5-17
Dri
ving y
o
ur v
ehicle
5
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 mal-
function. Instead, when you are
driving down a long hill, slow down
and 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. To shift
into reverse, depress the clutch,
move the shift lever to neutral, wait
three seconds, then shift to the
reverse position.
• 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.
•
Always buckle-up! In a colli-
sion, an unbelted occupant is
significantly more likely to be
seriously injured or killed
than a properly belted occu-
pant.
•
Avoid high speeds when cor-
nering or turning.
•
Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
•
The risk of rollover is greatly
increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at highway
speeds.
(Continued)
WARNING
(Continued)
•
Loss of control often occurs if
two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
oversteers to reenter the road-
way.
•
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.
