Cadillac 2004 DeVille, Owner'S Manual

Page: 262 / 432

Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet
the road probably have good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You will
have a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be very
careful.
What is the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold snow
or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet ice can
be even more trouble because it may offer the least
traction of all. You can get wet ice when it is about
freezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins to fall. Try to
avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews can get
there.
Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed, blowing or
loose snow — drive with caution.
Keep your traction control system on. It improves your
ability to accelerate when driving on a slippery road. Even
though your vehicle has a traction control system, you will
want to slow down and adjust your driving to the road
conditions. See Traction Control System (TCS) on
page 4-9.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even
though you have the anti-lock braking system, you will
want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See Braking on page 4-6.
•
Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
•
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine until
you hit a spot that is covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can not reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass
may remain icy when the surrounding roads are
clear. If you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake
before you are on it. Try not to brake while you are
actually on the ice, and avoid sudden steering
maneuvers.
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