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Control
of
a
Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to
go.
They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator.
All
three systems have to do their work
at the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means you can lose control
of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves
perception time
and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time.
Then
you
have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average
reaction time
is about
314
of a second. But
that’s 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
3/4
of
a
second,
a
vehicle
moving at
60
mph
(1
00
km/h)
travels
66
feet
(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’s pavement or
gravel); the condition of the road (wet,
dry,
icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount
of
brake force applied.
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