GMC SIERRA DENALI 2003 Owners Manual

Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See
Safety Belts: They Are for
Everyone
on page 1-8.
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.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive 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.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task
- such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the floor
- makes proper defensive driving
more difficult and can even
cause
a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to
help do things like this, or pull off the road in a safe place
to do them yourself. These simple defensive driving
techniques could save your life.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive
a
vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was
drinking and driving. In recent years, more than
16,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been
associated with the use of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
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Many adults - by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
- choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21,
it’s against the law in every
U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the leading highway safety
problem is for people never to drink alcohol and then
drive. But what
if people do? How much is “too much” if
someone plans to drive? It’s 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 Concentration (BAC)
of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
0 The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According to the American Medical Association, a 180
Ib
(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 mi) 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 0.1 2 percent. A person
who consumes food just before or during drinking will
have a somewhat lower BAC level.
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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
means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC
level than a man
of her same body weight when
each has the same number
of drinks.
The law in an increasing number
of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, sets the legal limit at
0.08 percent.
In some other countries, the limit is even lower. For
example, it is
0.05 percent in both France and Germany.
The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United
States is
0.04 percent.
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
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 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 doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of
0.10 percent, the chance
of this driver having a collision is
12 times greater; at a
level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
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.
“1’11 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 even a moderate BAC might not
be able to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
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There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows
that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash
injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal
cord or heart. This means that when anyone who
has been drinking
- driver or passenger - is in a
crash, that person’s chance
of being killed or
permanently disabled is higher than
if the person had
not been drinking.
Drinmnn,,d and then driving
is verb ..angerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgement can be affected by even a small amount of alcohol. You can have a serious-or
even fatal-collision 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 group, designate a
i driver who will not drink.
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.
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 lose
control
of your vehicle.
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‘\, 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 three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving
at
60 mph (I00 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. Avoid needless
heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster
if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder
to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
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Anti-lock Brake System
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on. This is normal.
If there’s a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will stay on. See
Anti-Lock
Brake
System Warning
Light on page
3-35.
Along with ABS, your vehicle has a Dynamic Rear
Proportioning (DRP) system.
If there’s a DRP problem,
both the Brake and ABS warning lights will come on
accompanied by a 10-second chime. The lights
and chime will come on each time the ignition is turned
on until the problem
is repaired. See your dealer for
service. Let’s
say the road is wet and you’re driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you.
You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. 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 both rear wheels.
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The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed to make the most
of available tire and road
conditions. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly. Remember:
Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up
to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance.
If you get too close to the
vehicle in front of you, you won’t have time to apply
your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead
to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
the brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise, but
this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Locking Rear Axle
If your vehicle has this feature, your locking rear axle
can give you additional traction on snow, mud, ice, sand
or gravel. It works like a standard axle most of the
time, but when one of the rear wheels has no traction
and the other does, this feature will allow the wheel with
traction to move the vehicle.
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Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves.
The traction of the tires against the road surface makes
it possible for the vehicle to change its path when
you turn the front wheels.
If there’s no traction, inertia
will keep the vehicle going in the same direction.
If
you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll
understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at
which the curve is banked, and your speed. While you’re
in a curve, speed
is the one factor you can control. Suppose
you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then you
suddenly accelerate. Both control systems
- steering
and acceleration
- have to do their work where the tires
meet the road. Adding the sudden acceleration can
demand too much of those places. You can
lose control.
What should you do
if this ever happens? Ease up on
the accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way
you want
it to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds
are based on good weather and road conditions. Under
less favorable conditions you’ll want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can “drive” through the
curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then
accelerate gently into the straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective than
braking. For example, you come over a hill and find a
truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out from between parked
cars and stops right in front of you. You can avoid these
problems by braking
- if you can stop in time. But
sometimes you can’t; there isn’t room. That’s the time for
evasive action
- steering around the problem.
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Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes.
See
Braking on page 4-6. It is better to remove as much
speed as you can from a possible collision. Then
steer around the problem, to the left
or right depending
on the space available.
An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions, you
can turn it a full 180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have to act fast, steer
quickly, and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once you have avoided the object. The
fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason
to practice defensive driving
at all times and wear safety belts properly.
QUADRASTEERTM
The QUADRASTEERTM System has a control and
diagnostic module that monitors and records current
system status and operational information.
If your vehicle is equipped with the 4 Wheel Steer
system it has the ability to steer the vehicle with all four
wheels.
Once the
4 Wheel Steer mode is selected, it is
recommended
to leave the vehicle in this mode at all
times, and during all driving and weather conditions.
You can select this mode at any speed, however,
if you
are turning the system will not engage until the turn
is complete.
The 4 Wheel Steer system is equipped with three
different driving modes:
Two wheel steering (2)
Four wheel steering (4)
Four wheel steering with a trailer mode (q )
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The switch is located on the instrument panel.
2: In this mode the vehicle will operate like any other
vehicle with two wheel steering. If you want to use
2 wheel steering and your vehicle is not in this mode,
press the button until the
2 indicator, located to the right
of the
4 Wheel Steer button, lights up. If the 2 indicator
is flashing you will have to center the steering wheel
by turning it
to the left or right.
Your vehicle will return to
2 (two wheel steering) when
the transmission is shifted into NEUTRAL, for
example when entering a car wash.
4: In this mode all four wheels will help steer the
vehicle.
If you want to use 4 wheel steering, and your
vehicle is not in this mode, press the button, until
the
4 indicator, located to the right of the 4 Wheel Steer
button, lights up.
If the 4 indicator is flashing you will
have to center the steering wheel by turning it to the left
or right.
I
I
Slower Speeds (below 40 m.p.h./64 km/h)
At slower speeds the front and rear wheels will turn in
opposite directions. This helps the vehicle make
tighter turns, such as during parking, cornering and
turning into tight spaces.
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