Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual: Braking

Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual / Driving and Operating / Driving Information / Braking

Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. Deciding to push the brake pedal is perception time. Actually doing it is reaction time.

Average driver reaction time is about three-quarters of a second. In that time, a vehicle moving at 100 km/h (60 mph) travels 20m (66 ft), which could be a lot of distance in an emergency.

Helpful braking tips to keep in mind include:

Keep enough distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
Avoid needless heavy braking.
Keep pace with traffic.

If the engine ever stops while the vehicle is being driven, brake normally but do not pump the brakes. Doing so could make the pedal harder to push down. If the engine stops, there will be some power brake assist but it will be used when the brake is applied.

Once the power assist is used up, it can take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push.

Drunk Driving

Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a global tragedy. Warning Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and judgment can be affec ...

Steering

Electric Power Steering The vehicle has electric power steering. It does not have power steering fluid. Regular maintenance is not required. If power steering assist is lost due to a system malfun ...

Other materials:

Instrument Panel Illumination Control
This feature controls the brightness of the instrument panel controls and infotainment display screen. The thumbwheel is to the left of the steering column on the instrument panel. (Instrument Panel Brightness): Move the thumbwheel up or down to brighten or dim the instrument panel contr ...

Securing Child Restraints (Rear Seat)
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating position, study the instructions that came with the child restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle. If the child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH System) on page 3-40 for how and ...

Starter Switch Check
Warning When you are doing this inspection, the vehicle could move suddenly. If the vehicle moves, you or others could be injured. Before starting this check, be sure there is enough room around the vehicle. Apply both the parking brake and the regular brake.Do not use the accelerator pe ...