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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 pressed
down 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 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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