ESP CHEVROLET TRACKER 1993 User Guide

Getting Familiar with Off-Road
Driving
It’s a good idea to practice in an area
that’s safe and close
to home before you
go into the wilderness. Off-road driving
does require some new and different
driving skills. Here’s what we mean.
Tune your senses to different kinds of
signals. Your eyes, for example, need to
constantly sweep the terrain for
unexpected obstacles. Your ears need
to
listen for unusual tire or engine sounds.
With your arms, hands, feet, and body
you’ll need to respond to vibrations and
vehicle bounce.
I.
best ways to control your vehicle is to
control your speed. Here are some
things to keep in mind. At higher
speeds:
You approach things faster and you
have less time
to scan the terrain for
obstacles.
You have less time to react.
You have more vehicle bounce when
you drive over obstacles.
You’ll need more distance for
braking, especially since you’re on an
unpaved surface.
CAUTION Controlling your vehicle is the key to
successful off-road driving. One of the When you’re driving
off road,
c L bouncing and quick changes
in direction can easily throw you
out
of position. This could cause
you to lose control and crash.
So,
whether you’re driving on or off
the road, you and your passengers
should wear safety belts.
r
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Because you will be on an unpaved
I
surface, it’s especially important to
avoid sudden acceleration, sudden turns,
or sudden braking.
In a way, off-road driving requires a
different kind
of alertness from driving
on paved roads and highways. There are
no road signs, posted speed limits or
signal lights. You have to use your own
good judgment about what is safe and
what isn’t.
I CAUTION
’ Drinking and driving can be
- very dangerous on any road.
And this is certainly true for
off-road driving. At the very time
you need special alertness and
driving skills, your reflexes,
perceptions and judgment can be
affected by even a small amount
of
alcohol. You could have a serious
- or even fatal - accident if you
drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. (See
“Drunken Driving” in the Index.)
Driving on Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up,
down, or across a hill. Driving safely on
hills requires good judgment and an
understanding of what your vehicle can
and can’t do. There are some hills that
simply can’t be driven, no matter how
well built the vehicle.
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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 the body
structure, steering, suspension, wheels,
tires, and exhaust system 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 the
Maintenance Schedule for additional
information.
rn Driving at Night
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 rearview 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
up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a
safe place and rest.
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Your Driving and the Road
I
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... 160
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads can mean driving
trouble. On
a wet road you 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 reflexes 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.
So it is wise to keep your wiping
equipment
in good shape and keep your
windshield washer tank filled. Replace
your windshield wiper inserts when they
show signs of streaking or missing areas
on the windshield, or when strips of
rubber start to separate from the inserts. Driving too
fast through large water
puddles or
even going through 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.
I A 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.
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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 hydroplaning, 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. 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 surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher
speeds. 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 make
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
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Your Drlvlng and the Road
you are actually blinded, drop back.
Don’t pass until conditions improve.
having an accident.
~ Going more slowly is better than
Use your defogger if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread
depth.
(See “Tires” in the Index.)
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H Driving in Fog, Mist
and Haze
Fog can occur with high humidity or
heavy
fiost. 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 come suddenly to an
otherwise clear road. And it can be a
major hazard.
When you drive into a fog patch, your
visibility will be reduced 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 chance 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
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thick, wet haze that may even coat your
windshield. You can often spot 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 dirt. Slow down
carefully.
Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog, turn your
headlights on low beam, even in
daytime. You’ll see
- and be seen -
better. 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 wipers and washer
occasionally. Moisture can build up on
the outside glass, and what seems to be
fog may actually be moisture 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 traffic.
If visibility
is near zero and you must
stop but are unsure whether you are
away from the road, turn your lights on,
start your hazard warning flashers, 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 suspect the fog is worse up
ahead. If other vehicles try to pass you,
make
it easy for them.
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Your Driving and the Road
H City Dnving
... 164
One of the biggest problems with city
streets is
the 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:
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. You’ll
save time and energy. (See the next
section, “Freeway Driving.”)
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.
clear of intersections when you see or
hear emergency vehicles.
Pull to the right (with care) and stop
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Your Driving and the Road
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176
If you have no blankets or extra
clothing, make body insulators from
newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor
mats
- anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to
keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm,
but be careful.
A
Snow can trap exhaust gases
under your vehicle. This can
cause deadly
CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside.
CO
could overcome you and kill you.
You can't see it or smell it,
so you
might not know it was in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the base
of your vehicle,
especially any that is blocking your
exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure
snow doesn't collect there.
Open a window just a little on
the
side of the vehicle that's away
from the wind. This will help keep
co out. Run your engine only as long as you
must. This saves fuel. When
you run the
engine, make it go a little faster than
just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat
that you get and it keeps the battery
charged. You will
need a well-charged
battery to restart the vehicle, and
possibly for signaling later on with your
headlights.
Let the heater run for
awhile.
Then, shut the engine off and close the
window almost all the way to preserve
the heat.
Start the engine again and
repeat this only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. But do it
as little as possible. Preserve the fuel as
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Your Driving and the Road
Will the trailer brake parts take
3,000 psi (20 650 kPa) of pressure? If
not, the trailer brake system must not
be used with your vehicle.
If everything checks out this far, then
make the brake fluid tap at the port
on the master cylinder that sends fluid
to the rear brakes. But don’t use
copper tubing
for this. If you do, it
will bend and finally break off. Use
steel brake tubing.
88. 182
Driving With a Trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount
of experience. Before setting out
for the open road, you’ll want to get to
know your rig. Acquaint yourself with
the feel of handling and braking with the
added weight
of the trailer. And always
keep in mind that the vehicle you are
driving is now a good deal longer and
not nearly
so responsive as your vehicle
is by itself. Before you
start, check
the trailer hitch
and platform, safety chains, electrical
connector, lights, tires and mirror
adjustment. If the trailer has electric
brakes, start your vehicle and trailer
moving and then apply the trailer brake
controller by hand to be sure the brakes
are working. This lets you check your
electrical connection at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally to
be sure that the load is secure, and that
the lights and any trailer brakes are still
working.
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