Control Of A Vehicle; Braking - Buick Enclave 2011 Owner's Manual

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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
in a crash, that person's chance of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not
been drinking.

Control of a Vehicle

The following three systems help
to control the vehicle while
driving brakes, steering, and
accelerator. At times, as when
driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems
than the tires and road can provide.
Meaning, you can lose control of the
®
vehicle. See StabiliTrak
page 9 29.
Adding non dealer accessories can
affect vehicle performance. See
Accessories and Modifications on
page 10 3.

Braking

See Brake System Warning Light on
page 5 21.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding to
is
push the brake pedal is perception
time. Actually doing it is
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about
three fourths of a second. But that
is 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 three fourths of a second, a
vehicle moving at 100 km/h
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft). That
could be a lot of distance in an
System on
emergency, so keeping enough
space between the vehicle and
others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the
surface of the road, whether it is
Driving and Operating
pavement or gravel; the condition of
the road, whether it is wet, dry,
or icy; tire tread; the condition of the
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
than keeping pace with traffic. This
is a mistake. The brakes might not
have time to cool between hard
stops. The brakes will wear out
much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If the engine ever stops while the
vehicle is being driven, brake
normally but do not pump the
brakes. If the brakes are pumped,
the pedal could get harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
still be some power brake assist but
it will be used when the brake is
9-3
rather