Police records show that almost 40 percent of all motorvehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,these deaths are the result of someone who wasdrinking and driving. In recent years, more than17,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have beenassociated with the use of alcohol, with about250,000 people injured.For persons under 21, it is against the law in everyU.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical,psychological, and developmental reasons forthese laws.The obvious way to eliminate the leading highwaysafety problem is for people never to drink alcohol andthen drive.Medical research shows that alcohol in a person’ssystem can make crash injuries worse, especiallyinjuries to the brain, spinal cord, or heart. This meansthat when anyone who has been drinking — driver orpassenger — is in a crash, that person’s chance of beingkilled or permanently disabled is higher than if the personhad not been drinking.Control of a VehicleThe following three systems help to control your vehiclewhile driving — brakes, steering, and accelerator. Attimes, as when driving on snow or ice, it is easy to askmore of those control systems than the tires and roadcan provide. Meaning, you can lose control of yourvehicle. See StabiliTrak® System on page 4-6.Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affectyour vehicle’s performance. See Accessories andModifications on page 5-3.BrakingSee Brake System Warning Light on page 3-36.Braking action involves perception time and reactiontime. First, you have to decide to push on the brakepedal. That is perception time. Then you have to bringup your foot and do it. That is reaction time.Average reaction time is about three-fourths of asecond. But that is only an average. It might be lesswith one driver and as long as two or three seconds ormore with another. Age, physical condition, alertness,coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol,drugs, and frustration. But even in three-fourths ofa second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in anemergency, so keeping enough space between yourvehicle and others is important.4-3
