1996 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manual - Page 161

0 Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and start your left lane change signal before moving out of the rightlane to pass. When you are far enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal and move back into the right lane. (Remember that your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you just passed may seem to be farther away from you than it really is.) Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next vehicle. Don't overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly. Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it may be slowing down or starting to turn. Loss of Control Let's review what driving experts say about what happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering and acceleration) don't have enough friction where the tires meet the road todo what the driver has asked. In any emergency, don't give up. Keep trying to steer and constantly seek an escape route or area of less danger. Skidding In a skid, adriver can lose control of the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable care suited to existing conditions, and by not "overdriving" those conditions. But skids are always possible. The three types of skids correspond to your Oldsmobile's three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels aren't rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin. A cornering skid is best handled byeasing your foot off the accelerator pedal. If you have the Enhanced Traction System, remember: It helps avoid only the acceleration skid. 0 If you're being passed, make it easy for the following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you can ease a little to the right.