ESP GMC SIERRA 1993 User Guide

Tune your senses to different kinds of signals. -Your eyes, for example, meed
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.
Controlling your vehicle is the key
to successful off-road driving. One of the
best ways
to control your vehicle is to control your speed. Here .are some
things
to keep in mind. At higher speeds:
e you approach things fastar and you have less time to scan the terrain
for obstacles.
you have less time
to react. ‘I , ’C _. ’.
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
When you’re driving off road, 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.
Scanning the Terrain
Off-road driving can take you over many different kinds of terrain. You need
to be familiar with the terrain and its many different features. Here are some
things
to consider.
Surface Conditions
Off-roading can ta.ke you. over hard-packed dirt, gravel, rocks,\
grass, sand, mud, snow or ice. Each of these sutfaces affects the steering, acceleration,
and braking of your vehicle in different ways. Depending upon the kind of
. surface you are on, you may experience slipping, sliding, wheel\
spinning,
delayed acceleration, poor traction, and longer braking distances\
.
Surface Obstacles
Unseen or hidden obstacles can be hazardous. A rock, log, hole, rut, or
bump can startle you if you’re not prepared for them. Often these obstacles
are hidden by grass, bushes, snow or even the rise and fall of the terrain
itself. -.Here are some things
to consider:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture change abruptly up ahead?
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Your Driving and the Road
Does the travel take you uphill or downhill? (There’s more \
discussion of
Will you have to stop suddenly or change direction quickly? these subjects later.)
When you drive over obstacles
or rough terrain, keep a firm grip on the
steering wheel. Ruts, troughs, or other surface features can jerk the wheel
out of your hands
if you’re not prepared.
When you drive over bumps, rocks, or other obstacles, your whe\
els can leave
the ground.
If this happens, even with one or two wheels, you can’t contro\
l
the vehicle as well
or at all.
Because you will be on an unpaved 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 spee\
d limits
or
signal lights. You have to use your own good judgment about what is safe
and what isn’t.
* Drinking and driving can be very dangerous on any road. And this is I
1 certainly true for off-road driving. At the very time you need special
alertness and driving skills, your reflexes, perceptions and jud\
gment
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.
A, Many hills are simply too steep for any vehicle. If you drive up them,
- IOU will stall. If you drive down them, you can’t control your speed. If
you drive across them, you will roll over. You could be seriously
injured or killed.
If you have any doubt about the steepness, don’t
drive the hill.
I I
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Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your headlights ca\
n light
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place and rest.
up only
so much road ahead.
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.
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. Th\
ey may cut down on
glare from headlights, but they also make a lot of things inv\
isible 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 t\
he 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 little. 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 won’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.
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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 you\
r
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.
.
AM455017 4
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.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't work well in a quick
d 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 hydr\
oplaning,
it
has little or no contact with the road.
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Your Driving and 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 surfa\
ce, 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
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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.)
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Driving in Fog, Mist and Haze
AM459002
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 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 i\
n 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 spot t\
hese
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 ro\
ad dirt.
Slow
down carefully.
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Your Driving and the Road
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. 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. Ru\
n your
windshield wiper 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 wa\
rning 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 suspect the fog is
worse up ahead. If other vehicles try to pass you, make it easy for them.
City Driving
AM460003
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 keep clos\
e
track
of traffic signals.
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Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
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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 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.
Freeway Driving
AM461004
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways, expressways,
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
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Your Driving and the Road
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
AM48002
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a serious situation. You
should probably stay with your vehicle unless you know for sur\
e that you are near help and you can hike through the snow. Here are some t\
hings
to do to
summon help and keep yourself and your passengers safe: Turn o\
n your
hazard flashers. Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert pol\
ice that you’ve
been stopped by the snow. Put on extra clothing or wrap a bl\
anket around
you. If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body ins\
ulators 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,
I 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 is 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
I from the wind. This will help keep CO out. I
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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.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the vehicle ahead as you w\
ould when
driving your vehicle without a trailer. This can help you avoid situations \
that
require heavy braking and sudden turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up ahead when you’re towing a trailer.
And, because you’re a good deal longer, you’ll need to g\
o much farther beyond the passed vehicle before you can return to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand. Then, to move the
trailer left, just move your hand to the left.
To move the trailer to the right,
move your hand to the right. Always back up slowly and,
if possible, have
someone guide you.
Making Turns
When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns than normal. Do this so
your trailer wheels won’t strike soft shoulders, curbs, road signs\
, trees, or
other objects. Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has to have a different turn signal
flasher and extra wiring. The green arrows on your instrument \
panel will flash
whenever you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up, the trailer
lights will also flash, telling other drivers you’re about t\
o turn, change lanes,
or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows on your instrument pan\
el will flash for
turns even
if the bulbs on the trailer are burned out. Thus, you may think
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