2001 Cadillac Catera Owners Manual - Files

Defensive DrivingThe best advice anyone can give about driving is:Drive defensively.Please start with a very important safety device in yourvehicle: Buckle up. See “Safety Belts” in the Index.Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means“always expect the unexpected.”Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to becareless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they mightdo. Be ready for their mistakes.Rear-end collisions are about the most preventableof accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enoughfollowing distance. It’s the best defensive drivingmaneuver, in both city and rural driving. You neverknow when the vehicle in front of you is going to brakeor turn suddenly.Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate onthe driving task. Anything that distracts from thedriving task -- such as concentrating on a cellulartelephone call, reading, or reaching for something on thefloor -- makes proper defensive driving more difficultand can even cause a collision, with resulting injury.Ask a passenger to help do things like this, or pulloff the road in a safe place to do them yourself.These simple defensive driving techniques could saveyour life.4-2