
aren’t rpl.ling. Ln the steering or- cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires: to slip and
lase cornehg, foxce,. And. in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels- to spin.
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