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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.
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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.
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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.
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Unless you have anti
-lock: Avoid braking so hard
that you lock the wheels when going downhill. If
your 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.
Q: Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A: It’s much more likely to happen going uphill. But if
it happens going downhill, here’s what to do.
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Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
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Shift to PARK (P) (or to NEUTRAL (N) with the
manual transmission) and, while still braking, restart
the engine.
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Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake,
and drive straight down.
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If the engine won’t start, get out and get help.
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