GMC 2003 Savana - Manual (Page 203)

Braking
BraJ perception time and
maction tima.
Rrst, you have to decide lo push on the brake podaL
That's
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
toot and do it. Thai's reaction time.
Average rsactsan time is aboul 3/4 ot a second. Bui
that's only an average. It mighi be less with one driver
and as long as twe or Ihneg seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, aledness. cocndinaUcjn
and eyesight all ptgy a part. So do aicchal, drugs and
iotstraiion. Bot even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving
at 60 mph (100 km/h} travels 65 feet {20 mi}- That
could be a lot of distance in an ernerger^cy, so keeping
enough space between your vehicle and others is
irrporiant
And, of course, acluaf stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface oi (he road (whether it’s pavement
or gravel); the condition o( the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; tho condition of your brakes; (he weight of
the vehicle and the amount at brake force applied.
Avoid neebless heavy braking, Some people drive in
spurts — heavy acceleration toflowed by heavy
braking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Vour brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops Your brakes will wear ouf much
faster if you do a lot cf heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the tralfic and aliow realistic foUowing distances,
you wilt eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means battar braking and longer braka (jfe.
if your engine ever stops while you're dnving, brake
normally but don't pump your btakes- It you do,
ihe pedal may gel harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you wfli still ha VO some power brake assist.
But you will use it whan you brake. Once the power
assist la used up, it may take longer to stop and
The brake pedal will be harder lo push.
4-e