6-18
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
• Never take the vehicle out of gear and
coast down a hill. This is extremely
hazardous. Always leave the vehicle
in gear.
• Don’t “ride” the brakes. This can cause
them to overheat and malfunction.
Instead, when you are driving down a
long hill, shift to a lower gear. When
you do this, engine braking will help
slow down the vehicle.
• Slow down before shifting to a lower
gear. This will help avoid over-revving
the engine, which can cause damage.
• Slow down when you encounter cross
winds. This gives you much better
control of your vehicle.
• Be sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before you attempt to shift
into reverse. The transmission can be
damaged if you do not.
• Exercise extreme caution when driving
on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.
WARNING
• Always buckle-up! In a collision, an
unbelted occupant is significantly
more likely to be seriously injured
or killed than a properly belted
occupant.
• Avoid high speeds when cornering or
turning.
• Do not make quick steering wheel
movements, such as sharp lane
changes or fast, sharp turns.
• The risk of rollover is greatly
ncreased if you lose control of your
vehicle at highway speeds.
• Loss of control often occurs if two or
more wheels drop off the roadway
and the driver oversteers to reenter
the roadway.
• In the event your vehicle leaves
the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
• Never exceed posted speed limits.
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