Braking; Braking In Emergencies - Chevrolet trailblazer Handbook

10460390) - 2017 - crc - 6/15/16
208 Driving and Operating
.
Use the floor mat facing up. Do
not use it facing down.
. Do not place anything on the
floor mat on the driver's side.
. Use only one floor mat on the
driver's side. Never put one floor
mat on top of the other.

Braking

Applying the Brakes
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. First, you
have to decide to push on the brake
pedal. This is perception time. Then
you have to bring up your foot to do
it. This is reaction time. Average
reaction time is about 3/4 of a
second, but that is only an average.
It might be less with one driver and
as long as two seconds or more
with another. Age, physical
condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight will play a part. So will
the use of alcohol and drugs. But
even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at 100 km/h travels 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 is pavement or gravel);
the condition of the road (wet, dry);
tyre tread and your brakes.
Nevertheless, some people
overload the brake system when
they use the brakes incorrectly.
Observe the following
. Do not obstruct the brake pedal
travel.
. 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 will wear
much faster if you do a lot of
heavy braking. There is also the
risk of dangerous skids.
.
To increase your brake life, try to
follow the traffic pace, avoid
needless braking and allow for
safe following distances. If you
ever have to use the brakes to
slow down, apply them gently
and continuously.
.
Do not drive with the engine off.
The brake booster will not
function, requiring more effort to
make the brakes work.
.
If your engine stops while you
are driving, brake normally but
do not pump your brakes,
otherwise the vacuum of power
assist will be used up, resulting
the brake pedal being harder to
push and longer braking
distances.
Brake Pedal Travel
Take the vehicle to a Chevrolet
dealer anytime you notice the brake
pedal does not return or the brake
pedal travel becomes longer. This
may be an indicator of brake system
failure.

Braking in Emergencies

Everybody has faced a
heavy-braking situation. If the
vehicle is not equipped with an
Antilock Brake System, a driver's
first reaction is to push the brake
pedal and hold. In fact this is wrong,
because it may cause the wheels to
lock. When this happens the vehicle