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 — driveror passenger — is in a crash, that person’s chance ofbeing killed or permanently disabled is higher than if theperson had not been drinking.Control of a VehicleThe following three systems help to control the 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 road canprovide. Meaning, you can lose control of the vehicle.See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 5-6.Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affectvehicle performance. See Accessories and Modificationson page 6-3.BrakingSee Brake System Warning Light on page 4-52.Braking action involves perception time and reactiontime. Deciding to push the brake pedal is perceptiontime. Actually doing it 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 of asecond, a vehicle moving at 100 km/h (60 mph) travels20 m (66 feet). That could be a lot of distance in anemergency, so keeping enough space betweenthe vehicle and others is important.And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatlywith the surface of the road, whether it is pavement orgravel; the condition of the road, whether it is wet, dry, oricy; tire tread; the condition of the brakes; the weight ofthe vehicle; and the amount of brake force applied.Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive inspurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavybraking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This isa mistake. The brakes might not have time to coolbetween hard stops. The brakes will wear out muchfaster with a lot of heavy braking.5-3
