PONTIAC PONTIAC 1995 Owners Manual

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.
You can 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.
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.
To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the system
working, or you may notice some noise, but this is
normal. When your anti-lock system is adjusting brake
pressure to help avoid a braking skid, the
LOW TRAC
light will come on. See “Anti-Lock Brake System
Active Light” in the Index.
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Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However,
if you don’t have anti-lock, your
first reaction
-- to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it
down
-- may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheels can
stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can’t respond to
your steering. Momentum will carry it in whatever
direction it was headed when the wheels stopped rolling.
That could be off the road, into the very thing you were
trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control. You do this by pushing on
the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In an emergency you will probably want to “squeeze”
the brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear
or feel the wheels sliding, ease off the brake pedal. This
will help you retain steering control.
(If you do have
anti-lock, it’s different: see “Anti-Lock Brakes’’ in the
Index.)
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
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.
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Suppose you’re steering through a sharp curve.
Then you suddenly apply
the brakes. Both control
systems
-- steering and braking -- have to do their
work where the tires meet the road. Unless you have
four-wheel anti-lock brakes, adding the hard braking can
demand too much of those places. You can lose control.
The same thing can happen if you’re steering through a
sharp curve and you suddenly accelerate. Those two
control systems
-- steering and acceleration -- can
overwhelm those places where the tires meet the road and make you lose control.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the
brake or 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.
Your Pontiac can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes
-- but, unless you have
anti-lock, not enough to lock your wheels. (See
“Braking in Emergencies” earlier in
this section.) 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.
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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.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find sometime that your right wheels have
dropped off the edge of a road onto the shoulder while
you’re driving.
If the level
of the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer
so that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement.
You can turn the steering wheel up to 1/4 turn until the
right front tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn
your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then goes
back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming
traffic for several seconds.
A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger can
suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all traffic accidents
-- the head-on collision.
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here are some tips for passing:
“Drive ahead.” Look down the road, to the sides, and
to crossroads for situations that might affect your
passing patterns.
If you have any doubt whatsoever
about making a successful pass, wait for a better time.
Watch for trafk signs, pavement markings, and lines.
If you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a
turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken
center line usually indicates it’s
all right to pass
(providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross a solid
line on your side of the lane or a double solid line,
even if the road seems empty of approaching traffk.
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Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass
while you’re awaiting
an opportunity. For one thing,
following too closely reduces your area
of vision,
especially if you’re following a larger vehicle. Also,
you won’t have adequate space if the vehicle ahead
suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a reasonable
distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don’t
get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into the
other lane. If the way is clear to pass,
you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose
by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your
turn. But take care that someone isn’t trying to
pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
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0 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 passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really
is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are not flashing,
it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your Pontiac’s
three control systems. In the braking skid your wheels
aren’t rolling.
In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
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If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go.
If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a
second skid if it occurs. control. Push the brake pedal down steadily when you
have
to stop suddenly.
As long as the wheels are rolling,
you will have steering control.
Driving at Night
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.
Lf you have the anti-lock braking system, remember: It
helps avoid only the braking skid. If you do not have
anti-lock, then in a braking
skid (where the wheels are
no longer rolling), release enough pressure on the brakes
to get the wheels rolling again. This restores steering 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.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive,
Adjust your inside rearview mirror
to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow
down and keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps 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 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. They may
cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of
things invisible.
You can
be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. 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 headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
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. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps 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 headlamps 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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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.
It’s 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.
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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
i€ you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
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. 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.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
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Turn on your low-beam headlamps -- not just your
parking lamps
-- to help make you more visible to
others.
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.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires” in the Index.)
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