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Slow down if driving by a sidewalk
and do not splash water on pedestri-
ans.
Winter driving
Winter driving requires special cau-
tion! We recommend you to use winter
tyres on all wheels.
Be careful while driving on wet or
slippery roads, avoid hard braking, do
not step on the accelerator pedal or
release it abruptly. Steer your vehicle
smoothly without sudden turns of the
steering wheel. Decelerate gradually
timely shifting to lower gears and gen-
tly applying the brakes. If the vehicle
starts to skid, turn the wheel in the
direction of skidding and stabilize your
vehicle with gentle steering and accel-
erator pedal application. Never release
the accelerator pedal if the vehicle
starts to skid, this may cause your vehi-
cle to spin around.
Ice is very likely to form at the cross-
roads due to stop-and-go driving, which
causes wheel spinning. Therefore,
always think ahead and start decelerat-
ing while you are still on a dry road.
It may appear rather difficult to set
your vehicle into motion on a slippery
road. Select the second gear and grad-
ually releasing the clutch pedal
increase the engine speed. For safe
cornering shift into the first gear and
start the manoeuvre with little accelera-
tion avoiding wheel slip.
Mountain driving
Timely select lower gears and avoid
engine tickover or vehicle jerking when
driving uphill. Use engine braking and
gently apply service brakes to go down
a long descent. Select a correct gear to
avoid engine overspeeding and subse-
quent failure. Never go downhill using
only the service brakes with the engine
off and the clutch disengaged. When
the engine is off, no vacuum is supplied
to the power brakes, and the disen-
gaged clutch will make the braking fluid
boil. Mind also that the higher you climb
the lower is the braking fluid boiling
point. Braking fluid boiling in the wheel
cylinders causes complete failure of the
service braking system felt as a spongy
pedal.
If you want to stop at a parking place
on a mountain road, do not switch the
engine off immediately, for it will cause
coolant boiling; allow the engine to idle
for 1-2 minutes — this will make start-
ing the engine easier.
Stay to the right side of a mountain
road. Narrow and winding roads
require greater attention and caution.
Use horn and headlights when
approaching «blind» turns. If you need
to stop on the up- or downhill, turn the
steering wheel so that in case of the
vehicle’s accidental movement it would
steer into a kerb or other obstacle.
Do not go uphill on a wet road until
the preceding vehicle reaches the top.
Using brakes
Learn to brake smoothly without
wheel lock-up. It is a good practice to
brake smoothly while shifting to lower
gears; this helps to maintain directional
stability even on a slippery road,
increases fuel economy, and extends
tyre and brake pads service life.
An experienced driver slightly
depresses the brake pedal several
times until the stoplights illuminate to
worn other drivers of the impending
deceleration.
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