Driving in Mud, Sand, Snow
or
Ice
When you drive in mud, snow or sand, your wheels
won’t get good traction.
You
can’t accelerate as
quickly, turning
is
more difficult, and you’ll need longer
braking distances.
It’s best to use a low gear when you’re in mud
--
the
deeper the mud, the lower the gear. In really deep mud,
the idea is
to
keep your vehicle moving
so
you don’t
get stuck.
When you drive
on
sand, you’ll sense a change in wheel
traction. But it will depend upon how loosely packed the
sand is. On loosely packed sand
(as
on beaches or sand
dunes) your tires will tend to sink into the sand. This has
an effect on steering, accelerating and braking.
You
may
want to reduce the air pressure in your tires slightly
when driving on sand. This will improve traction.
Hard packed snow and ice offer the worst tire traction.
On these surfaces, it’s very easy to lose control. On wet
ice, for example, the traction is
so
poor that you will
have difficulty accelerating. And
if
you do get moving,
poor steering and difficult braking can cause you to slide
out
of
control.
Driving on frozen lakes, ponds or rivers can be
dangerous. Underwater springs, currents under
the ice, or sudden thaws can weaken the ice. Your
vehicle could fall through the ice and you
and
your passengers could drown. Drive your vehicle
on safe surfaces only.
Driving in
Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems.
But heavy rain can mean flash flooding, and flood
waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water
is
before you
drive
through
it. If it’s deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or
exhaust pipe, don’t try it
--
you probably won’t get
through. Also, water that deep can damage your axle
and other vehicle parts.
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