Cruise Control: What Is It?
Cruise Control: What it is and how it works. What Is Cruise Control? The purpose of a cruise control system is to accurately maintain the driver’s desired set speed, without intervention from the driver, by actuating the throttle-accelerator pedal linkage. A modern automotive cruise control is a control loop that takes over control of the throttle, which is normally controlled by the driver with the gas pedal, and holds the vehicle speed at a set value. The driver can set the cruise control with the cruise switches, usually ON, OFF, RESUME, SET/ACCEL and COAST, that are located in the steering wheel or on the windshield wiper or turn signal stalk. On most cars the cruise control can accelerate or decelerate the car by 1 mph with the tap of the SET/ACCEL button. Hit the button five times to go 5 mph faster. • The on and off buttons really don’t do too much. Some cruise controls don’t have these buttons; instead, they turn off when the driver hits the brakes, and turn on when the driver
