night vision PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1993 Owners Manual

a corner on a wet, snow- or ice-covered
road), ease your foot off the accelerator
pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle
start to slide. Quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, your vehicle
will straighten out. As it does, straighten
the front wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is
on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your
driving to these conditions. It is
important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will
be longer and vehicle control more
limited. While
driving on a surface with reduced
traction, try your best
to avoid sudden
steering, acceleration, or braking
(including engine braking by shifting
to
a lower gear). Any sudden changes
could cause the tires to slide. You may
not realize the surface
is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn to
recognize warning clues-such as
enough water, ice
or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored
surface”-and slow down when
you
have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock braking system
(ABS) helps avoid only the braking
slud. Steer the way you want to go.
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 the Index
under Drunken Driving for more on
this problem.)
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to
reduce the glare from headlights
behind you.
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Your Driving and the Road
Driving at Night (CONT.:)
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.
Night Hsion
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. 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 even 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 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.
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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.
A Few More Night Driving
Suggestions
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 glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract
repeatedly. You might even want to 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.
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3n the Road
Mess you are the only driver, it is
;ood to share the driving task with
Ithers. Limit turns behind the wheel to
ibout 100 miles
(160 km) or two hours
it a sitting. Then, either change drivers
x stop for some refreshment like coffee,
:ea or
soft drinks and some limbering
lp. But do stop and move around. Eat
lightly along the way. Heavier meals
:end to make some people sleepy.
3n two-lane highways or undivided
multilane highways that do not have
;ontrolled access, you’ll want to watch for some situations not usually found on
freeways. Examples are: stop signs and
signals, shopping centers with direct
access to the highway, no passing zones
and school zones, vehicles turning left
and right off the road, pedestrians,
cyclists, parked vehicles, and even
animals.
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as
“highway hypnosis”? Or is it just plain
falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack
of awareness, o
whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch
of road with the same scenery, along
with the hum of the tires on the road,
the drone of the engine, and the rush of
the wind against the vehicle that can
make you sleepy. Don’t
let it happen to
you! If it does, your vehicle can leave
the road in
less than a second, and you
could crash and be injured.
What can you do about highway
hypnosis? First, be aware that it can
happen.
Then here are some tips:
Mike sure your vehicle is well
ventilated, with a comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road
ahead and to the sides. Check your
rearview mirrors frequently and your
instruments from time to time. This
can help you avoid a fixed stare.
Wear good sunglasses in bright light.
Glare can cause drowsiness. But don’t
wear sunglasses at night. They will
drastically reduce your overall vision
at the very time you need all the
seeing power
you have.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into
a rest, service, or parking area and
take a nap, get some exercise, or both.
For safety, treat drowsiness on the
highway as an emergency.
As in any driving situation, keep pace
with traffic and allow adequate
following distances.
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