Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill,
you’ll
want to consider
a
number
of
things:
0
How steep is the downhill? Will
I
be able to maintain
vehicle
control?
0
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery? Hard-packed dirt?
Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs? Boulders?
What’s at the bottom
of
the hill?
Is
there a hidden creek bank or even a
river bottom with large rocks?
If
you
decide you can go down a
hill
safely, then try to keep your vehicle
headed straight down, and use
a
low gear. This way, engine drag can help
your brakes and they won’t have
to
do all
the
work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
Q:
Are
there some things
I
should not do when driving down
a
hill?
A:
Yes! These are important because
if
you ignore them you could lose
control and have a serious accident.
0
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you across the incline
of
the
hill.
A
hill
that’s not
too
steep to drive down may be
too
steep
to
drive across. You could roll over
if
you don’t drive straight down.
0
Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL
(N),
or
with
the clutch pedal depressed
in
a
manual shift. This is called
“free-wheeling.” Your brakes will have
to
do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock: Avoid braking
so
hard that
you
lock the front wheels when going downhill.
If
your front wheels are
locked, you can’t steer your vehicle.
If
your
wheels lock
up
during
downhill braking, you may feel the vehicle starting
to
slide sideways.
To regain your direction, just ease off
the
brakes and steer to keep
the
front
of
the
vehicle pointing straight downhill.
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